Kevin Butler (American football)

NFL player
Color=#000060
fontcolor=#f96a0b
Name=Kevin Butler
number=6


ImageWidth=220
Caption=Kevin Butler in 2007
DateOfBirth=birth date and age|1962|7|24
Birthplace=Savannah, Georgia, United States
DateOfDeath=
Position=Kicker
College=Georgia
DraftedYear=1985
DraftedRound=4
DraftedPick=105
Stats=Y
DatabaseFootball=BUTLEKEV01
PFR=butlekev01
Career Highlights=Y
Awards=
Records=Chicago Bears
All-Time Leading Scorer
(1116 points)
Retired #s=
years=1985-1995
1996-1997
teams=Chicago Bears
Arizona Cardinals
ProBowls=
HOF=
CollegeHOF=80038

Kevin Gregory Butler (born July 24, 1962 in Savannah, Georgia) is a former professional American football placekicker who played for the Chicago Bears (1985-1995) and the Arizona Cardinals (1996-1997). Butler continues his affiliation with the university for which he played, the University of Georgia, by co-hosting the Budweiser Fifth Quarter Show on 106.1 WNGC and 960 WRFC in Athens.

College career

Butler attended and played football for the Georgia Bulldogs. Butler placekicked 77 field goals and 122 extra points, a total of 353 points. In his four years (1981-84) Georgia had a 38-8-2 record, was in two Sugar Bowls, one Cotton Bowl, and one Citrus Bowl. His accuracy on attempts 50 yards or longer, 52.4 percent, was an NCAA record. His longest field goal was 60 yards against Clemson in 1984. This kick decided the game for Georgia 26-23. He had other field goals of 59, 53, and 52 yards. He was 122 for 125 on extra points and 77 for 98 on field goals. Butler would go on to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001. With his induction, he became the first and only kicker to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Pro career

In his 11 seasons with the Bears, Butler became the team's all time leading scorer with 1,116 points, easily surpassing the old record of 750 points held by Walter Payton. Butler was also part of the oft-praised 1985 Chicago Bears team who won Super Bowl XX. His nickname during his time with the Bears was "Butthead."

It was said that Butler called his fiancée from training camp in Platteville, Wisconsin, and explained that "we're going to have to change the date of our wedding, because we're going to the Super Bowl and it's on January 26th." [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=kluck/071128&sportCat=nfl ESPN Page 2 - Kluck: '85 Bears vs. '07 Patriots ] ]

Butler finished his 13 NFL seasons with 265 of 361 field goals (73%) and 413 of 426 extra point attempts, giving him 1,208 total points.

References

External links

* [http://www.gshf.org Georgia Sports Hall of Fame]
* [http://www.chicagobears.com/docs/2005_records_individual.pdf Bears record holders]
* [http://databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=BUTLEKEV01 career stats]