by Jeffrey J. Miller
The Buffalo Bills won back-to-back championships in 1964 and ’65, and made it to a third championship game in 1966. The universally recognized strength of that outstanding AFL-era team was its defense, which at one point went 17 straight games (16 regular season and one post-season) without giving up a rushing touchdown—a record that stands to this very day. Yet for how great that team and its defense was, only one player from that period has been deemed worthy of enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That player was guard Billy Shaw, who, though arguably one of the greatest guards of all time, played his entire career on the OFFENSIVE side of the ball.
It says here that there are several players from that team deserving
consideration by the Hall of Fame selectors.
Linebacker Mike Stratton, for instance, played in six AFL All-Star games, was selected First-Team
All-AFL three times, won two AFL championships, and delivered the most famous
tackle in AFL history when he dusted San Diego’s Keith Lincoln for “The Hit
Heard ‘Round The World in the 1964 Title Game.
Defensive end Ron McDole is the NFL’s all-time leader in interceptions
among defensive linemen with 12, and ranks third all-time in blocked kicks with 21. And don't get me started on Big Ses ...
This article, however, will focus on the career and credentials
of defensive back George “Butch” Byrd, who was a cornerstone of the Bills' defense for seven
seasons from 1964 through 1970.
The Bills selected Byrd out of Boston University in the
fourth round of the 1964 college draft.
A two-way star at BU, Byrd led the Terriers in rushing in both his
junior and senior years and was an All-East selection in 1963. The Dallas Cowboys of the NFL selected him in
the seventh round, but Butch signed with Buffalo because the Cowboys had
already chosen Mel Renfro in the first round, and he realized his chances
at a starting job were better with the Bills.
It turned out to be a good move for both Byrd and the Bills, as the six-foot, 211-pounder made an immediate impact, winning the starting right corner position in his first training camp and holding it down for the next seven seasons as the final piece of the Bills' championship puzzle. He recorded his first interception in just his third game as a pro, picking off Tobin Rote of the Chargers and racing 75 yards for a score. In all, Byrd intercepted seven passes during his rookie season, setting a Bills record and earning an invitation to the AFL All-Star Game, the first of five in his career. Along the way he gained a reputation as not only one of the best, but also one of the most aggressive defensive backs in the league. He was also very durable, missing only one start during his time in Buffalo. He'd go on to rack up a team-record 40 career interceptions (five of which he returned for scores, also a club record) and appear in three AFL title games with the Bills (1964, ’65 and ’66).
In fact, he seemed to come up biggest in the big games, recording an interception in both the 1964 and 1965 championships. His 74-yard punt return in the 1965 Title Game set an AFL post-season mark that stood until the AFL-NFL merger.
Byrd was also a pioneer in race relations among AFL
players. “My roommate was Mike
Stratton,” he recalled. “Mike and I were
the first mixed couple. That honor usually goes to Gale Sayers and Bryan
Piccolo, but I believe we were ahead of them.
I think Mike and I were the first white and black ballplayers to room
together, and that was controversial.
There were some ballplayers on our team that didn’t like it. Ballplayers came from all parts of the
country, and they brought with them their own baggage. I really can’t tell you why or how it
happened—he thought it was a good idea or I thought it was a good idea—I can’t
even remember who raised the subject.
Maybe we just found ourselves in the same room by accident, and decided
to keep it that way.” The two remained
close friends until Stratton’s passing in March 2020.
The Bills traded Byrd to the Denver Broncos prior to the
1971 season, but he played just one season for the Broncos before calling
it a career.
Byrd is one of the most decorated
members of the AFL-era Bills, beginning with being named to the All-Time AFL
Team (second squad) by the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee in
1970. He received the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Distinguished Service Award for
“service to the Bills’ organization and the Western New York community during
his career” in 1994. He was honored
with induction into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. He and his cornermate from the Bills glory
days—Booker Edgerson—were corecipients of the team’s the Kent Hull Hard Working
Man Award in 2010.
He was enshrined in Boston University’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1980.
2-time
AFL Champion
5 AFL
All Star Games
3-time
First Team All-AFL
1-time
Second Team All-AFL
40 career
regular season interceptions (remains a Buffalo record)
5
interceptions returned for touchdowns (a Buffalo record)
4 fumble
recoveries
2 career
post-season interceptions
2 punts returned for touchdowns (1 regular season, 1 post-season)
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