Finally, the Hall calls for Butler

[stillers4me]

For years, his peers spoke on his behalf. They told stories of his toughness and listed his accomplishments and detailed his statistics. Today, those voices have been heard. Today, Jack Butler was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Fifty-three years after his career was ended by a horrific knee injury, 48 years after he first became eligible, Jack Butler finally became a member of a group that has been enhanced by his addition. Butler is a part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2012. He had been on the ballot as one of two nominees of the Hall of Fame’s Seniors Committee, which reviews the qualifications of players whose careers took place more than 25 years ago. This is the same path Dick LeBeau took when he was inducted as a member of the Class of 2010.

Butler joins an impressive number of Steelers who have been elected to the Hall of Fame, but he and Ernie Stautner are the only two from that era who played their entire careers in Pittsburgh. The era in question was the 1950s, a time when professional football was not a glamorous business, especially in Pittsburgh..............

read more @ http://www.steelers.com/news/article...4-f7120c51b9bc

[steelerdude15]

Just reading about the things he did on the field, he should have been in the HOF along time ago!

Butler was an undrafted free agent whom the Pittsburgh Steelers brought onto their roster in 1951 out of St. Bonaventure. Butler became 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. In 1957, he led the league in interceptions with ten, four of which came in a game against the Washington Redskins 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. It tied a record. The following year Butler set a record with two interception returns for touchdowns and a career-best 10 interceptions.

Offensively, Butler scored a touchdown and then kicked the point after against the New York Giants. It was late in the game and Butler had caught the 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 rolled into Butler's knee.

Butler never made more than around $12,000 as a player with the Steelers.

Butler was named to four straight Pro Bowls from 1956–1959. He had 52 interceptions during his career and 865 yards.[1]

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. He was named as a senior nominee for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for 2012 and was elected as a member on February 4, 2012.[1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Bu...an_football%29

[Chidi29]

All this and we haven't even begun to mention the fact that while he didn't start BLESTO, basically got it off the ground and ran it for 40 years. He's the main reason, to me at least, why the Draft is as big as it is today.