ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 24, ISSUE 6 67
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Butz still treasures his relationship
with classmates Armstrong and the
late Stingley. After all, the 1969 Purdue
football recruiting class is the greatest
in the history of the school as the trio
was first-round NFL draft picks, some-
thing not done before or since in Boil-
ermaker history.
When coaches Jack Mollenkopf and
Ron Meyer were trying to convince
Butz to come to Purdue, it was a con-
versation at Butz's dinner table that
swayed him.
"I had offers from something like 132
schools," Butz said. "But Coach Mollen-
kopf was such a regular guy that I felt
very comfortable with him."
But Butz felt compelled to do more
than just to commit to Purdue, he
wanted Armstrong and Stingley to
join him in West Lafayette. Things
were much different in those days as
high school prospects didn't commit to
schools until the last semester of their
senior year. And it was rare to have
guys try to cajole other prospects to
join them at a school.
"He was a great ambassador for
us," said Meyer, who also coached
the Colts and Patriots in the NFL
after leaving Purdue in 1970. "He
was an outstanding young man.
His high school record was just
phenomenal with his records (in)
discus and the shot put, as well a
being a great football player.
"It is still incredible we were able
to recruit three NFL first-rounders
all from the Chicago area, but Dave
had a lot to do with it. He was al-
ways ahead of his time in terms of
building relationships, especially
with inner-city guys like Otis and
Darryl."
Armstrong remembers some fun
times with Butz.
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Olympic gold medalist David Boudia and his wife Sonnie
Washington Redskins
Butz was a Pro Bowl-level player for the Washington Redskins until the ripe old
age of 38.
