Dick Butkus Signed Chicago Bears Navy Jersey Action 8x10 Photo Schwartz Authenticated

Add the signature of the player who defined a position to your memorabilia collection with this Dick Butkus Autographed Chicago Bears Navy Jersey Action Close-Up 8x10 Photo. On October 5, 2023, Dick Butkus passed away at his home in Malibu, California, at the age of 80 — the first-ballot Hall of Famer whom the Pro Football Hall of Fame's own president described as "near universally considered the person who defined the position of middle linebacker." Pro Football Hall of Fame His supply of signed memorabilia is now permanently fixed. The action close-up photo bearing his signature is the most intimate format in the Butkus signed piece market — the face, the expression, the physical presence of the most feared player of his era, in the navy of the franchise he chose over a higher offer from another team because Chicago was home.

This Bears navy jersey action close-up 8x10 photo has been hand-signed by Dick Butkus with a bold, clean autograph. Authentication is provided by Schwartz Sports Memorabilia, featuring their tamper-proof numbered hologram and Certificate of Authenticity, both verifiable online using the hologram's unique number.

Product Highlights

• Hand-signed by Dick Butkus — Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 1979, first ballot
• Chicago Bears navy jersey action close-up 8x10 photo
• Schwartz Sports authenticated with tamper-proof numbered hologram and Certificate of Authenticity
• Five First-Team All-Pro selections, eight Pro Bowls across nine seasons — NFL All-Decade Teams of both the 1960s and 1970s; NFL 75th and 100th Anniversary All-Time Teams ESPN
• 22 career interceptions and 27 fumble recoveries — a record when he retired; the most feared ball-hawk at the linebacker position in the sport's history Wikipedia
• Bears retired his No. 51; the annual Butkus Award established in his honor recognizes the best linebacker at every level of football Wikipedia
• Supply permanently fixed — Dick Butkus passed away October 5, 2023, at age 80
• Backed by our Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee

The Close-Up — The Most Intimate Butkus Format

A signed helmet or jersey connects to the equipment of the game. A signed action close-up photo connects to the player himself — the face, the expression, the physical presence that the equipment covers. Dick Butkus was a vicious tackler whose intimidating presence put some players on their heels before the ball was even snapped. ESPN Deacon Jones, himself a Hall of Famer and one of the most feared defensive players who ever lived, described what it was like to play against Butkus: "I called him a maniac. A stone maniac. He was a well-conditioned animal, and every time he hit you, he tried to put you in the cemetery, not the hospital." Yahoo Sports The close-up action photo in the navy Bears jersey captures the player that description belongs to — not the statistical record or the Hall of Fame plaque, but the presence that made the statistical record possible. Signed by Butkus, authenticated by Schwartz, it is the most direct visual document available of what opposing offenses faced every Sunday for nine years.

Chicago's Son — The Career He Built at Home

Butkus was the rare pro athlete who played his entire career close to home. PBS Born on Chicago's South Side as the youngest of eight children, he starred at Chicago Vocational High School, played at the University of Illinois, and when both the Bears and the Denver Broncos drafted him in the first round in 1965, he chose Chicago — choosing to play for NFL founder George Halas over a higher offer from the Broncos PBS because the Bears were his team and Chicago was his city. He played every game as though it were his last Pro Football Hall of Fame — his own description of a career philosophy that produced 22 interceptions, 27 fumble recoveries, five First-Team All-Pro selections, and eight consecutive Pro Bowls Wikipedia before a knee injury forced him to retire at 31. Despite never making the playoffs and enjoying just two winning seasons in nine years, he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1979 NFL — the formal verdict of a sport that understood what it had watched regardless of the won-loss column.

The Standard That Still Stands

Dick Butkus is credited with having defined the middle linebacker position and is still viewed as the gold standard by which other middle linebackers are measured. Wikipedia The Bears' middle linebacker position has produced four Pro Football Hall of Famers — Bill George, who created the position; Butkus, who redefined it; Mike Singletary, who anchored the greatest defense in NFL history; and Brian Urlacher, who extended the legacy into the modern era. No other franchise in NFL history has sent four players at the same position to Canton — and Butkus is the name most often cited first when that lineage is discussed, because his name was most often cited first as the epitome of what it took to excel at the highest level. Yahoo Sports The navy Bears jersey in the close-up action photo is the uniform of that standard — the color of the franchise where the position was defined, signed by the player who defined it.

The Legacy and the Supply

Bears chairman George McCaskey said of Butkus: "Dick was the ultimate Bear, and one of the greatest players in NFL history. He was Chicago's son. He exuded what our great city is about — toughness, smarts, instincts, passion and leadership." ESPN The Butkus Award, established in 1985 in his honor, annually recognizes the best linebacker at the professional, college, and high school levels Wikipedia — the most sustained institutional tribute to a player's positional influence in the sport's history, still awarded each year, still bearing his name as the definition of what the position requires. Every piece Dick Butkus signed during his lifetime is part of the permanent and complete inventory of his autograph in the collectibles market. The action close-up photo signed by Butkus — the face in the navy jersey, the presence that defined a position — is a piece whose historical significance is as permanently fixed as its supply.

Authenticity

This photo is certified by Schwartz Sports Memorabilia. The tamper-proof numbered hologram is affixed directly to the photo and accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity verifiable online — one of the most respected authentication standards in the sports memorabilia market.

Specifications

Authenticity Guarantee

Every signed piece at GameDay Sports Memorabilia is backed by our Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee. If your item is ever determined to be inauthentic, we will replace or refund it — no questions asked.