LeRoy Butler: Hall of Famer?

[Greg C.]

I was really pleased to read the following comment in Dr. Z's mailbag on the SI web site today. He is a Hall of Fame voter. Maybe there is hope for LeRoy Butler to get in:

Josh G. of New York asks, "How can you leave out LeRoy Butler?" You can't. You shouldn't. Make that they shouldn't. He was a fine player, the leader of the Packer defense through some glory times. That error will not be repeated next year.

 

[Pack93z]

Here is the the kid that overcame alot to become a Hall of Fame caliber Safety in the NFL.. LeRoy deserves it..

Nice find Greg.. thanks.

 

[Hammer]

I've sent Z that very same letter a couple of times. This is the first time he's even approached the subject and he mentions his HOF considerations all the time.

 

[Zombieslayer]

I was really pleased to read the following comment in Dr. Z's mailbag on the SI web site today. He is a Hall of Fame voter. Maybe there is hope for LeRoy Butler to get in:

Josh G. of New York asks, "How can you leave out LeRoy Butler?" You can't. You shouldn't. Make that they shouldn't. He was a fine player, the leader of the Packer defense through some glory times. That error will not be repeated next year.

To make an argument for LeRoy Butler to make the Hall of Fame, let's whip out some facts.

Born in July 19,1968 in Jacksonville Florida, Butler spent his childhood with physical problems that forced him to wear braces, and some of it was actually spent in a wheelchair. He underwent therapy and overcame these obstacles.

Selected in the 2nd round of the 1990 draft, Butler went on to play from until 2001, his entire career with the Green Bay Packers. In that career, he amassed 38 interceptions and returned those INTs for 533 yards. Along with those interceptions, he recovered 12 fumbles and scored a total of three defensive touchdowns. He also collected 20 1/2 sacks and was the first DB in NFL history to be in the 20 Sack/20 Interception club. Ronde Barber and Rodney Harrison are the only other DBs in that exclusive club.

Butler played in a total of 181 games, made All-Pro five times, the Pro Bowl four times, and won one Super Bowl after the 1996 season. He also invented the infamous Lambeau Leap.

Unfortunately, his career was cut short by a shoulder injury in 2001.

 

[packedhouse01]

LeRoy was a great player for us, no doubt. He was an all-pro. One of his biggest assets is above and beyond his athletic skills he was a really good person. He is one of the true gentlemen of the game. I hope he becomes the next hall of fame Green Bay Packer. I just don't know that nationally he is recognized as being as good as we see him. The truth is we got to see him play every Sunday, the people who vote didn't get to see that. That can hurt a great player.

 

[de_real_deal]

LeRoy was a great player for us, no doubt. He was an all-pro. One of his biggest assets is above and beyond his athletic skills he was a really good person. He is one of the true gentlemen of the game. I hope he becomes the next hall of fame Green Bay Packer. I just don't know that nationally he is recognized as being as good as we see him. The truth is we got to see him play every Sunday, the people who vote didn't get to see that. That can hurt a great player.

:yeah:

I dont think he was "great" over a long enough period of time. Thats what might keep him out i think. He had about 5 "great" years. I think you need at least 10 great years to get in as a safety.

 

[Cdnfavrefan]

Butler was awesome and a vital part of our great teams but the great thing about the NFL is how I believe it's the toughest HOF to get into. At first I would of said he should be in but then I saw the list of all the other guys and I think he's just barely on the outside looking in. He was a great character guy and Favre said he could of been one of the greatest but he didn't care that much. He was just happy to be an elite player

 

[Zombieslayer]

LeRoy was a great player for us, no doubt. He was an all-pro. One of his biggest assets is above and beyond his athletic skills he was a really good person. He is one of the true gentlemen of the game. I hope he becomes the next hall of fame Green Bay Packer. I just don't know that nationally he is recognized as being as good as we see him. The truth is we got to see him play every Sunday, the people who vote didn't get to see that. That can hurt a great player.

Good point. I just posted stats, but failed to mention his character.

 

[Greg C.]

As a Packer fan, I would like to see another one of our guys get into the Hall of Fame. But it's hard to make that call with players at positions that can't be measured very well by statistics. His time as an elite player was relatively short, so maybe he won't make it. I would need to see who he was up against in order to make an informed decision.

One way to look at it is that maybe there's room for more than two guys (Brett Favre and Reggie White) from the 1990s Packers to be in the Hall of Fame, and LeRoy was clearly the third best player on those teams.