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Butkus: Flesh and Blood | 
 enlarge | Author: Dick Butkus
Creator: Pat Smith
Publisher: Doubleday
Category: Book
List Price: $22.95
Buy Used: $3.87
You Save: $19.08 (83%)
New (2) Used (27) Collectible (9) from $3.87
Avg. Customer Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 469090
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.8 x 6.5 x 1.3
ISBN: 0385486480
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.332092
EAN: 9780385486484
ASIN: 0385486480
Publication Date: October 13, 1997
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: pages are clean./some library marks.;
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Amazon.com
Like his no-nonsense tenure as one of the dominating linebackers in NFL history, Dick Butkus's no-nonsense autobiography covers plenty of ground, offers no excuses, scares the hell out of you (you will never look at your knees--or your doctors--in quite the same way again), and, in the end, entertains with his candor and verve. Butkus has axes to grind, and he grinds them wonderfully, but he also is capable of examining his own behavior. What emerges is a portrait of an athlete willing to explore--roots, warts, and all--the aggression and rage he rode to glory on the field, and the challenges he faced trying to harness those same emotions off the field.
Product Description
From 1965 to 1973 Dick Butkus was the most revered player in professional football. Although he never played for a championship team, and one can't say he set all kinds of records, no other defender in the entire history of the NFL has so electrified the game. The stories about Butkus are legendary. They make him sound so intense, so ferocious, and for the most part they are frighteningly true. Yet underneath the layers of mythology resides a man who is as thoughtful and emotional as he is intense.
In Butkus, Dick Butkus tells his entire life story, from growing up and getting into trouble in Chicago, to his uncomfortable yet glorious years at the University of Illinois. He reveals what it felt like to be the ninth child of two hardworking Lithuanian parents--one of whom was born in a Illinois coal mine, the other never fully learned to speak English--and the camaraderie and contentment he experienced while playing football. He recounts the historic nine seasons with the Chicago Bears where he played with and against such immortals as Gale Sayers, Jim Brown, Brian Piccolo, Mike Ditka, and Joe Greene.
Dick Butkus looks deeply into his own psyche to find the source of his passionate style of play--a style that has often been described as violence and intimidation on the football field. With honesty and emotion, he recounts his battles with George "Papa Bear" Halas, the NFL, and the media.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
 The Best Middle Linebacker In His Own Words. July 21, 2008
"Flesh and Blood" is Dick Butkus' autobiography from birth to 1997.
He begins by telling about his family and some of the mischief he perpetrated as a youth. He tells of his early love for the game of football and an older brother that pursued a career as a player.
He writes with a lot of admiration about fellow Bears rookie Gale Sayers and his appreciation for the talents of the great running backs. He also explains his respect for George Allen and his disappointment when George Halas let Allen leave the Bears' staff as a defensive coordinator. Allen had a big impact on the rookie Linebacker and he maintained a friendship after that. George Allen even contemplated a trade for Butkus shortly before the Linebacker retired.
Dick Butkus elaborates on the adjustments to college football and academics. He didn't get to play as a freshman for the Illini and schoolwork was more challenging.
He tackles some of the false legends regarding his actions on the field.
"Flesh and Blood" gives you a look at the NFL of old from a player's point of view. Like other hall-of-famers of his period, he loved the game and often-times unselfishly played when he shouldn't have.
He sued the Bears to get paid after he had to retire because of his knee injuries. The knee surgeries before the 1971 season were brutal and you have to wonder if they weren't more damaging than helpful.
Dick Butkus covers his post-football life at the end of the book. While he played like a monster, he shows a human side as a husband and father.
There may never be another Middle LineBacker that intimidates opponents and disrupts a game the way that # 51 did during his short career. This is his story and I enjoyed reading it.
 Butkus is #1 November 10, 2005
1 out of 7 found this review helpful
My first word as a child was: Butkus. There was a football game on TV at the hospital where I was born. The Bears were playing the Lions. Butkus had five sacks and an interception. I like cookies and milk.
Butkus Rules October 26, 2005
1 out of 7 found this review helpful
This book is the best book I ever read. Dick Butkus is the greatest human being who ever bit of a refs ear. I would recommend anyone thinking of becoming a serial killer read this book. I like cookies and , milk.
 Dissapointing October 10, 2005
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
A very comprehensive study of each and every season Butkus played with the Bears. But I was hoping for much more about Butkus's life off the football field. I would have liked to have heard more anecdotes about players he played with and against. Also would have been interesting to hear personal insights from Dick regarding what he felt about the awe-like reputation he inspired on the field from fans and players alike.
This reads too much as a season-by-season and game-by-game account of his career. Interesting at first but repetitive and dry over time. I was hoping for more.
Great Read about the greatest Football player ever.. June 9, 2003
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I loved it!But then again I am a huge Bears fan and a huge Butkus fan,good ol 51 played the game like nobody ever did and I enjoyed reading about how he grewup and about the Bears on and off the field and its mangement,I always thought Bears mangement has always been skummy and this book proved me right,I loved this book though as it was great to hear stories about the players and how they spent there time and about picciolo and sayers etc,
I met Butkus about 4months ago and he looks great and seams to be doing well.
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