George Edward "Butch" Byrd (born September 20, 1941) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive back in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Boston University Terriers. He joined the Buffalo Bills in 1964 and immediately made an impact in the defensive backfield, with seven interceptions. Such was his impact as a quick athlete that Lance Alworth (star receiver of the San Diego Chargers) stated his preference to go up against Byrd when it came to pass plays despite the Chargers trying to dissuade him, with Alworth stating that "I want to play against the best." Byrd was also a punt returner for his entire career.
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| Position: | Cornerback, safety | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | September 20, 1941 Watervliet, New York, U.S. | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 211 lb (96 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| College: | Boston University | ||||||
| AFL draft: | 1964 / Round: 4 / Pick: 25 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||
Byrd holds the Bills' career records for interceptions (40), interception return yards (666) and interceptions returned for touchdowns (5). He was a five-time AFL All-Star, and he was selected for the second-team AFL All-Time Team. Having played 98 games for his 40 interceptions, he averaged an interception every 0.41 games.
After his career ended, he worked in management for the Chrysler Corporation and Polaroid, working 22 years with the latter company.
Byrd is a 1980 inductee of the Boston University Hall of Fame, LaSalle Institute Athletic Hall of Fame, Albany Capital District Hall of Fame, named to the All-Time Buffalo Bills Silver Anniversary Team in 1984, and in 2008 was selected to the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. He was awarded the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Distinguished Service Award in 1994.[1][2] When he retired in 1971, he was one of thirty players with 40 interceptions (which resulted in him being tied for 15th); in the half-century since he retired, over thirty more players have joined him.[3] Despite his records, he has not been named a member of the Bills Wall of Fame nor the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which has received notice from columnists in the Buffalo media.[4][5][6]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ https://buffalonews.com/news/byrd-bags-service-award-wilson-honor-will-go-to-former-cornerback/article_79351763-5d1b-5284-8aa4-75b4346ba05f.html
- ^ "George "Butch" Byrd – Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame". Retrieved March 2, 2021.
- ^ "NFL Career Interceptions Leaders Through 1971". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ https://buffalonews.com/opinion/columnists/sean-kirst-from-watervliet-a-passionate-bid-to-lift-butch-byrd-onto-bills-wall-of/article_79ef04dc-4185-11ed-a6da-bf9c4a7da025.html#tracking-source=in-article
- ^ https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2022/7/1/23186687/buffalo-bills-butch-byrd-deserves-to-be-on-bills-wall-of-fame-pro-football-hall-of-fame
- ^ https://theathletic.com/3400741/2022/07/11/bills-wall-of-fame-butch-byrd-omission/
External links edit
- Byrd's citation on the Boston University Hall of Fame site
- Buffalo News story on Byrd's induction to the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame
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