It's LeRoy Butler's Birthday and Also a Good Day to Remember He Should Be In the Hall of Fame

Happy 53rd birthday to Green Bay Packers legend LeRoy Butler!

That’s right, today is the birthday of the inventor of the Lambeau Leap, and one of the premier defensive players of the NFL in the 1990s. 

That means it’s as good a day as any to remind you of why he should already be in the Hall of Fame, and why Packer fans should continue to press the NFL for his induction, just as they did for Jerry Kramer for so many years.

It is, frankly, a travesty that Butler has not yet been elected, but especially that two of his objectively lesser contemporaries (Steve Atwater and John Lynch) were elected for the Hall before he was. For those who are too young to have seen Butler play or might not remember how important he was to those 90s Packers teams, here’s a quick look at his accomplishments:

• Buter is a Super Bowl champion (XXXVI)
• 4x Pro Bowler
• 4x first team all pro (1993, 1996-1998)
• The ONLY member of the 1990s all-decade team not to be inducted into the Hall of Fame yet
• A member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame
• Record 38 INT, 20.5 sacks and 13 forced fumbles

Butler was one of the most versatile safties in NFL history, playing up near the line frequently and posing a threat in coverage, in run defense and in pass rush. He was a sort of precursor to versatile players at the position that followed, such as Troy Polamalu. 

Butler’s legacy is aided by his invention of the Lambeau Leap (pro football’s most iconic celebration) and for the challenges he overcame as a child after having to wear leg braces and use a wheelchair for a significant portion of his youth.

Above and beyond all of that, he is a Hall of Fame human being.

Please give your birthday wishes to Mr. Butler, and remember to continue to support his long-overdue induction to the halls in Canton!