John William Butler (September 14, 1918 – April 1963) was a 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 in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). Butler played for four different NFL franchises during his four year career, finishing up in 1946 with the Bethlehem Bulldogs of the fledgling

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

Biography

Early years

Johnny Butler was born September 14, 1918, in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

Collegiate career

Prior to playing professionally, Butler played football at the college level while attending the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

from 1939 to 1941. As a sophomore in 1939, Butler ran 56 yards for a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

against the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

. Butler's Tennessee team was extremely successful during his three years on the varsity, appearing in the 1939 Rose Bowl,

1940 Sugar Bowl The 1940 Sugar Bowl featured the top-ranked Texas A&M Aggies, and the fifth-ranked Tulane Green Wave. The game was played at Tulane's home field, Tulane Stadium. Background Texas A&M entered the game with an undefeated record and a ranking of #1 ...

, and 1941 Orange Bowl."Bethlehem Bulldogs Sign Up Six More Football Players for Next Fall,"
''Allentown Morning Call,'' April 5, 1946; p. 30.

Professional career

Butler was drafted by 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 ...

in 1942. He would go on to play for both Steelers merged teams ("

Steagles The Steagles, officially known as the Phil-Pitt Combine, was the team created by the temporary merger of Pennsylvania's two National Football League (NFL) teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles, during the 1943 season. The tw ...

" in 1943; "

Card-Pitt Card-Pitt was the team created by the temporary merger of two National Football League (NFL) teams, the Chicago Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers, during the 1944 season. It was the second such merger for the Steelers, who had combined with ...

" in 1944). In 1943 Butler was drafted into the military due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, however he was physically disqualified for duty. He then made his first start with the "Steagles" one day after being ruled 4-F by his draft board for poor eyesight and bad knees. During the 1944 season, Butler was fined $200 by co-coaches

Walt Kiesling Walter Andrew Kiesling (May 27, 1903 – March 2, 1962) was an American professional football guard and coach who spent 36 years in the National Football League (NFL). He was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966 and ...

and

Phil Handler Philip Jacob Handler (July 21, 1908 – December 8, 1968) was an American football player and coach who spent his entire professional career in the city of Chicago. He had a seven-year, 53-game NFL playing career, during which he was named All-P ...

for what they characterized as "indifferent play". He was then put on waivers and was soon claimed by the

Brooklyn Tigers The Brooklyn Dodgers were an American football team that played in the National Football League from 1930 to 1943, and in 1944 as the Brooklyn Tigers. The team played its home games at Ebbets Field of the baseball National League's team, the Br ...

. In 1945, he played his final season in the NFL with 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 ...

. In 1946 Butler signed to play with the Bethlehem Bulldogs of the

, after Bulldogs owner Bob Sell purchased his contract from the Eagles for an undisclosed sum.

Death and legacy

John Butler died in April 1963 at the age of 44. He was elected into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.

Footnotes

Sources

*
Steagles: When the Steelers and Eagles were One in the SameTennessee Sports Hall of FameTennessee Football HistoryJohn Butler's NFL profileJohnny Butler's obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, John 1918 births 1963 deaths Players of American football from Tennessee Tennessee Volunteers football players Brooklyn Tigers players Card-Pitt players Philadelphia Eagles players Steagles players and personnel