WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Dave Butz, a legend of Purdue Football who was inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame, passed away Friday (Nov. 4) at the age of 72.
Butz, who played for head coach Bob DeMoss from 1970 to 1972, was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014 to cement his legacy on the sport. Over the course of his collegiate career, the 6-foot-7, 280-pound Butz became widely regarded as the best defensive lineman in the country. He was a consensus All-American as a senior, the recipient of the Zipp Award as college football's outstanding player and a finalist for the Lombardi Award (presented to the best lineman or linebacker).
His career statistics included 108 tackles, 21 tackles for loss and eight pass breakups. Butz was named Defensive Most Valuable Player of the Senior Bowl and also played in the East-West Shrine Game. In 1987, Butz was chosen to Purdue's All-Time Team spanning its first 100 years of football, and he was inducted into the Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004. He is enshrined in the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame, as well.
Selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the first round (No. 5 overall) of the 1973 NFL Draft, Butz enjoyed a 16-year professional career with the Cardinals (1973-74) and Washington Redskins (1975-88). He was named to the 1973 NFL All-Rookie team. Subsequently, Washington gave St. Louis two No. 1 draft picks and a No. 2 pick, in what was considered to be the largest compensation package in league history, in order to sign him.
Butz earned the reputation as the NFL's iron man, missing merely four games over the course of his career that included 216 contests. He was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year and was selected to the Pro Bowl after recording a career-high 11 sacks in 1983. He was an alternate to the Pro Bowl in 1981 and 1984 and was selected to the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team. When he announced his retirement at the age of 38, he was the oldest active starter in the NFL.
Butz played in three Super Bowls with Washington: XVII (a 27-17 win over the Miami Dolphins), XVIII (a 38-9 loss to the Oakland Raiders) and XXII (a 42-10 win over the Denver Broncos).
Born in Lafayette, Alabama, and raised in Park Ridge, Illinois, Butz moved to Swansea, Illinois following his playing career. He spent several years in real estate and worked for a successful sales and service company while supporting a wide array of civic, social, educational, health-related and religious activities, many geared towards helping young people. Butz worked with the Boy Scouts of America and supported fundraising projects for Children's Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House in Washington, D.C. His contributions also benefitted the Lions, Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs; American Cancer Society; American Heart Association; Arc; Easter Seals; March of Dimes; Muscular Dystrophy Association; Multiple Sclerosis Society; Special Olympics; United Cerebral Palsy; and the YMCA.
Butz, who played for head coach Bob DeMoss from 1970 to 1972, was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014 to cement his legacy on the sport. Over the course of his collegiate career, the 6-foot-7, 280-pound Butz became widely regarded as the best defensive lineman in the country. He was a consensus All-American as a senior, the recipient of the Zipp Award as college football's outstanding player and a finalist for the Lombardi Award (presented to the best lineman or linebacker).
His career statistics included 108 tackles, 21 tackles for loss and eight pass breakups. Butz was named Defensive Most Valuable Player of the Senior Bowl and also played in the East-West Shrine Game. In 1987, Butz was chosen to Purdue's All-Time Team spanning its first 100 years of football, and he was inducted into the Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004. He is enshrined in the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame, as well.
Selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the first round (No. 5 overall) of the 1973 NFL Draft, Butz enjoyed a 16-year professional career with the Cardinals (1973-74) and Washington Redskins (1975-88). He was named to the 1973 NFL All-Rookie team. Subsequently, Washington gave St. Louis two No. 1 draft picks and a No. 2 pick, in what was considered to be the largest compensation package in league history, in order to sign him.
Butz earned the reputation as the NFL's iron man, missing merely four games over the course of his career that included 216 contests. He was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year and was selected to the Pro Bowl after recording a career-high 11 sacks in 1983. He was an alternate to the Pro Bowl in 1981 and 1984 and was selected to the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team. When he announced his retirement at the age of 38, he was the oldest active starter in the NFL.
Butz played in three Super Bowls with Washington: XVII (a 27-17 win over the Miami Dolphins), XVIII (a 38-9 loss to the Oakland Raiders) and XXII (a 42-10 win over the Denver Broncos).
Born in Lafayette, Alabama, and raised in Park Ridge, Illinois, Butz moved to Swansea, Illinois following his playing career. He spent several years in real estate and worked for a successful sales and service company while supporting a wide array of civic, social, educational, health-related and religious activities, many geared towards helping young people. Butz worked with the Boy Scouts of America and supported fundraising projects for Children's Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House in Washington, D.C. His contributions also benefitted the Lions, Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs; American Cancer Society; American Heart Association; Arc; Easter Seals; March of Dimes; Muscular Dystrophy Association; Multiple Sclerosis Society; Special Olympics; United Cerebral Palsy; and the YMCA.