Butch Byrd
| No. 42, 24 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Cornerback, safety | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: |
September 20, 1941 Watervliet, New York, U.S. |
||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 211 lb (96 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| College: | Boston University | ||||||
| AFL Draft: | 1964 / Round: 4 / Pick: 25 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
| |||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
| |||||||
| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||
George Edward "Butch" Byrd (born September 20, 1941) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive back in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Boston University Terriers. He joined the Buffalo Bills in 1964 and immediately made an impact in the defensive backfield, with seven interceptions. Byrd was also a punt returner for his entire career.
Byrd holds the Bills' career records for interceptions (40), interception return yards (666) and interceptions returned for touchdowns (5). He was a five-time AFL All-Star, and was selected for the second-team AFL All-Time Team. Byrd is a 1980 inductee of the Boston University Hall of Fame, LaSalle Institute Athletic Hall of Fame, Albany Capital District Hall of Fame, named to the All-Time Buffalo Bills Silver Anniversary Team in 1984, and in 2008 was selected to the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. When he retired in 1971, he was one of thirty players with 40 interceptions (which resulted in him being tied for 15th); in the half-century since he retired, over thirty more players have joined him.