Tag: dick butkus

Athletes and sports figures who have died in 2023

The notable athletes, broadcasters, and sports figures we’ve lost so far in 2023.

Bears LB Tremaine Edmunds is sacking hunger with Campbell’s® Chunky, talks Dick Butkus and current state of the team

Tremaine Edmunds sat down with Bears Wire to talk about his work with Campbell’s® Chunky, Dick Butkus, his big game vs. Minnesota, and more.

Tremaine Edmunds is still relatively new to the city of Chicago, but he’s already doing his part in making a lasting impact both on and off the field. Last Sunday, he and Bears teammates did their part to sack the quarterback during the team’s Week 6 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings. On Tuesday, Edmunds turned his attention towards sacking hunger.

The Bears linebacker teamed up with Campbell’s® Chunky and spent the day at the Greater Chicago Food Depository helping collect donations as part of Chunky Sacks Hunger™, the brand’s community platform aimed at ending food insecurity. Throughout the season, Edmunds will be working with Campbell’s® Chunky, as well as other NFL defensive players throughout the league, to donate over two million meals to those in need.

Edmunds took some time in between packing meals to speak with Bears Wire about Chunky Sacks Hunger™ and why it means so much to him, as well as his last couple games with the Bears, and the passing of the legendary Dick Butkus.

Bears unveil jersey patch honoring Dick Butkus

The Bears will wear the No. 51 patch honoring Dick Butkus for the rest of the 2023 season.

The Chicago Bears are doing their part to honor legendary linebacker Dick Butkus for the remainder of the 2023 season. The team announced on Friday they will wear a special patch on their jerseys beginning this weekend to honor Butkus, who passed away at the age of 80 on October 5th. The patch consists of Butkus’ No. 51 inside a football.

Bears chairman George McCaskey told team senior writer Larry Mayer that he wants the team to think about Butkus and his legacy every time they put on the uniform. “The purpose of the patch is, every time they pull on the pads, they’ll take a moment to think about Dick and his approach to the game,” McCaskey said.

Butkus was drafted in the first round of the 1965 NFL Draft, played eight seasons with the Bears, and is regarded as one of the greatest linebackers of all time. Butkus made the Pro Bowl in every season, earned five First-Team All-Pro selections, was named to the 1960 and 1970 All-Decade Teams, and was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979 during his first year of eligibility.

Since 1994, no player has worn the No. 51 on their jersey once it was retired, but now every player will play with that number, beginning Sunday when the Bears welcome the Minnesota Vikings to town. Fans were also happy to see the team acknowledge Butkus and think the patch is fitting for what he did both on and off the field.

Big Ten legend passes away at 80

A Big Ten legend has died at the age of 80 years old.

A Big Ten legend has died at the age of 80 years old. Dick Butkus died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Malibu, California.

Butkus is one of the all-time collegiate and professional football players in the game’s long and storied history. The Chicago native played at the University of Illinois from 1962-1964 before moving on to his hometown Bears from 1965 till his retirement from football in 1973.

While at Illinois, Butkus played center and linebacker. In 1963, he was the Big Ten’s Most Valuable Player and a unanimous All-American. 1964 he was a consensus All-American and finished third for the Heisman Trophy.

The College Football Hall of Famer would finish his career with 374 tackles. He would be drafted in the first round of the 1965 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears and the second round of the American Football League draft by the Denver Broncos.

Butkus would sign for his hometown Bears and would make his mark as one of the all-time great professional football players. The 2x NFL Defensive Player of the Year would be selected to the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team and the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.

The nation’s top collegiate linebacker is given the Butkus Award annually. Butkus was inducted into Illinois’ Athletics Hall of Fame inaugural class in 2017 and, in 2019, received a statue outside Illinois’ Football Performance Center.

Dick Butkus was 80 years old. A photo gallery of Dick Butkus’ life can be found below.

Tributes flood in for Dick Butkus following the legend’s death at age 80

Football legend Dick Butkus has died at age 80, and tributes to the legend flooded into social media after his passing was announced.

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Chicago Bears legendary linebacker Dick Butkus was the personification of clean (for the era) violence and terror on the football field. Players would say that before you could even deal with Butkus the player, you had to get past Butkus the legend.

Not an easy feat.

Butkus, whose death at the age of 80 was announced on Thursday, was selected by the Bears with the third overall pick in the 1965 draft out of Illinois. He lived up to that high selection in a nine-year career that included eight Pro Bowls, five First-Team All-Pro nods, membership in Pro Football Hall of Fame’s All-1960s and All-1970s teams, and ultimately, induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979.

After the announcement of his passing, tributes to the man and the legend poured in on social media.

Butkus’ Twitter account was, like the man himself, everything you could have hoped for, and more than you had a right to expect.

The NFL world mourns the late Dick Butkus, legendary Chicago Bears linebacker and intimidator

The Bears’ grand tradition of great linebackers began with Dick Butkus.

Dick Butkus, a First-Ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer and perennial All-Pro linebacker for the Chicago Bears, died at the age of 80 on Thursday.

A native Chicagoan, Butkus first rose to prominence as a standout linebacker for the University of Illinois. The Bears would select him at No. 3 overall in the 1965 NFL Draft, hoping he would become a franchise cornerstone. He didn’t disappoint. In nine seasons with his hometown Bears, Butkus qualified for eight Pro Bowls and earned eight different All-Pro selections (five First-Team, three Second-Team).

Beyond the individual accolades, Butkus quickly developed a reputation as the quintessential intimidator. He was both a skilled defender and a manipulator of his opponents’ heads. Teammate and fellow Bears legend Mike Ditka once aptly described Butkus’s distinct style of play, saying, “I think Dick [Butkus] put the fear of God into a lot of people.”

These days, the Bears have a reputation for a special linebacking tradition. It is rare that the NFL’s charter franchise does not have a difference-making star playing linebacker. Said tradition likely never gains traction without Butkus’s trademark individual prowess while manning and terrorizing the middle of the field. He was the face of the position for Chicago — one of the original Chicago sports icons — and someone whose gargantuan footsteps were followed by seemingly countless defenders on any other franchise. As a lifelong Chicagoan, Butkus was, for all intents and purposes, the classic Bears linebacker.

The Bears released a statement from the Butkus family, honoring one of the franchise’s grandest pillars:

Bears chairman George H. McCaskey also chimed in with a wonderful and heartfelt message.

The NFL released a statement mourning the loss of Butkus as well:

The sports world poured in their tributes and stories about Butkus in honor of the late football icon.

NFL Twitter mourns the loss of Bears legend Dick Butkus

Bears legend Dick Butkus has passed away at 80. The NFL world is mourning his loss:

The NFL world is mourning the loss of Chicago Bears legend Dick Butkus, who passed away Thursday at the age of 80.

Butkus is considered one of the greatest Bears players and one of the best linebackers in NFL history. Butkus was drafted third overall by the Bears in 1965, alongside fellow Bears and NFL great Gale Sayers.

Butkus spent his entire career with the Bears from 1965-1973, where he established himself as one of the best to ever play linebacker. Butkus was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979, his first year of eligibility. He’s a five-time First-Team All-Pro, eight-time Pro Bowler, two-time Defensive Player of the Year, a member of the 1960s and 1970s All-Decade Team and the list goes on.

As you can imagine, Bears fans are devastated with Butkus’ passing, which comes on the same day that Chicago faces the Washington Commanders on Thuesday Night Football.

Now, Bears fans are hoping the team pulls off a win — and ends a 14-game losing streak — in honor of arguably the greatest linebacker in NFL history.

Chicago Bears icon and Pro Football Hall of Famer Dick Butkus dies at 80

Legendary NFL linebacker Dick Butkus has died at the age of 80

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Tragic news as legendary Chicago Bear Dick Butkus died at the age of 80 on Thursday

TMZ first reported the news.  Malibu (Ca.) police confirmed Butkus’ death.

Our sources tell us … paramedics responded to a call for a medical emergency at Butkus’ residence in Malibu at 12:51 PM. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

We’re told someone went to check on Butkus at his home on Thursday … and he was found unresponsive.

Butkus played college ball at the University of Illinois and was drafted by the Bears in 1965. He was chosen third. overall. The Bears had the next pick and selected Gale Sayers.

Both players wound up as Pro Football Hall of Famers.

Butkus had 22 interceptions and 27 fumble recoveries.

He also famously caught a pass on a PAT.

His ferocious play was iconic as one of the Monsters of the Midway.

Butkus’ No. 51 was retired by the Bears in 1994. He was named to the league’s All-Decade teams in the ‘60s and ‘70s … as well as the 75th and 100th Anniversary teams.

He entered the Hall of Fame in 1979 in his first year of eligibility. He started all 119 games he played for the Bears, earning six All-NFL selections, two Defensive Player of the Year honors, and was selected for eight Pro Bowls.

Bears legend Dick Butkus passes away at 80

Bears legend Dick Butkus has died at age 80, the team confirmed.

Update: The Bears have confirmed the news.

Legendary Chicago Bears linebacker Dick Butkus has died at the age of 80, according to a report from TMZ Sports.

According to the report, Butkus was found unresponsive in his house on Thursday afternoon. Paramedics arrived and pronounced him dead at the scene.

Drafted third overall in 1965, Butkus became one of the most feared linebackers in the NFL. Butkus was a two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year winner, was named first-team All-Pro five times, went to eight Pro Bowls and made the NFL’s All-Decade Team in the 1960s and 1970s. Butkus was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979, his first year of eligibility.

After retirement, Butkus became a television and movie star, appearing in a number of films, as well as commercials. He remained close to the Bears as well, taking part in various social media campaigns over the years and making frequent trips to Soldier Field. He was in attendance for the Bears’ season opener against the Green Bay Packers less than a month ago.