Richard Marvin "Dick" Butkus (born December 9, 1942) is a former American football player, widely regarded as the greatest linebacker of his generation and one of the best linebackers of all-time . Butkus starred as a football player for the University of Illinois and the Chicago Bears . He became a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979 . He played 9 seasons in the NFL for the Chicago Bears . The youngest of seven children, the Lithuanian-American Butkus grew up in the Roseland neighborhood on Chicago's south side . He played high school football for Coach Bernie O'Brien at Chicago Vocational School . There he met his three lifelong friends, Patrick O'Neill, Tyler Volk, and Eric Parker, all of whom played linebacker with Butkus in high school . The group was infamously known around the conference as the "Ferocious Quartet ." At Illinois, Butkus played center and linebacker from 1962 through 1964 . Butkus was twice a unanimous All-American, in 1963 and 1964. Butkus won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football in 1963 as the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player, and was named the American Football Coaches Association Player of the Year in 1964. Butkus also finished sixth in Heisman Trophy balloting in 1963 and third in 1964, a remarkable achievement given his position, as Heisman voters are notorious for their strong bias toward offensive players. After his collegiate career, Butkus continued to receive recognition for his play. Butkus was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983, and is one of only two players to have a uniform number (#50) retired by the University of Illinois football program (the other being the #77 of Harold "Red" Grange). Butkus was also named to the Walter Camp All-Century team in 1990, and was named as the sixth-best college football player ever by College Football News in 2000. In 2007, Butkus was ranked #19 on ESPN's Top 25 Players In College Football History list. .