View source for Butch Byrd

{{Short description|American football player (born 1941)}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name          = Butch Byrd
| image         =
| image_size    = 
| alt           = 
| caption       = 
| number        = 42, 24
| position      = [[Cornerback]]
| birth_date    = {{Birth date and age|1941|9|20|mf=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Watervliet, New York]], U.S.
| death_date    = 
| death_place   = 
| height_ft     = 6
| height_in     = 0
| weight_lb     = 211
| high_school   = [[La Salle Institute|La Salle]] <br> ([[Troy, New York]])
| college       = [[Boston University Terriers football|Boston University]]
| afldraftyear  = 1964
| afldraftround = 4
| afldraftpick  = 25
| pastteams     =
* [[Buffalo Bills]] ([[1964 American Football League season|1964]]–{{NFL Year|1970}})
* [[Denver Broncos]] ({{NFL Year|1971}})
| highlights    =
* 2× [[American Football League playoffs|AFL champion]] ([[1964 American Football League Championship Game|1964]], [[1965 American Football League Championship Game|1965]])
* 3× First-team [[American Football League All-League Team|All-AFL]] ([[1965 All-AFL Team|1965]], [[1966 All-AFL Team|1966]], [[1969 All-AFL Team|1969]])
* 2× Second-team All-AFL ([[1964 All-AFL Team|1964]], [[1968 All-AFL Team|1968]])
* 5× [[American Football League All-Star game|AFL All-Star]] (1964–1966, 1968, 1969)
* [[American Football League All-Time Team|AFL All-Time Second-team]]
* [[Buffalo Bills#50th Anniversary Team|Buffalo Bills 50th Anniversary Team]]
| statlabel1    = [[Interception]]s
| statvalue1    = 40
| statlabel2    = Interception yards
| statvalue2    = 666
| statlabel3    = [[Fumble]] recoveries
| statvalue3    = 4
| statlabel4    = Total [[touchdown]]s
| statvalue4    = 6
| pfr           = B/ByrdBu00 
}}

'''George Edward''' "'''Butch'''" '''Byrd''' (born September 20, 1941) is an American former professional [[American football|football]] [[cornerback]] who played in the [[American Football League]] (AFL) and [[National Football League]] (NFL). He played [[college football]] for the [[Boston University Terriers football|Boston University Terriers]] and was selected by the [[Buffalo Bills]] in the fourth round of the [[1964 American Football League draft|1964 AFL draft]].

==Professional career==
Byrd was selected by the [[Buffalo Bills]] in the fourth round, with the 25th overall pick, of the [[1964 American Football League draft]] and immediately made an impact in the defensive backfield, with seven [[interception]]s. Such was his impact as a quick athlete that [[Lance Alworth]] (star flanker 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: "I want to play against the best". Byrd sometimes also played as a [[punt returner]], scoring a punt return touchdown in 1966. He was a five-time [[American Football League All-Star game|AFL All-Star]] and he was selected for the [[American Football League All-Time Team|AFL All-Time Second-team]]. 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.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/def_int_career_1971.htm | title=NFL Career Interceptions Leaders Through 1971 | website=[[Pro-Football-Reference.com]] }}</ref>

===Franchise records===
Byrd holds the Bills career records for interceptions with 40, interception return yards with 666 and interceptions returned for touchdowns with 5.

==After football==
After his career ended, he worked in management for the Chrysler Corporation and Polaroid, working 22 years with the latter company.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}

==Honors==
Byrd was inducted into the Boston University Hall of Fame, the LaSalle Institute Athletic Hall of Fame and the Albany Capital District Hall of Fame, all in 1980. He also was 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.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://buffalonews.com/news/byrd-bags-service-award-wilson-honor-will-go-to-former-cornerback/article_79351763-5d1b-5284-8aa4-75b4346ba05f.html | title=Byrd Bags Service Award Wilson Honor Will Go to Former Cornerback | date=October 20, 1994 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=George "Butch" Byrd – Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame|date=July 25, 2012 |url=https://www.buffalosportshallfame.com/member/george-butch-byrd/|access-date=2021-03-02|language=en-US}}</ref> Despite his records, he has not been named a member of the [[Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame]] nor the [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]], which has received notice from columnists in the Buffalo media.<ref>{{cite web | url=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 | title=Sean Kirst: From Watervliet, a passionate bid to lift Butch Byrd onto Bills Wall of Fame | date=October 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=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 | title=Butch Byrd deserves to be on Bills Wall of Fame | date=July 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/3400741/2022/07/11/bills-wall-of-fame-butch-byrd-omission/ | title=Why it's time for Bills to add interceptions leader Butch Byrd to their Wall of Fame }}</ref>

== See also==
*[[List of American Football League players]]

== References ==
<references />

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081005112203/http://goterriers.cstv.com/hallfame/byrd-george.html Byrd's citation on the Boston University Hall of Fame site]
* [http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/story/460453.html ''Buffalo News'' story on Byrd's induction to the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame]

{{Bills1964DraftPicks}}
{{1964 Buffalo Bills}}
{{1965 Buffalo Bills}}
{{Buffalo Bills 50th Season All-time Team}}
{{AFL1960s}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrd, Butch}}
[[Category:1941 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Watervliet, New York]]
[[Category:American football cornerbacks]]
[[Category:American football return specialists]]
[[Category:Boston University Terriers football players]]
[[Category:Buffalo Bills players]]
[[Category:Denver Broncos players]]
[[Category:American Football League All-Star players]]
[[Category:American Football League All-Time Team]]
[[Category:American Football League players]]
{{defensiveback-1940s-stub}}