William R. Butler (born July 10, 1937) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the Green Bay Packers,

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

, Pittsburgh Steelers and

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

. He also was a member of the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in ...

in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). He played college football at the

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UT-Chattanooga, UTC, or Chattanooga) is a public university in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1886 and is one of four universities and two other affiliated institutions in the ...

Early years

Butler attended Berlin High School. He accepted a football scholarship from the

. In 1988, he was inducted into the UTC Athletics Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Green Bay packers

Butler was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 19th round (217th overall) of the

1959 NFL Draft The 1959 National Football League draft had its first four rounds held on December 1, 1958, and its final twenty-six rounds on January 21, 1959. Both sessions were held at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia. With the first overall pick in the dr ...

. Although he was initially waived in training camp, he was re-signed after the team cut fellow rookie

Tim Brown Timothy, Timmy, or Tim Brown may refer to: Music * Timothy Brown (bassist) (born 1969), bassist for the band The Boo Radleys * Timothy Brown (conductor) (born 1946), English choral conductor * Timothy Brown (hornist), English hornist Sports Gridir ...

. He led the team in kickoff (21 returns - 22.5-yard avg.) and punt returns (18 returns - 9.1 average). He returned a punt for a 61-yard touchdown in a 28-17 loss against the Chicago Bears.

Dallas Cowboys

Butler was selected by the

in the 1960 NFL Expansion Draft and was moved to defense, becoming the first starting free safety in franchise history. He ranked second in the league in punt returns (10.1-yard avg.) and also had 20 kickoff returns with a 19.1-yard average. On December 21, he was traded along with offensive tackle Dick Klein to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for safety Dick Moegle.

Pittsburgh Steelers

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

, he had 3 interceptions, while playing 10 games as a backup safety. On April 7,

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

, he was traded to the

in exchange for a sixth round draft selection, completing a previous transaction.

Minnesota Vikings

, he started 12 games at safety and posted 5 interceptions (second on the team), returning one for a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

. He also led the team in kickoff (26 returns - 22.6-yard avg.) and punt returns (12 returns - 14.1-yard avg.). In

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

, he repeated as the team leader in kickoff (33 returns - 21.6-yard avg.) and punt returns (21 returns - 10.5-yard avg.). In

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

, for the third season in a row, he led the team in kickoff (26 returns - 23-yard avg.) and punt returns (22 returns - 7.1-yard avg.).

Saskatchewan Roughriders

On August 20, 1965, Butler signed with the

of the

(CFL). He was a two-way player and appeared in 12 games. He registered 44 carries for 138 yards (3.1-yard avg.), 16 receptions for 139 yards, one touchdown and 9 kickoff returns for 206 yards (22.9-yard avg.). He announced his retirement the following year.

Coaching career

In 1967, Butler was hired as an assistant football coach at Lakeland College—known now as

Lakeland University Lakeland University is a private university with its main campus in Plymouth, Wisconsin. Lakeland University is affiliated with the United Church of Christ. Lakeland also has seven evening, weekend, and online centers located throughout the st ...

—in

Plymouth, Wisconsin Plymouth is a city in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, along the Mullet River. It is included in the Sheboygan, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is located in the Town of Plymouth, but is politically independent. Plymouth is kno ...

to serve under John Thome, head football coach. Butler lives in

Berlin, Wisconsin Berlin is a city in Green Lake and Waushara counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 5,571 at the 2020 census. Of this, 5,435 were in Green Lake County, and only 89 were in Waushara County. The city is located mostly within t ...

and is the defensive coordinator for the Ripon High School football team and an assistant

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

coach.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Bill 1937 births Living people American football safeties American players of Canadian football Chattanooga Mocs football players Dallas Cowboys players Green Bay Packers players Lakeland Muskies football coaches Minnesota Vikings players Pittsburgh Steelers players Saskatchewan Roughriders players High school football coaches in Wisconsin High school track and field coaches in the United States People from Berlin, Wisconsin Coaches of American football from Wisconsin Players of American football from Wisconsin