For the rest of the season, Bears players will wear a jersey patch honoring the memory of Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus, the team announced Friday.
Butkus died Oct. 5 at his home in Malibu, California. He was 80.
The jersey patch features Butkus’ No. 51 inside a football.
“It’s been gratifying to hear so many of our current players say in recent days how much they appreciate the Butkus legacy,” Bears chairman George H. McCaskey said in a statement. “The purpose of the patch is every time they pull on the pads they’ll take a moment to think about Dick and his approach to the game.”
Butkus grew up on the South Side of Chicago and starred at Chicago Vocational High School and the University of Illinois. He was selected by the Bears with the third overall pick in 1965.
He played all eight of his NFL seasons with the Bears from 1965-73 and remains one of the most popular players in franchise history. He was voted to the Pro Bowl in each of his first eight seasons and was also selected as an All Pro in seven of his nine years.
Butkus won two Defensive Player of the Year Awards and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1979 in his first year of eligibility.
He was named to the All-Decade Teams for the 1960s and 1970s, had his jersey retired by the Bears and was voted to the NFL’s 75th and 100th Anniversary Teams.