RIP, Dave Butz

[Kingspoint]

"In October 1987, Butz famously checked himself out of the hospital to play in the Redskins' game against the New York Jets. Despite having dropped from 313 to 287 pounds due to the illness and feeling dizzy in the second half, Butz made a game-saving sack of Ken O'Brien to stop a Jets' drive late in the game and was awarded the game ball. After the game, he checked himself back into the hospital where he remained until the following Wednesday."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Butz

"He only missed four games in his entire 16-year career. Butz was among the largest players in the NFL when he played standing 6'8" and routinely weighing around 300 pounds."

[Sea Ray]

"In October 1987, Butz famously checked himself out of the hospital to play in the Redskins' game against the New York Jets. Despite having dropped from 313 to 287 pounds due to the illness and feeling dizzy in the second half, Butz made a game-saving sack of Ken O'Brien to stop a Jets' drive late in the game and was awarded the game ball. After the game, he checked himself back into the hospital where he remained until the following Wednesday."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Butz

"He only missed four games in his entire 16-year career. Butz was among the largest players in the NFL when he played standing 6'8" and routinely weighing around 300 pounds."

He was a monster...and a Teddy Bear. Loved him as a nose tackle. Playing 16 yrs in the NFL and being that huge does not lend itself to a long life

[RichRed]

This one hurts because as a Washington sports fan, Butz was one of the icons of my childhood. By the time he retired, he’d been there for 3/4 of my lifetime to that point (14 of 19 years).

John Madden loved him. He always called him Big Dave Butz, almost as if that was his legal name, and what a great name it was for a defensive tackle.

The guy could stop the run, as well as get after the QB, with 64 career sacks. For what it’s worth, Pro Football Reference has Butz as their 24th ranked DT of all time. (There are currently 13 DTs in the HOF.)

RIP Big Dave, you’ll be missed.