Bears to honor Dick Butkus with No. 51 jersey patches, Soldier Field memorials
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Chicago Bears will honor the late Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus by wearing patch with his No. 51 on their jerseys for the rest of this season.
Butkus, 80, died last week at his home in Malibu, California.
As part of a tribute to the Bears icon at Soldier Field on Sunday, in addition to players wearing the honorary patches on their jerseys, the team also will have his retired No. 51 jersey on display on the field, and will air interviews with Butkus on video screens at the stadium. Fans can record their own tributes to Butkus at chicagobears.com.
For 51 💙 pic.twitter.com/6uTlcLi1gf
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) October 13, 2023
A Butkus memorial also will be on display in the south courtyard at Soldier Field near Gate 1, featuring his Pro Football Hall of Fame bust. Visitors can get a free Butkus commemorative button while supplies last.
A locker room-themed display for Butkus also will be available at Gate 7, while Butkus memorial signs will be posted in several locations, and his No. 51 will be painted on the grass at Soldier Field for the game against the Vikings.
Tributes to Butkus will be shown on the stadium's video screens during the game.
"Dick was the ultimate Bear, and one of the greatest players in NFL history. He was Chicago's son. He exude what our great city is about and, not coincidentally, what George Halas looked for in a player: toughness, smarts, instincts, passion and leadership," Bears chairman George McCaskey said in a statement. "He refused to accept anything less than the best from himself, or from his teammates."
Butkus played for the Bears from 1965 until 1973 and was an iconic representative of the team for generations. Known as the "Maestro of Mayhem," Butkus was Chicago through-and-through, starring on and off the field.
Butkus became a star football player at Chicago Vocational High School, and at the University of Illinois – where he enrolled in 1961. By his junior year in 1963, he had already made 145 tackles and forced 10 fumbles, his website said.
He led the Fighting Illini to the Big Ten Championship that year – and they finished the season ranked third in the nation, his website said. The Illini beat Washington 17-7 in the Rose Bowl that year.
Butkus was unanimously named All-American in 1964 – playing both sides of the ball a center on offense and a linebacker on defense, his website said. He later had his University of Illinois jersey, No. 50, retired – and is only one of two players to have received such an honor there, his website said.
His impact was so great that the Dick Butkus Award is now annually given to the top college linebacker in the country. The award was established in 1979.
Butkus was drafted into the NFL by the Bears in 1965 – wearing jersey No. 51. He had 11 solo tackles in his first game.
Butkus was a top contender for NFL Rookie of the Year that year, but was edged out by his Bears teammate and fellow first-round draft pick Gale Sayers, who died in 2020.