Leonard Bernard "Butch / Len" Levy (February 19, 1921 – February 9, 1999) was an American professional athlete. The 1941

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

heavyweight wrestling champion and 1942 AAU champion, he was selected by the

Cleveland Rams The Cleveland Rams were a professional American football team that played in Cleveland from 1936 to 1945. The Rams competed in the second American Football League (AFL) for the 1936 season and the National Football League (NFL) from 1937 to 194 ...

of 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) in the fourth round of the

1942 NFL Draft The 1942 National Football League Draft was held on December 22, 1941, at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago. Two members of the draft class have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Bill Dudley, the first overall selection by the Pit ...

. He instead enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and played for one of that branch's organized military service teams, the Great Lakes Bluejackets. Following his discharge from the Navy, Levy played two seasons for the NFL's Rams, winning the NFL Championship in 1945. He then played for the

Los Angeles Dons The Los Angeles Dons were an American football team in the newly formed football league the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) from 1946 to 1949, and played their home games in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Dons were the first profes ...

of the

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...

(AAFC) from 1947 to 1948, earning First-team All-AAFC honors in the latter year — his final season of professional football. Following his football career, Levy was a

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

in the

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...

(AWA).

Early years

Levy was born to Abraham Levy and Rose Shapiro on February 19, 1921, in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. Butch's grandparents were

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

immigrants from

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. Levy attended West High School in Minneapolis, where he won a total of twelve

letters Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...

in wrestling, football, baseball and hockey. He was the 1937 and 1938 Minnesota high school and Northwest AAU heavyweight wrestling champion.

College career

Levy played for the

Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 25 (12 men's, 13 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and competes in the Big Te ...

from 1939 to 1941. The Gophers won the national championship in 1940 and 1941, finishing with an 8–0 record both seasons while Levy earned All-American honors both years. He garnered AP All- Western Conference first-team recognition his senior year in 1941. He was named to the

Chicago College All-Star Game The Chicago Charities College All-Star Game was a preseason American football game played from 1934 to 1976 between the National Football League (NFL) champions and a team of star college seniors from the previous year. It was also known as the C ...

in 1942. Levy participated in collegiate wrestling, winning the

heavyweight championship in 1941, becoming the first Golden Gopher to do so and also earned All-American honors the same year. He suffered a broken foot midway through the 1941–42 season, causing him to miss the rest of the year. He won the AAU heavyweight championship in wrestling in 1942. Levy also lettered in baseball for the Golden Gophers in 1942. He graduated with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

. He was inducted into the University of Minnesota's "M" Club Hall of Fame in 1994.

Professional football career

Levy was selected by the

of the NFL with the 27th pick in the

. He then spent three years in the

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Initially disallowed from joining the military due to poor eyesight, he was allowed entry after agreeing to play football for the Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets, one of the organized military service football teams. Levy, who played

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

, was regarded as a large lineman by the standards of his era, standing 6'0" and weighing 260 pounds.Associated Press
"LA Rams Contract Heavyweight Guard,"
''Klamath Falls Herald and News,'' whole no. 10,773 (March 20, 1946), pg. 7. He played in seven games for the Rams during the 1945 season. The Rams won the

NFL Championship Throughout its history, the National Football League (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national c ...

against the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

on December 16, 1945. When the Rams moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 1946, Levy followed, signing a one-year contract in March 1946 and appearing in ten games for the team in 1946. He then played in 25 games for the

of the

(AAFC) from 1947 to 1948, earning All-AAFC first-team honors in his final year. He retired from professional football at the end of the 1948 season.

Professional wrestling career

Levy became a professional wrestler after his football career. He participated in the NWA Minneapolis Boxing & Wrestling Club / American Wrestling Association, wrestling under the ring name of "Butch Levy". He was a two-time

NWA World Tag Team champion The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed member promotions to create their own territorial version of the "NWA Worl ...

, first with

Verne Gagne Laverne Clarence Gagne (February 26, 1926 – April 27, 2015) was an American amateur and professional wrestler, football player, wrestling trainer, and wrestling promoter. He was the owner and promoter of the Minneapolis-based American Wrestling ...

and later with

Leo Nomellini Leo Joseph Nomellini (June 19, 1924 – October 17, 2000) was an Italian-American Hall of Fame American football offensive and defensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers and professional wrestler. He played college football for Minnesota and wa ...

, both of whom also played for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Levy met

amateur wrestler Amateur wrestling is a variant of wrestling practiced in collegiate, school, or other amateur level competitions. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games: freestyle and Greco-Roman. Both styles are under the ...

Pat O'Connor from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

during a wrestling tour in Pat's home country in 1950. Levy then trained him to be a professional wrestler. O'Connor later won the

AWA World Heavyweight Championship The AWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and the highest ranked championship in the defunct American Wrestling Association (AWA). All AWA trademarks, including the AWA World Heavyweight C ...

and

NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus, who is in ...

Personal life

Levy married Loretta "Lucky" Bellson in January 1944 and they had three children. Lucky died in 1997. Len was

and was active in the Jewish community. He worked in his father's plumbing business before selling it in the late 1960s and becoming an insurance agent for

Bankers Life Bankers Life is the primary subsidiary of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (itself formerly Conseco, Inc until 2010). The company was established in 1879 in Chicago, Illinois. CNO is a Fortune 1000 company (rank of 548 in 2015) whose subsidiaries provide ...

. Levy became a stockbroker in the 1970s and later worked for

Piper Jaffray Piper Sandler Companies is an American independent investment bank and financial services company, focused on mergers and acquisitions, financial restructuring, public offerings, public finance, institutional brokerage, investment management a ...

. He was also a securities salesman. He suffered a

brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...

in 1991. Levy's son Rand said Butch was "supposed to die" but "people were just astounded to see him a year later on the golf course." Levy died of cancer on February 9, 1999, at his home in Minneapolis.

References

External links

Just Sports StatsCagematch profilewrestlingdata.com profile
* *Finding aid to th
Leonard (Butch) Levy papers
at th
Upper Midwest Jewish Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, Len 1921 births 1999 deaths American football guards Minnesota Golden Gophers football players Minnesota Golden Gophers baseball players Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football players Cleveland Rams players Los Angeles Rams players Los Angeles Dons players American male sport wrestlers American male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Minneapolis Jewish American sportspeople Jewish American baseball people American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent Jewish American military personnel United States Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century American businesspeople American businesspeople in insurance American stockbrokers Businesspeople from Minnesota Players of American football from Minneapolis Baseball players from Minneapolis Sportspeople from Minneapolis Deaths from cancer in Minnesota Jewish professional wrestlers 20th-century American Jews

Early years

College career

Professional football career

Professional wrestling career

Personal life

See also

References

External links