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| Position: | Cornerback | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1941-09-20) September 20, 1941 (age 82) Watervliet, New York, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 211 lb (96 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | La Salle (Troy, New York) | ||||||||
| College: | Boston University | ||||||||
| AFL draft: | 1964 / Round: 4 / Pick: 25 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||
George Edward "Butch" Byrd (born September 20, 1941) is an American former football cornerback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Boston University Terriers and was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round of the 1964 AFL draft.
Byrd was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round, with the 25th overall pick, of the 1964 American Football League draft and immediately made an impact in the defensive backfield, with seven interceptions. Such was his impact as a quick athlete that Lance Alworth (star flanker of the San Diego Chargers) stated his preference to go up against Byrd when it came to pass plays despite the Chargers trying to dissuade him, with Alworth stating: "I want to play against the best". Byrd sometimes also played as a punt returner, scoring a punt return touchdown in 1966. He was a five-time AFL All-Star and he was selected for the AFL All-Time Second-team. 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.[1]
Byrd holds the Bills career records for interceptions with 40, interception return yards with 666 and interceptions returned for touchdowns with 5.
After his career ended, he worked in management for the Chrysler Corporation and Polaroid, working 22 years with the latter company.[citation needed]
Byrd was inducted into the Boston University Hall of Fame, the LaSalle Institute Athletic Hall of Fame and the Albany Capital District Hall of Fame, all in 1980. He also was 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. He was awarded the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Distinguished Service Award in 1994.[2][3] Despite his records, he has not been named a member of the Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame nor the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which has received notice from columnists in the Buffalo media.[4][5][6]
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Buffalo Bills 1964 AFL draft selections
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