Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers are more intertwined than any two former NFL players possibly could be. Despite coming from different backgrounds, they both landed in the same place at the same time. Back-to-back draft picks of the Chicago Bears in 1965, they would go on to define an entire era of football and would each make the Hall of Fame despite having their careers shortened by injuries.
Since then their friendship has only deepened. They've stayed in contract regularly over the years, even as Sayers' mental health has steadily declined. It's been common knowledge for years that the former Bears running back has dementia. A condition that has worsened steadily to a point where his ability to communicate isn't what it used to be.
He struggles to recognize even people he's known for years. That included Butkus in one of their most recent meetings. An event chronicled in a tremendous article by Dan Pompei of The Athletic.
Last year Butkus and his wife Helen traveled to Wakarusa to spend a day with Gale and Ardie.
Butkus greeted Gale.
Nothing.
But Gale kept looking.
“Dick held his arms out to him,” Ardie said. “You could tell he recognized him at that point. They gave each other a hug. Then Dick talked to him. Even though Gale couldn’t hold a conversation with him, you could tell he enjoyed himself. He would shake his hand sometimes when they were talking. It was a wonderful day.”
At its conclusion, as the two couples were leaving Luigi’s Pizza in Elkhart, Butkus asked for one more picture together before he went home. He said his old friend had not smiled all day. But for reasons no one will ever know, Gale smiled for that last picture.
Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers remain a beautiful story
Football is a dangerous sport. That much has been established. A lot of players pay a heavy price for playing it. Don't get it wrong. The sport can bring so many benefits to one's life, but one does not play in such a violent profession without suffering consequences long-term. The same goes for boxing or MMA or any other of its type.
Sayers said even after his diagnosis that he'd do it all again. Given how many lives he's helped touch and change, and how much success he had after his career ended it's not hard to see why. What is truly heartwarming about this sad decline of a great man is that Butkus hasn't shrunk away from it. A lot of people wouldn't want to be around something like that. It's depressing and a reminder of how frail humanity truly is.
True to form, the indomitable former linebacker shrugged such things off to be there for his friend. A true Monster of the Midway.
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