🏈 Remembering the legendary Dick Butkus

A real Monster of the Midway [READER]( The Daily Reader October 10, 2023 The recent death of legendary Bears middle linebacker Dick Butkus brought with it the expected pearls of football praise. He was tough, hard-hitting—a real Monster of the Midway. Dick Butkus was one of the toughest men to play pro football, a monumental distinction given that the profession’s filled with tough men. One teammate, 1960s [Bears center Mike Pyle]( said in 1991 that lining up against Butkus in practice probably took a year or two off of his career. Another former teammate, Doug Buffone, watched Butkus practically frothing at the mouth to get at opposing players and quipped, “Thank goodness he plays on my team.” "To play this game, you have to have a Neanderthal gene,” [Buffone once cracked](. “Butkus had two.” Here’s the thing about Dick Butkus that always surprised me. After his football career ended in the early 1970s, he moved to sunny California and settled in Malibu. That’s Malibu, as in . . . Malibu! I mean, you all know about Malibu. So, yes, Butkus was born and raised on the far south side of Chicago—a proud graduate of Chicago Vocational High School on 87th Street. But he chose to live in Malibu. I always figured there had to be an unseen, softer, and gentler side to Dick Butkus for him to move out to Malibu. Because folks, let me tell you . . . I’ve been to Malibu. And there’s nothing tough, hard-hitting, or Monsters of the Midway about it. The only thing that’s frothing in Malibu is the ocean that slams against the shore of Malibu’s many beaches. It’s exceedingly laid back and very chill. Don’t get me wrong. I love Malibu. As soon as I visited there I said to myself, “Man, I wish I was fabulously rich enough so I could live in Malibu, just like Dick Butkus!” Here’s something else about Malibu: it’s crawling with celebrities. Jennifer Aniston, Halle Berry, Jeff Bridges, Jim Carrey, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bob Dylan, David Geffen, Barbra Streisand, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and on, and on, and on—all have had homes in Malibu. But these celebrities are rarely seen out and about. At least by me, when I’m in Malibu. That’s my lot in life when it comes to bumping into celebrities. Well—I once saw Muhammad Ali in the restaurant at the old McCormick Inn. In 1975. And, yes, it’s true—I saw Dr. J walking through the terminal at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. Back in 1983. But that’s pretty much it. Wait, I saw Matt Dillon—you know, the actor—eating a slice of pizza at Sal’s Pizzeria in Mamaroneck, New York. Around 1992. Also, in 1966, I saw a very young Dustin Hoffman in Greenwich Village outside of . . . you know, enough with my celebrity sightings. The point is that I never never saw Dick Butkus in Malibu—as much as I would have liked to. Though I probably wouldn’t have said anything to him even if I did. I mean, it’s Malibu. Where everyone’s too cool to fawn over celebrities, even one as monumental in the eyes of this lifelong Bears fan as the legendary Dick Butkus. RIP, number 51 . . . 🎙Listen to [The Ben Joravsky Show]( 🎙 [What Ben's Reading] [The Tempest Tales]( by Walter Mosley. The man never writes a bad book. [Katie Prout]( “How many opioid overdoses occur on the CTA?” [Ben Joravsky]( Rogers Park, back in the day (1987) [Best of the Ben J. Show]( First Tuesdays at the Haymarket House with [Alderperson Angela Clay]( Journalist [Angela Caputo]( on “driving while Black” Striking UAW member [Marcie Pedraza]( on the picket lines [Something about The Lehman Trilogy]( “Can’t we sue this schmuck?” by [Deanna Isaacs]( | [R]( → [Artist Rufina Bazlova uses embroidery as a form of ‘gentle protest’]( The Belarusian artist brings her work to the Hyde Park Art Center. by [Lisa Korneichuk]( | [R]( → [Familial feminism in La Tía Mariela]( A Yucatán tale highlights family secrets for Destinos. by [Justice Petersen]( | [R]( → [Manae Solara Vaughn, sound engineer, musician, and cofounder of Oux]( “Oux is all about premeditation. Oux is about intention and the execution of the highest tier of artistry that I can aspire to and accomplish.” by [Debbie-Marie Brown]( | [R]( → What's now, what's next. For the latest in visual and performing arts in the city, sign up for our arts and culture newsletter, Second and Fourth. The next issue drops this Thursday at 3 PM. Click below to sign up today! [ARTS & CULTURE NEWSLETTER]( [Issue of Oct. 5 – Oct. 18, 2023 Vol. 52, No. 26]( [VIEW/DOWNLOAD ISSUE [PDF]]( [View this e-mail as a web page]( [@chicago_reader]( [/chicagoreader]( [@chicago_reader]( [Chicago Reader on LinkedIn]( [/chicagoreader]( [chicagoreader.com]( [Forward this e-mail to a friend](. Want to change how you receive these e-mails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. Copyright © 2023 Chicago Reader, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Chicago Reader, 2930 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 102, Chicago, IL 60616