Dave Butz, a 2014 College Football Hall of Fame inductee who starred as a defensive tackle at Purdue from 1970-72, passed away Nov. 4. He was 72.
"Dave Butz was a force to be reckoned with on the football field," said NFF Chairman
Archie Manning. "His size and athletic ability allowed him to terrorize offensive linemen and quarterbacks during his Boilermaker career. He will be truly missed, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family, his friends and the entire Purdue community."
A member of Purdue's All-Time Team, Butz was a consensus First-Team All-American as a senior in 1972. That same year, he took home the Zipp Award as college football's most outstanding player, and he was named a finalist for the Lombardi Award.
A First Team All-Big Ten honoree in 1972, Butz registered 108 tackles, 21 tackles for loss and eight pass breakups for his career. The senior team captain participated in the East-West Shrine Game and the Senior Bowl, where he was named Defensive MVP. He is enshrined in both the Purdue Athletics and Senior Bowl halls of fame. During his time at Purdue, Butz played alongside Hall of Famer
Otis Armstrong.
Drafted fifth overall in the 1973 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals, Butz played 14 of his 16 seasons in Washington, leading the team to victories in Super Bowls XVII and XXII. 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. Earning a reputation as the NFL's "ironman," he missed only four games his entire career. He retired in 1989 having played in more games (216) than any other player in Washington franchise history.
Born June 23, 1950, in Lafayette, Alabama, Butz was raised in Park Ridge, Illinois, and he 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.
