Butch Byrd

Last updated

Butch Byrd
No. 42, 24
Position: Cornerback
Personal information
Born: (1941-09-20) September 20, 1941 (age 82)
Watervliet, New York, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:211 lb (96 kg)
Career information
High school: La Salle
(Troy, New York)
College: Boston University
AFL draft: 1964  / Round: 4 / Pick: 25
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Interceptions:40
Interception yards:666
Fumble recoveries:4
Total touchdowns:6
Player stats at NFL.com  ·  PFR

George Edward "Butch" Byrd (born September 20, 1941) is an American former football cornerback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Boston University Terriers and was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round of the 1964 AFL draft.

Contents

Professional career

Byrd was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round, with the 25th overall pick, of the 1964 American Football League draft and immediately made an impact in the defensive backfield, with seven interceptions. Such was his impact as a quick athlete that Lance Alworth (star flanker of the San Diego Chargers) stated his preference to go up against Byrd when it came to pass plays despite the Chargers trying to dissuade him, with Alworth stating: "I want to play against the best". Byrd sometimes also played as a punt returner, scoring a punt retur touchdown in 1966. He was a five-time AFL All-Star and he was selected for the AFL All-Time Second-team. When he retired in 1971, he was one of thirty players with 40 interceptions (which resulted in him being tied for 15th); in the half-century since he retired, over thirty more players have joined him. [1]

Franchise records

Byrd holds the Bills career records for interceptions with 40, interception return yards with 666 and interceptions returned for touchdowns with 5.

After football

After his career ended, he worked in management for the Chrysler Corporation and Polaroid, working 22 years with the latter company.[ citation needed ]

Honors

Byrd was inducted into the Boston University Hall of Fame, the LaSalle Institute Athletic Hall of Fame and the Albany Capital District Hall of Fame, all in 1980. He also was named to the All-Time Buffalo Bills Silver Anniversary Team in 1984, and in 2008 was selected to the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. He was awarded the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Distinguished Service Award in 1994. [2] [3] Despite his records, he has not been named a member of the Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame nor the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which has received notice from columnists in the Buffalo media. [4] [5] [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

David Michael Stratton was an American professional football player who was a linebacker for 12 seasons in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He won two AFL championships with the Buffalo Bills, where he was a six-time AFL All-Star. He was named to the AFL All-Time Second Team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Maguire</span> American football player and sportscaster (born 1938)

Paul Leo Maguire is an American former professional football player and television sportscaster. He played as a punter and linebacker in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL).

John Willard Hadl was an American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 16 years. He won an AFL championship with the San Diego Chargers in 1963. Hadl was named an AFL All-Star four times and was selected to two Pro Bowls. He was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame.

Keith Payson Lincoln was an American professional football halfback who played for eight seasons in the American Football League (AFL), primarily with the San Diego Chargers. He played college football for the Washington State Cougars. Lincoln was a two-time All-AFL selection and a five-time AFL All-Star. A member of the Chargers Hall of Fame, he won an AFL championship with the Chargers in 1963, when he was named the most valuable player (MVP) of the championship game. He had a stint with the Buffalo Bills before returning to San Diego and finishing his career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lance Alworth</span> American football player (born 1940)

Lance Dwight Alworth, nicknamed "Bambi", is an American former professional football wide receiver who played for the San Diego Chargers of the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL) and Dallas Cowboys of the NFL. Often considered one of the greatest wide receivers of all time, he played for 11 seasons, from 1962 through 1972, and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1978. He was the first player inducted whose playing career was principally in the AFL. Alworth is also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. His teammates called him Bambi because he had a baby face and could run like a deer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Blanda</span> American football player (1927–2010)

George Frederick Blanda was an American football quarterback and placekicker who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). Blanda played 26 seasons of professional football, the most in the sport's history, and had scored more points than anyone in history at the time of his retirement.

Booker Tyrone Edgerson is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Western Illinois Leathernecks. He became a cornerstone of the AFL's Buffalo Bills' defense in the mid-1960s, at left cornerback.

For its first nine seasons, 1960 through 1968, the American Football League determined its champion via a single playoff game between the winners of its two divisions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tobin Rote</span> American football player (1928–2000)

Tobin Cornelius Rote was an American professional football player who was a quarterback for the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL), the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos of the American Football League (AFL). He played college football for the Rice Owls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Tripucka</span> American gridiron football player (1927–2013)

Francis Joseph Tripucka was an American football quarterback who played professionally for 15 seasons. He spent four seasons in the National Football League (NFL), eight in the Canadian Football League (CFL), and four in American Football League (AFL). Tripucka achieved his greatest success as the inaugural quarterback for the AFL's Denver Broncos, who he was a member of from 1960 to 1963. During Denver's inaugural year, Tripucka became the first NFL / AFL quarterback to throw for 3,000 yards in a season. He received All-Star honors when leading the league in yards in 1962. He was inducted to the Broncos Ring of Fame in 1986. Tripucka has the lowest career Passer Rating in NFL history, minimum 1500 passing attempts, with a career rating of 52.2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drayton Florence</span> American football player (born 1980)

Drayton Florence, Jr. is a former American football cornerback who played eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Tennessee-Chattanooga and Tuskegee.

The 1962 NFL draft was held on December 4, 1961 at the Sheraton Hotel in Chicago, Illinois.

Thomas Alvin Janik was an American football defensive back and punter.

Rodrick Hill is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the Kentucky State Thorobreds. Hill played in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, and Los Angeles Raiders. After his NFL career, he played five seasons in the CFL with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and still holds the career interception record for that franchise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1966 San Diego Chargers season</span> NFL team season

The 1966 Season was the 7th season for the San Diego Chargers as a professional American Football League (AFL) franchise; the team failed to improve on their 9–2–3 record from 1965. In the team's final season at Balboa Stadium, the Chargers went 7–6–1 and finished in third place in the AFL West Division. They would move to San Diego Stadium for the following season. It was the first season to feature an AFL-NFL World Championship Game, now known as the Super Bowl. San Diego began the season among the favorites to represent the AFL in the historic game, but faded after a 4–0 start, winning only three more times in the remaining ten games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1965 San Diego Chargers season</span> NFL team season

The 1965 San Diego Chargers season was their sixth as a professional AFL franchise; the team improved on their 8–5–1 record in 1964. Head Coach Sid Gillman led the Chargers to their fifth AFL West title with a 9–2–3 record, before losing the AFL Championship Game to the Buffalo Bills for the second consecutive season. It would prove to be the Chargers' last post-season appearance until 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1964 San Diego Chargers season</span> American Football League team season

The 1964 San Diego Chargers season was their fifth as a professional AFL franchise; the team failed to repeat as AFL champions after winning the championship in 1963 with a record of 11–3, and finished at 8–5–1. San Diego struggled at the start and finish of the season, but a six-game winning streak in the middle proved to be enough to win the AFL West, in a league where the two strongest teams were in the Eastern division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1963 San Diego Chargers season</span> 4th season in franchise history; first and only league championship win

The 1963 San Diego Chargers season was the team's fourth in the American Football League. The team had gone 4–10 in 1962 but rebounded with an 11–3 record, winning the AFL West by one game over the Oakland Raiders, who were coached by former Chargers assistant Al Davis. San Diego scored the most points in the league and conceded the fewest. Their offense, led by veteran quarterback Tobin Rote, and featuring future Hall of Fame receiver Lance Alworth, gained more yards than any other team; Rote and Alworth were each named the league MVP, by the Associated Press and UPI, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1962 San Diego Chargers season</span> NFL team season

The 1962 San Diego Chargers season was the club's third in the American Football League. San Diego had won the AFL West with a 12–2 record in 1961, but slipped to 4–10, losing eight of their final nine games after a 3–2 start. It was their worst record to date; this would be the only time the Chargers would endure a losing season during their 10 years in the AFL.

Hagood Clarke, III is an American former college and professional football player who was a defensive back in the American Football League (AFL) for five seasons during the 1960s. Clarke played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Buffalo Bills of the AFL.

References

  1. ↑ "NFL Career Interceptions Leaders Through 1971". Pro-Football-Reference.com .
  2. ↑ "Byrd Bags Service Award Wilson Honor Will Go to Former Cornerback". October 20, 1994.
  3. ↑ "George "Butch" Byrd – Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame". July 25, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Sean Kirst: From Watervliet, a passionate bid to lift Butch Byrd onto Bills Wall of Fame". October 2022.
  5. ↑ "Butch Byrd deserves to be on Bills Wall of Fame". July 2022.
  6. ↑ "Why it's time for Bills to add interceptions leader Butch Byrd to their Wall of Fame".


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.