Steelers Hall of Famer Cornerback Jack Butler Dies at 85

Jack Butler of the Pittsburgh Steelers died yesterday morning after a long battle with a staph infection, his son John Butler announced. The NFL Hall of Famer was 85 years old.

John Butler said his father’s heart suddenly stopped beating on Saturday morning, "It had been a long road. It wasn't completely out of the blue." The former cornerback spent the last few months in the hospital. The staph infection had trouble Butler since 1959 at the end of his career. Butler’s style was the precursor to Pittsburgh’s "Steel Curtain" defense that has propelled the team for most of the last 40 years.

Butler was a 6-foot-1, 200 pound Pittsburgh native who was playing wide receiver at St. Bonaventure in 1951 when he got the call from Fran Fogarty, the Steelers’ business manager. Butler first thought Fogarty called the wrong number. He said "I didn't know anything about professional football." Butler revolutionized how cornerbacks played at the time Butler said. As one of the National Football League’s top defensive backs, Butler intercepted 52 passes during his nine-year career. He hit a league high in 1957. Butler was chosen first-team All-NFL three times and made the Pro Bowl four times. His career was brought to an end in 1959 after a collision with Philadelphia Eagles tight end Pete Retzlaff that resulted in a major knee injury.

In July, 2012, Butler recalled the incident, “He caught the ball and I was coming over to hit him, to tackle him and before I got to him, he tripped or caught his foot or something. As he was going down, his shoulder hit my (left) knee." Butler said that he was going to have to think of a new career move the second he saw the smashed joint, which looked like it was at a 90-degree angle with the rest of his leg. He remembered "It was just sticking out. I knew I was in a lot of trouble." Butler had 10 surgeries but ultimate had to have both of his knees replaced. There was no such thing as arthroscopic knee surgery at the time.

After he retired, Butler became a scout for the Steelers for more than 40 years. His eye for field talent helped Pittsburgh win four Super Bowls in six year, from 1969 to 1974. Among the players he signed were Terry Bradshaw and Joe Green, who both got into the Hall of Fame before Butler did.

Steelers chairman Dan Rooney said "He was an excellent person both on and off the field, and he played an integral role in the BLESTO scouting program and our entire draft process before his retirement. His family was very close to the entire Rooney family, and he will be missed."

Butler said "I must've been given some talents. Whatever talents I had, I worked like hell to improve what I had."

Butler was inducted into the Hall of Fame last summer after being elected by the senior committee. Butler ranked second in NFL history in career interceptions when he retired. He is tied with Champ Baily at a rank of 26 all-time interceptions.

by Tony Sokol