Pro football Hall of Famer Dick Butkus dies at 80

Richard Butkus, a Hall of Fame linebacker for the Chicago Bears, died peacefully in his sleep at the age of 80, the team announced Thursday.

What is Butkus’ legacy in the sport? Butkus earned a reputation as one of the most aggressive defensive players in NFL history, at one point making a tongue-in-cheek comment that he only ever set out to hurt people intentionally when it was during something important, “like a league game or something.” The Bears selected him from the University of Illinois during the 1965 NFL draft. Butkus went on to play nine NFL seasons from 1965 to 1973 and made eight Pro Bowl appearances. Butkus thought his intensity was just how the game should be played, according to an article on the Bears’ website. “Dick was the ultimate Bear” and “Chicago's son,” Bears chairman George H. McCaskey said in a statement.

Dig deeper: Read Daniel James Devine’s report about the death of football sportscaster John Madden.