Jack Butler (American Football)
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John Bradshaw Butler (November 12, 1927 – May 11, 2013) was an American professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player who was a
cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...
for the
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...
of the
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(NFL). In 2012, he was elected into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...
.


Professional career

Butler was an
undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...
whom the
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...
brought onto their roster in 1951 based on a recommendation that Art Rooney Sr. received from his brother Silas Rooney, who was a priest serving as athletic director at
St. Bonaventure University St. Bonaventure University is a private university, private Franciscan university in St. Bonaventure, New York. It has 2,760 undergraduate and graduate students. The Order of Friars Minor, Franciscans established the university in 1858. In ath ...
. Butler would become a defensive back and occasional wide receiver for the Steelers. As a rookie, Butler intercepted five passes for 142 yards. In 1953, he had nine interceptions and returned two of them for touchdowns. Four interceptions came in a game against the
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...
on December 13, 1953. One of the interceptions resulted in a 35-yard return for a touchdown to win the game for the Steelers 14–13. The following year Butler set a record with two interception returns for touchdowns. In 1957, he led the league in interceptions with a career-best 10. Offensively, Butler scored a touchdown against the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
. It was late in the game and Butler had caught the game-winning touchdown pass from Jim Finks. In 1958, Butler added nine more interceptions to his growing list. During the 1959 season after garnering two interceptions, Butler was forced to retire due to a leg injury he received when tight end Pete Retzlaff of the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
rolled into Butler's knee. Butler never made more than around $12,000 as a player with the Steelers. Following his playing career, Butler spent 46 years with the BLESTO Scouting Combine (44 as its director). During this time, his contributions to the NFL included scouting and evaluating over 75,000 college athletes and starting the Combine scouting process that is still in use today. Butler was named to four straight
Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...
s from 1955 to 1958. He had 52 interceptions during his career and 865 yards. At the time of his retirement in 1959, Jack tied for first with Safety Bobby Dillon in career interceptions, garnering 52 in his 9-year career. In 2004, he was named to the
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Hall of Very Good in the association's second HOVG class. In October 2008, Butler was named as one of the 33 Greatest Pittsburgh Steelers of all time. The Steelers named players to this team as part of their 75th anniversary season celebration. He was named to the
National Football League 1950s All-Decade Team This is a list of all NFL players who had outstanding performances throughout the 1950s and have been compiled together into this fantasy group. The team was selected by voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame retroactively in 1969 to mark the lea ...
. He was named as a senior nominee for the
Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...
for 2012 and was elected as a member on February 4, 2012.


Honors

*1956-
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
: 2nd Team All-NFL; Newspaper Ent. Assoc.: 2nd Team All-NFL;
Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...
: 1st Team All-NFL. *1957- Associated Press: 1st Team All-NFL; Newspaper Ent. Assoc.: 1st Team All-NFL; Sporting News: 1st Team All-NFL; UPI: 1st Team All-NFL. *1958- Associated Press: 1st Team All-NFL; Newspaper Ent. Assoc.: 1st Team All-NFL; Sporting News: 1st Team All-NFL;
New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...
: 1st Team All-NFL; UPI: 1st Team All-NFL. *1959- Associated Press: 1st Team All-NFL; New York Daily News: 1st Team All-NFL; Sporting News: 1st Team All-NFL; UPI: 1st Team All-NFL. *2012-
Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...


Death

Butler died at UPMC Shadyside in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
on May 11, 2013. He was admitted for a staph infection around his artificial knee, a problem that almost killed him in 1959 and recurred every five to seven years since.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Jack 1927 births 2013 deaths American football cornerbacks Pittsburgh Steelers players St. Bonaventure Brown Indians football players Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Players of American football from Pittsburgh