Dick Butkus Richard Marvin " Dick " Butkus ( born December 9 , 1942 ) is an American former football player for the Chicago Bears . He was drafted in 1965 and he is also widely regarded as one of the best and most durable linebackers of all time . Butkus started as a football player for the University of Illinois and the Chicago Bears . He became a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979 . He played nine seasons in the NFL for the Chicago Bears . Billed at , , he was one of the most feared and intimidating linebackers of his time , being named the most feared tackler of all time by NFL . com in 2009 . Early life . The youngest of eight children of an immigrant family from Lithuania , Richard Marvin " Dick " Butkus grew up in the Roseland neighborhood on Chicago ' s South Side . He played high school football for coach Bernie O ' Brien at Chicago Vocational High School . Although he eventually played for the Bears , Butkus being a South - sider grew up a fan of the Chicago Cardinals , attending their games at Comiskey Park and watching Thanksgiving game between the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers . College career . Butkus played center and linebacker from 1962 through 1964 at the University of Illinois . He was twice a unanimous All - America n , in 1963 and 1964 . He won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football in 1963 as the Big Ten ' s Most Valuable Player , and was named the American Football Coaches Association Player of the Year in 1964 . Butkus finished sixth in Heisman Trophy balloting in 1963 and third in 1964 , a rare accomplishment for both linemen and defensive players . He finished his college career with 374 tackles . Butkus is a member of The Pigskin Club of Washington , D . C . , which recognizes National Intercollegiate All - American football players . After his university years , Butkus continued to receive recognition . He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983 , and is one of only two players to have a uniform number ( # 50 ) retired by the University of Illinois football program ( the other the # 77 of Harold " Red " Grange ) . Butkus was named to the Walter Camp All - Century team in 1990 , and was named the sixth - best ever college football player by College Football News in 2000 . In 2007 , Butkus ranked # 19 on ESPN ' s Top 25 Players In College Football History list . In 1985 , the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando , Florida created an award in his name . The Dick Butkus Award is given annually to the most outstanding linebacker at the high school , college , and professional levels as chosen by a nationwide panel of 51 coaches and sportswriters . In 2008 , control of the award was relinquished to the Butkus Foundation , based in Chicago , Illinois . NFL . Butkus was drafted in the first round by both the Denver Broncos of the American Football League and his hometown team , the Chicago Bears of the NFL . He signed with the Bears and did not play professionally with any other team . Along with fellow Hall of Famer Gale Sayers , Butkus was one of three first round picks for the Bears in 1965 NFL Draft , having used the pick they acquired in a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Butkus and their own pick on Sayers . The team also drafted defensive end Steve DeLong , however he chose to play for the AFL ' s San Diego Chargers for the first seven years of his professional career . Butkus was selected to eight Pro Bowl s and was all - league six times . In his rookie season , Butkus led the Bears in tackles , interceptions , forced fumbles , and fumble recoveries , and regularly led the team in these categories throughout his career . Butkus recovered 27 fumbles in his career , an NFL record at the time of his retirement . He was one of the most feared players of his era and even appeared on the cover of " Sports Illustrated " in 1970 with the caption " The Most Feared Man in the Game . " He had one of his most productive seasons in 1970 with 132 tackles , 84 assists , 3 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries . He was forced to retire after multiple knee injuries in 1973 . One of Butkus ' greatest strengths was his ability to rip the ball from a ball carrier ' s hands . Although back then the statistic was not kept , it has been noted that Butkus would certainly be one of the all - time leaders in the forced fumbles category . At one point , Butkus gained a reputation as one of the meanest players on an otherwise bad Bears team in the late 1960s , and during his tenure , the Bears were 48 - 74 . During the 1969 season in which the Bears finished 1 - 13 , the team played against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Wrigley Field in what would ultimately be the Bears ' only win that season . During the game , an incident with the Steelers ' then - rookie " Mean Joe " Greene led to Greene spitting into Butkus ' face and challenging him to a fight after Butkus committed what Greene considered a dirty hit on a teammate of Greene ' s . Butkus filed a lawsuit against the Bears in 1975 , claiming the Bears knowingly kept him on the field when he should have had surgery on his knees . The Bears denied Butkus and their other players the right to seek second opinions with doctors other than the Bears team doctor . The team would also distribute painkillers so that Butkus , a major gate attraction , would be active . Because of the lawsuit , Butkus ' relationship with owner George Halas became icy . Butkus did return to the Bears as a color analyst on radio broadcasts in 1985 , teaming with first - year play - by - play man Wayne Larrivee and former St . Louis Cardinals quarterback Jim Hart . Butkus was also selected the 70th Greatest Athlete of the 20th Century by ESPN , the ninth - best player in NFL history by " The Sporting News " , and the fifth - best by the Associated Press . The National Football League named him to their All - Time team in 2000 . He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979 . He was named as head coach of the XFL ' s Chicago Enforcers franchise but was replaced with coach Ron Meyer for the league ' s only season in 2001 . Instead , Butkus served as the league ' s Director of Competition . After football . Since his career as a player , Butkus has become a well known celebrity endorser , broadcaster , and actor . He has appeared in films such as " The Longest Yard " ( on the practice team ) , " Gus " , " Cracking Up " , " Necessary Roughness " , " Any Given Sunday " , " Mother , Jugs & Speed " , " Hamburger . . . The Motion Picture " and " Johnny Dangerously " , and as a regular character on TV shows such as " Blue Thunder " , " My Two Dads " , and " Hang Time " . In the critically acclaimed TV movie " Brian ' s Song " ( 1971 ) , he portrayed himself . He also , made one television appearance on the first episode of the 1976 ABC hit " Rich Man , Poor Man " , where he played ' Al Fanducci ' , a World War II army soldier who gets into a street brawl with ' Tom Jordache ' ( played by Nick Nolte ) . In 1980 , Butkus portrayed Brom Bones in the television movie production of " The Legend of Sleepy Hollow . " Butkus also appeared in episodes of " Coach " , " Growing Pains " , " The Rockford Files " , " MacGyver " , " Murder , She Wrote " , " Emergency ! " , " The Six Million Dollar Man " and " Magnum , P . I . " . Butkus was hired as the replacement for Jimmy " The Greek " Snyder on CBS ' pregame show " The NFL Today " in 1988 , serving as an analyst through 1989 . Butkus promoted the " Qwik - Cook Grill , " a grill utilizing newspaper as its main fuel , on TV infomercials in the ' 90s . Butkus starred in a 2009 FedEx commercial entitled " I ' m Sorry Dick Butkus , " developed by BBDO New York . In this commercial , Butkus is brought in to help a small business go global . Butkus ' son , Matthew , played college football at USC as a defensive lineman , and joins his father in philanthropic activities such as the " I Play Clean " campaign . Butkus ' nephew , Luke Butkus , was hired on February 19 , 2007 , as the Bears ' offensive line coach , and in 2010 joined the Seattle Seahawks staff in a similar position . He joined the Jacksonville Jaguars as assistant offensive line coach on January 28 , 2013 . In 2006 , Butkus was brought into McKees Rocks , Pa . , to be the head coach for the Montour Spartans at Montour High School to bring back their glory days . The year 2006 the Montour Spartans made it to ESPN ' s reality show " Bound For Glory " during when Dick Butkus was the head coach for the Spartans , along with former Kansas City Chiefs coach Ray Crockett and the current head coach for the Spartans , Lou Cerro . Philanthropy . Through " The Butkus Foundation " , Butkus has supported many charitable causes following his NFL career . The Butkus Foundation , Inc . was formed to manage the receipt and disbursement of funds for his charitable causes . These causes include : Personal life . Butkus married Helen Essenberg in 1963 . Together they have three children : Ricky , Matt , and Nikki .