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 Butkovich carrying ball behind blocking from Buscemi (50) and Kasap (64) in 1943 | |
| No. 25 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Fullback |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1921-04-04)April 4, 1921 St. David, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | April 18, 1945(1945-04-18) (aged 24) Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, Japanese Empire |
| Career information | |
| High school | Lewistown (IL) |
| College | Purdue |
| NFL draft | 1944: 1st round, 11th overall pick |
| Career history | |
| |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
Anthony J. Butkovich (April 4, 1921 – April 18, 1945) was a Croatian Americanfootball player who was afullback at theUniversity of Illinois and spent his last year atPurdue. He was drafted by theCleveland Rams in the first round of the1944 NFL draft.
Instead of going to the Rams he enlisted in theUS Marines and fought inWorld War II. While serving as a Marine in the6th Division on Guadalcanal he participated in theMosquito Bowl.[1]
He led the nation in rushing in 1943; 833 yards, 142 carries (5.9 average), scoring 16 touchdowns (still tied for a Purdue single season record) and led theBoilermakers to a record of 9–0 and a share of theBig Ten Title. The Boilermakers finished the season as the No. 4 team in the nation. In conference play alone, he led the conference in rushing (629 yards over 95 carries) and scoring (13 touchdowns, 78 points); despite only playing 4 conference games as he was transferred by the Marines before the Minnesota game.[2]
He was selected All-American by theAssociated Press (AP),International News Service,The Sporting News,United Press International (UPI) andStars and Stripes; he was also First Team, All-Conference.
Illinois Fighting Illini | |||||||||
| Season | Rushing | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yards | Avg | Yards/G | TD | |||||
| 1941 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||||
| 1942 | 60 | 174 | 2.9 | 34.8 | -- | ||||
Purdue Boilermakers | |||||||||
| 1943 | 142 | 833 | 5.9 | 92.6 | 16 | ||||
| Totals | 202 | 1,007 | 4.9 | 71.9 | 16 | ||||
He was a native ofSt. David, Illinois and graduated fromLewistown High School inLewistown, Illinois.
He was killed in action by sniper fire atOkinawa.[5] Coincidentally, fellow #11 overall NFL draft pickDave Schreiner (from the year prior) died from sniper fire at Okinawa several months later.
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