Green Bay Packers safety LeRoy Butler was named to the NFL's Pro Football Hall of Fame Thursday.
As a child, LeRoy Butler didn’t dream about the NFL. He just hoped to walk, live a normal life and be like the other kids.
Turns out, Butler was nothing like the other kids.
Butler was the ultimate overachiever, someone who defeated every challenge ever placed in front of him. His fire, passion and zeal helped him become one of the greatest Green Bay Packers of all-time and arguably the NFL’s top safety of the 1990s.
And Thursday night, Butler finally got his due.
Butler was one of five players named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2022. He was joined by San Francisco defensive lineman Bryant Young, Jacksonville offensive tackle Tony Boselli, New England defensive lineman Richard Seymour and New Orleans linebacker Sam Mills.
The Packers now have 28 individuals in the Hall of Fame, trailing only Chicago (30). Butler joined Brett Favre and Reggie White as members of Green Bay’s great 1990s teams that have now been inducted to the Hall.
“Getting in would mean so much,” Butler said in an interview last month. “To be recognized with the all-time greats and to be put into a class with some of those guys, it’s hard to find the words to describe just how much that would mean.”
Butler was the first player in NFL history to record 20 interceptions and 20 sacks in a career. He was also the last member of the NFL's 1990s All-Decade Team that had yet to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
During a remarkable 12-year career, Butler posted 38 interceptions and 20½ sacks in 181 regular-season games. He also made four All-Pro teams and was named to four Pro Bowls in that time.
“The guy could do everything,” former Packers general manager Ron Wolf said of Butler. “He could cover, he could tackle, he could get after quarterbacks and he had good hands.
“And then he was a terrific leader — a vocal leader. He did things that safeties before him simply couldn’t do.”
The fact Butler did any of those things remains one of the most remarkable stories in NFL history.
When Butler was born, the bones in his feet were extremely weak, creating a misalignment, which allowed him to walk only short distances and prevented him from running. For much of Butler’s early childhood, his feet were in braces or casts and there were periods he was confined to a wheelchair.
In addition, he grew up the fourth of five children in a single parent home in the Jacksonville projects. The odds of him escaping that life and reaching the NFL — much less the Hall of Fame — were akin to finding a four-leaf clover and bowling a perfect game on the same day.
“I had those Forrest Gump braces and was sitting around in a wheel chair,” Butler said of his childhood. “And you’re in the inner city, single parent home and you just figure you’re going to be stuck there the rest of your life.
“But I remember my Mom (Eunice) asking me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I’ll never forget it. I was 8 years old and I told her I wanted to play professional football.
“I’m telling you, I always knew I’d play football. I kept telling the Lord, ‘If you get me out of these braces or you make me fast enough, I’m going to play pro football.’ That’s all I wanted to do.
“You hear stories all the time of people sleeping with footballs. I didn’t even have a football. I just knew what I wanted to be. I was so focused on it and I concentrated on it.”
Amazingly, Butler’s dream came true.
Butler was out of his wheelchair and didn't need his leg braces by time he was nine. And when Butler hit junior high school, it was clear his skill set was unique.
“Just like the movie Forrest Gump with Tom Hanks, I could outrun everybody,” Butler said. “That was me. I could just run, run, run.”
Butler starred at Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville, where he was an All-American for legendary coach Corky Rodgers. Butler attended Florida State, where he was a consensus first-team All-American in 1989 after he notched eight interceptions.
Green Bay selected Butler in the second round in the 1990 draft (No. 48 overall) and he spent his first two seasons playing cornerback. But when Mike Holmgren’s coaching staff arrived in 1992, they moved Butler to safety and his career took off.
“(Defensive coordinator) Ray Rhodes was the one who convinced me,” Butler said of making the switch. “He called me up and he said, ‘We’re going to take (Terrell) Buckley with the fifth pick (in the 1992 draft) and we’re going to move you to safety.’ And I said, ‘Ray, I’m only 191 pounds. I can’t play safety. I’m going to get killed.’
“He said, ‘No, no, no. I’ve got this thing about moving guys. You’re one of my best cover guys.’ I mean, Ray Rhodes saved my life. I had so much fun at safety. He convinced me you don’t have to be really big.
“I remember Ray Rhodes saying, ‘I’m not going to get these third and fourth corners. I’m going to put you up there. You’re my best guy. You’re a Pro Bowler.’ ”
He sure was.
There wasn’t anything Butler couldn’t do on a football field. He was a terrific tackler. He could take tight ends out of a game. He could cover wideouts in the slot. He could blitz quarterbacks. He was a ballhawk. And he was the verbal and emotional leader of Green Bay’s defense.
Butler’s finest year may have come in 1996, when the Packers won Super Bowl XXXI. That season he finished second on the team in sacks (6.5), had five interceptions and spearheaded the NFL’s No. 1 ranked defense.
“That’s one of the best years I’ve ever seen a safety have,” Wolf said. “He’s one of the best football players I’ve ever been around.”
Butler played in more games than any defensive back in Green Bay history (181). He also originated the ‘Lambeau Leap’, which remains a staple of Packer football today.
During a 1993 game against the Los Angeles Raiders, quarterback Vince Evans threw a screen pass to running back Ricky Jordan. Butler tackled Jordan, stripped the ball loose and it bounced to defensive end Reggie White at the Raiders’ 34-yard line.
White rumbled to the 25, and just before he was about to be tackled, pitched the ball back to Butler. Butler raced the final 25 yards to the endzone, then jumped into the crowd for what became the first-ever Lambeau Leap.
“When I caught it I thought, ‘Oh, this is sweet’ and I thought I want to do something that was pretty cool,” Butler said. “And as I was going down there, I saw this guy with this fluorescent orange on. It was deer season, although it always seems like it’s deer season in Wisconsin. And I just remember him having something in his hand and I later learned it was a beer. He had to make a decision to catch me or keep his beer.
“Now, I was catching everybody off guard. They didn’t know what I was going to do. Normally when a guy scores, he goes to the referee, gives him the ball. You never interact with the fans. But me, it was like, I’m going to jump. So when I threw the ball down and ran over to the fans, they didn’t know what I was doing. They probably thought I was going to high-five them.
“And as I got closer, something said, ‘Jump! Jump!’ And as I jumped, I remember that guy having to make a decision and he threw that beer. And as I jumped into his arms, I remember him yelling in my ear, ‘You owe me a beer.’ ”
Butler’s career ended in 2001 when he suffered a broken shoulder blade against Atlanta. Still, his 12-year career is the 10th-longest tenure by a player in team history. In that time, Butler played in two Super Bowls, re-defined the role of safety, and became one of the Packers’ all-time fan favorites.
“My game was always positive and about being a leader,” Butler said. “And people always associated me with trying to win, thanking the fans for spending their hard-earned money to come and see us play, the Lambeau Leap. Stuff like that. All that’s real positive nice stuff and people like that.
“My time in Green Bay was terrific. I played with some great players, made some great friends and we won a lot of games. That’s tough to top.”
On Thursday night, though, Butler did just that.
And the perfect ending to his remarkable story was written.
