Former Washington two-way back Ron Medved reminisced about the great Dick Butkus.
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00:00 - All right, Ron, well, tell me what you thought
00:02 when you saw the death of Dick Butkus this week,
00:05 someone you played against for the Huskies and in the pros.
00:08 - Yeah, I was quite surprised.
00:11 I mean, I saw a picture of him,
00:13 I wanna say one or two weeks ago.
00:16 He looked healthy, he looked happy,
00:19 and I felt good about seeing that photograph.
00:23 And then I get the news yesterday that he had passed away.
00:27 So it was quite a surprise.
00:29 - Yeah, well, let me just take you back to January 1st, 1964
00:34 and you played against Dick Butkus in Illinois
00:38 in the Rose Bowl.
00:40 What was the idea going in?
00:42 I'm sure he was a prominent part of the scouting report
00:44 and what happened on the football field with him?
00:47 - Well, you're right.
00:49 I mean, when we were preparing for that Rose Bowl,
00:51 I mean, a lot of it was preparing for Dick Butkus
00:54 'cause he had a pretty dominant year for Illinois.
01:00 And I remember there was a lot of blocking schemes
01:05 that were designed just for him.
01:08 I mean, for example, you'd have one person block him
01:11 and then a second person would come in to double team
01:13 and then someone would actually triple team him.
01:16 I mean, they figured that they would,
01:20 we figured that it was gonna take that
01:23 to slow him down and to stop him.
01:25 - What kind of game did he have against you guys
01:28 in the 17 to seven Illinois win?
01:30 - Well, that's a good question.
01:32 As you remember about that game,
01:34 I mean, we started out fine and we scored first
01:38 and we were moving the ball.
01:40 So, I mean, I was preoccupied with playing my own position,
01:45 but then as the game disintegrated on us
01:49 and all the Bill Douglas's injury
01:52 and then turnover started getting to us,
01:55 I mean, I'm not even sure how Butkus played
02:00 and I never saw a film of the game.
02:03 But anyway, Illinois themselves became more dominant
02:10 as the game went on and they beat us 17 to seven.
02:17 And we were probably lucky to get away with that
02:20 the way we played.
02:23 - Do you remember in your pro or a Rose Bowl career,
02:28 do you ever remember running into hitting him
02:30 or being hit by him in some way
02:31 or having a conversation or anything?
02:33 - No, 'cause at the NFL level,
02:37 I mean, he played defense for Chicago,
02:39 I played defense for Philadelphia.
02:42 So it's not like we met on the field,
02:44 but he was so popular and so prominent as a player,
02:49 even among players.
02:52 I mean, back in those days,
02:55 several of us were buddies with Steve Sable,
02:58 who was the president of NFL Films,
03:01 which was based in Philadelphia.
03:02 And so we were all the same age
03:05 and we'd actually get together
03:07 and Steve would show us a highlight film of Butkus,
03:12 how he was playing.
03:13 And we all found that to be very entertaining
03:17 'cause he was not only the best,
03:19 but he was a regular intimidator.
03:24 - Yeah, wow.
03:26 Did you ever meet him, ever talk to him anywhere?
03:28 - Not that I recall,
03:31 but he just, whether it was college or pro,
03:36 I mean, he always had a presence.
03:41 And we went to,
03:45 they had social functions at the Rose Bowl, for example.
03:47 So I'm sure I was there in the same room with him
03:50 and we were doing the same activities,
03:53 but I don't remember having a conversation with him.
03:58 - Yeah, and everybody talks about him
04:01 being one of the greatest linebackers ever.
04:03 What would you say, just with your knowledge,
04:06 that made him one of the greatest linebackers ever?
04:09 - Well, he was intimidating, for one thing.
04:16 I think offenses that went up against him,
04:20 I mean, he kind of controlled the middle of the field
04:24 and playing middle linebacker.
04:27 I mean, he had very good technique
04:32 and he was also strong and kind of bullying in a way.
04:36 And in a way, I mean,
04:41 he kind of reminds me of our current Seahawk linebacker,
04:46 who I think is gonna be an all pro someday.
04:55 And Bobby Wagner, the way he tackles
04:59 kind of reminds me of the way Dick Butkus tackled.
05:03 I mean, big bear hug type tackles a lot of times.
05:07 And so like big bear hug and just,
05:11 throwing the running backs to the ground.
05:14 And before that he was getting rid of blockers
05:18 just almost the same way.
05:19 So yeah, that's what I remember about him.
05:23 - So back at that Rose Bowl,
05:25 were you in the backfield much that day?
05:26 I know you were kicking and you're playing defense,
05:28 but did you get to run the ball?
05:31 - No, yeah, I was in the backfield.
05:35 I played offense and I didn't get to carry the ball
05:39 as much as I normally did in a game.
05:43 And again, that's because the game got out of control
05:46 and we got away from our game plan.
05:50 And both Dave Kopay and I were the two running backs in there
05:56 well, Junior Coffey was in there as well.
05:59 All three of us didn't get as many carries
06:04 as it was planned to have us have.
06:06 So, but that was because they controlled the ball a lot
06:09 in the last three quarters of the game.
06:12 - Yeah, what would you have imagined
06:15 if you'd been hit by Dick Butkus?
06:17 What do you think that would have been like?
06:19 - Oh, I'd handle it just fine.
06:21 (laughing)
06:24 Now that you mentioned it,
06:25 I do remember a photograph that was
06:27 in the LA Times after the game
06:31 when we did score our one touchdown in the first quarter.
06:36 Dave Kopay scored it.
06:38 I threw the lead block for him.
06:41 And I believe that was on Butkus.
06:43 I think I got down real low
06:45 and took his legs out from under him
06:48 or he was off balance or something.
06:50 But it's recorded for all posterity, Dan.
06:55 - You survived to tell it about it another time?
06:57 - Yeah, yeah, for sure.
07:00 I wouldn't have told it to him to his face,
07:02 if I would have seen it.
07:05 - So last thing, here he passed away
07:07 and it's another one from your era.
07:09 And you mentioned that to me earlier,
07:10 you're losing a lot of teammates.
07:12 You know, how does that grab you
07:14 when you hear that Dick Butkus has passed away?
07:17 I know what it feels like for me
07:18 when I lose somebody that's from my,
07:20 even if I didn't know them that well.
07:22 - Well, it just, for me,
07:26 Dick was 80 years old when he passed away,
07:31 which, and I'm gonna be 80 this coming year.
07:35 So, I mean, I immediately sort of identify with that.
07:38 And, you know, I lost my good friend,
07:42 Gary Pettigrew last fall.
07:45 He was a defensive tackle for the Eagles.
07:47 He was a Stanford graduate and we were rookies together
07:51 and, you know, became friends.
07:52 And so Rick Redman, of course, last fall as well.
07:57 We lost him.
07:59 So yeah, I mean, it's more than disconcerting.
08:02 I mean, these were close friends
08:07 and you know how close the friendships are
08:09 when you're teammates and fighting these battles
08:13 on the football field.
08:14 - Yeah.
08:15 Well, I appreciate your time today
08:18 to talk about a great football player that you ran into.
08:22 - Yeah, yeah.
08:24 I did run into him.