Remembrances: Dave Butz an Illinois Prep Giant Before Long NFL Career
Maine South Star, Two-Time Super Bowl Winner Passed Away at 72
A man amongst boys or a man for all seasons doesn’t quite do justice to Dave Butz’ stature as a high school athlete at Maine South in the late 1960s.
Butz ranks amongst the giants of Illinois high school sports for his exploits in football, basketball and track and field. At 6-feet-6, 245 pounds, he was an imposing figure in an era where athletes of his size were nowhere near as common as they are today.
Butz, who passed away Friday at age 72, went on to bigger and better things in a 16-year NFL career as a standout defensive tackle. He earned Super Bowl rings in 1982 and 1987 with Washington and his stellar career at Purdue led to his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014.
But he made a huge first impression at Maine South as an All-American in football, a 1,500-point scorer in basketball good enough to draw a scholarship offer from Kentucky’s Adolph Rupp, and a state discus record-holder.
Butz was born in a small Alabama town of LaFayette, not far from the Georgia border, in 1950. His family moved to Illinois not long after and he weighed 150 pounds by the fourth grade and was 6 feet tall in eighth grade.
As a freshman he made Maine South’s varsity football team and qualified for the state track meet in the discus. Two years later, Butz led Maine South to its first regional basketball title when he scored 18 points in an 89-55 romp over Prospect.
Mike Korcek, who graduated from and saw athletes like future big-league baseball players Dave Kingman and Tom Lundstedt win a regional in 1966, was a sophomore at Northern Illinois University and came back with his roommate to watch the game. Butz and Maine South made it the final game for legendary coach Dick Kinneman before he went to Hersey as its first athletic director.
“He was so big and strong,” said Korcek, who is retired after a long and successful career at NIU’s Sports Information Director. “I think Butz could have picked up the (Prospect) fieldhouse. He was like the Incredible Hulk. We just couldn’t handle him.”
The prolonged basketball season led to a late start to his track season. Arlington’s Tom Chandler was gunning for the discus title and considered the favorite with a state-leading throw of 173-feet, 10 1/2-inches. In the district meet, Chandler hit 178-4 but Butz was not far behind at 176-8.
Then in the prelims in Champaign, Butz popped a 180-4 that held up for the victory and a record that stood until 1980. Chandler took third at 173-2 and with Butz made Bob Frisk’s Paddock Publications All-State Track Team.
A few days after Butz was taken with the fifth pick in the 1973 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals, Frisk recalled in a column that he “marveled at his power in basketball and track.” He also shared a story of how big Butz did things with a shoe size of 12 1/2 7E, a ring size of 17 and a helmet size of 7 7/8. He was listed between 6-6 and 6-8 and at as much as 315 pounds during his NFL career.
After Butz won the ‘68 discus title, Frisk wrote that Maine South throws coach Carl Magsamen said, “I told Dave if he won and set a record we’d buy him all the steak he could eat. Now I’m getting worried. We stopped at the Redwood Inn in Rantoul and Dave piled his plate up three times like this (putting one hand six inches from the other). There’s no telling how much steak he can eat.”
Butz would then stake a claim as one of the game’s best defensive linemen with 64 sacks in 216 games. He made the all-rookie team but in 1974 blew out his knee and the Cardinals let his option expire. He showcased his wit on why he chose Washington over the Oakland Raiders.
“Because they said ‘here it is’ and the Raiders said, ‘We’ll think about it,’” said Butz, who wound up making his home outside of St. Louis in Belleville, Illinois.
His career took off in the 1980s when Joe Gibbs took over as Washington’s head coach. Considered undervalued by many because he routinely took on double teams, Butz received his only All-Pro selection in 1983 and was second in the voting for Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year with 11 1/2 sacks.
One of his biggest highlights was one of his 2 career interceptions against the Bears at Soldier Field in 1981. His 26-yard return ended a yard shy of the end zone as he was dragged down by offensive lineman Dan Neal, which prompted Butz to joke, “I’m a team man. I wanted the offense to take it in.”
He also told Bob Gallas of the Daily Herald, “I felt like I was going through time zones. The lines kept getting farther and farther apart. I almost expected to get called for delay of game.”
Butz, whose uncle Earl was the US Secretary of Agriculture, was more than just a successful athlete with a sense of humor. He earned two degrees at Purdue and his off-field interests included woodworking, winemaking and computer programming. Playing in the East-West Shrine Game after his senior season in college made a big impression as Butz worked with troubled children, supported the American Cancer Society and dressed up as Santa Claus for kids’ parties.
On Twitter, legendary Washington quarterback Joe Theismann called Dave Butz “a true gentle giant.” One who left a giant legacy.
For more on Dave Butz’ life and football career, check out The Official Dave Butz Website by clicking here.