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68 ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 24, ISSUE 6 f Like the time when the giant defensive lineman dangled Stingley over the stairwell at Owen Hall holding him by his ankles. "Let's just say we had some fun times there," Butz said. Nearly five decades later, Armstrong remembers Butz as a guy who introduced him to the Rolling Stones, not nec- essarily the music of choice for a kid like Armstrong who grew up in the projects of Chicago. "He was like a gentle giant," Armstrong said. "He would scare people because of his size, but he was one of the nicest guys and quiet as well. I still remember singing to the Rolling Stones in his room. He was fun." Yet Butz could also be emotional and sentimental. He still recalls the last time he walked off the field at Ross-Ade Stadium following a 42-7 win over Indiana. His career was over, and while it wasn't as successful in terms of wins and losses as he would have liked, he felt he had left everything he had on the field. "I can remember putting my arm around my defensive line coach Tony Mason coming off the field the last game and basically crying, saying, 'You're no longer going to be my coach.' That was kind of tough because of what Coach Mason had done for me," Butz said. Despite his dominant size, Butz developed a reputation for being a thinking man at a position where it appears that all that is necessary is being able to react. He credits his three sisters for helping him accomplish his strategic advantage in his childhood living room. "With three of my four sisters lined up in front of me as a center, guard and tackle and they would put a scarf around my eyes so I couldn't see," Butz said. "I would get on my knees, and I would tell three of them to make up their own minds and try to push on me so I could react. I learned to read offensive linemen and react by how they pushed on me. All I was doing was trying to work on reaction time so it was all second nature. I think it worked." There was one sister who was particularly tough. "Marcia, my second-oldest sister, used to beat me up un- til I was 16," Butz said. "If I had her ability, I could have been All-Universe instead of All-Pro." Butz's pro career was special with three Super Bowl ap- pearances and a Pro Bowl trip in 1983. He was selected to the NFL's 1980s All-Decade team and when he retired at the age of 38, he was the oldest active player in the NFL. That's a pretty amazing feat for a defensive lineman. "I have had a great life in and out of football," said Butz, who is the fourth Boilermaker since 2006 to earn a spot in the College Hall. "I have tried to live life with the philoso- phy even when you're ahead, never give up. The better you are prepared, the better you are as a player on the field. Al- ways practice like you're eventually going to play someone better than you are so that when that person steps in front of you, you're equal or better." There is little doubt that it has served this gentle giant well. j Bob Mitchell After earning consensus All-America honors, Butz was one of three Boilers drafted in the first round of the 1973 NFL Draft.