Remembering Bears legend Dick Butkus and his top football cards

There is no more ferocious athlete in all of sports than an NFL linebacker, particularly the highly esteemed middle linebackers, the defensive players most known for toughness and bone-jarring tackles.

The greatest linebackers to ever play the game are household names to NFL fans — Ray Lewis, Lawrence Taylor, Jack Lambert, Derrick Thomas, Junior Seau.

But the path to the Pro Football Hall of Fame for those star-studded defenders was paved by the man who defined the position — Dick Butkus.

Butkus, who died on Oct. 5 at the age of 80, was widely regarded as the toughest player of all time and one of the greatest linebackers to ever play the game. He was so great that the annual Butkus Award honors the best linebackers in high school, college and the NFL.

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Butkus was also the most respected, striking fear into opposing quarterbacks and running backs. He was so feared that Hall of Fame defensive end Deacon Jones once called him “a well-conditioned animal, and every time he hit you, he tried to put you in the cemetery, not the hospital.” Indeed, in 2009, the NFL Network named Butkus the most feared tackler of all time.

A two-time All-American and the 1964 Lineman of the Year at the University of Illinois, Butkus was the third overall pick in the 1965 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears, who also drafted Gale Sayers in the same draft.

Butkus was a six-time All-Pro, two-time Defensive Player of the Year and named to eight Pro Bowls in his nine seasons. He finished his career with 1,020 career tackles, 22 interceptions, 27 fumble recovers, and countless caused fumbles with bone-crunching hits and his rugged, aggressive play.

NFL Films ranked Butkus No. 10 on its list of the NFL's Greatest Players of all time. 

A member of the NFL’s 75^th and 100^th Anniversary All-Time team, Butkus was the Bears’ best player from the first day he stepped onto the field. “The first time I saw Butkus, I started packing my gear. I knew my Bear days were numbered,” said Hall of Famer and former Bears middle linebacker Bill George, who preceded Butkus.

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After his Hall of Fame career (1979), Butkus became a household name off the field, appearing in numerous movies, TV shows and commercials, including several football-themed movies. His movie credits include “The Longest Yard,” “Necessary Roughness,” “Any Given Sunday” and “Brian’s Song.“ He also was a radio and TV announcer, appearing as a color analyst on Bears radio broadcasts and on the CBS “NFL Today” pre-game show.

Butkus football cards have always been popular, with his top cards commanding five and six figures. We take a look at the top cards of the most feared linebacker in NFL history.

Butkus’ first trading card and one of the most coveted vintage football cards in the hobby came in the 1966 set produced by the Philadelphia Gum Company, a series that also included the rookie card of fellow Hall of Famer and teammate Gayle Sayers. Butkus made his first Pro Bowl as a rookie, recording five interceptions and seven fumble recoveries in his first season. His first card, which features his trademark buzz cut, is his most valuable card, with a PSA 9 version selling for $12,000 at Heritage Auctions in 2019.

The Philadelphia company’s final football set featured similar 1960s-style images, but the Butkus card has him looking like the player you definitely didn’t want to run into on the field. Another one of the top cards in the set was the rookie card of Hall of Fame running back Leroy Kelly, who ran into Butkus a time or two.

Topps acquired its first license to produce football cards for the NFL and AFL in 1968, and Butkus was featured in its first set looking as intimidating as ever. Card #127 features Butkus in a defensive stance with the Bears logo in the upper right-hand corner.

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Butkus’ 1969 Topps card features a very similar image, with the biggest difference being the Bears logo looming larger in the lower right-hand corner. Butkus strikes a similar pose, but the green background makes the image stand out more.

Butkus’ 1970 Topps card featured yet another defensive pose, while his 1971 Topps card included a bland head shot. But Kellogg’s produced football cards in both 1970 and ’71 and they offered a more eye-catching, colorful appeal, plus an autograph. Butkus is featured in both sets, but the 1970 cards were available in both cereal boxes or through a mail-in offer. The 1971 set, which featured a colorful football helmet in the upper right-hand corner, was available only in cereal boxes, making it more rare.

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Butkus is included in the popular 1972 Topps set, which is known for a host of Hall of Fame rookies, including Roger Staubach, John Riggins and Charlie Joiner, but his base card features another bland head shot. But Topps also produced a series of action shots for the first time in 1972, and Butkus’ Pro Action card is a gem. His Series 3 card fittingly shows him delivering a brutal hit on a Packers player.

Butkus’ 1973 Topps card is one of his cheapest, but one of the most popular among collectors. The unique horizontal design shows Butkus busting through the Packers’ line to make a tackle. It was one of his final cards as he played in just nine games in 1973 due to injury before retiring. He did score his only career touchdown that season, recovering a fumble in the end zone against the Oilers. The set is a good one, featuring rookie cards of Hall of Famers Franco Harris, Ken Stabler and Jack Ham, but the Butkus card is one of the most popular in the set.