NFL Network ranked the most feared tacklers in league history in 2009. No. 1 on the list was Dick Butkus. There could have been no other choice for the top spot.
Butkus’ name has become synonymous with the violent side of football: fear and intimidation. Butkus was also synonymous with greatness at middle linebacker, and in many ways the NFL itself.
Butkus, the longtime Chicago Bears star, died at age 80. A statement from his family, via the Bears, said he died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Malibu, California.
Bears chairman George McCaskey released a statement honoring Butkus.