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American football player (1921–1945) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anthony J. Butkovich (April 4, 1921 – April 18, 1945) was a Croatian-American football fullback from the University of Illinois and spent his last year at Purdue. He was drafted by the Cleveland Rams in the first round of the 1944 NFL draft.
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2014) |
Butkovich carrying ball behind blocking from Buscemi (50) and Kasap (64) in 1943 | |
| No. 25 | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Fullback |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | April 4, 1921 St. David, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died: | April 18, 1945 (aged 24) Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, Japanese Empire |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Lewistown (IL) |
| College: | Purdue |
| NFL draft: | 1944 / round: 1 / pick: 11 |
| Career history | |
| |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Instead of going to the Rams he enlisted in the US Marines and fought in World War II. While serving as a Marine in the 6th Division on Guadalcanal he participated in the Mosquito Bowl.[1] He lived through the war and lived a fruitful life. He had no children but his spirit lives on in his great nephew Anthony (named after him) and his other nieces and nephews.
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 the Boilermakers to a record of 9–0 and a share of the Big 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).
He was selected All-American by the Associated Press (AP), International News Service, The Sporting News, United Press International (UPI) and Stars and Stripes; he was also First Team, All-Conference.
NCAA Collegiate Career statistics | |||||||||
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 | ||||
| NCAA Career Totals | 202 | 1,007 | 4.9 | 71.9 | 16 | ||||
He was a native of St. David, Illinois and graduated from Lewistown High School in Lewistown, Illinois.
He was killed in action by sniper fire at Okinawa.[4] Coincidentally, fellow #11 overall NFL draft pick Dave Schreiner (from the year prior) died from sniper fire at Okinawa several months later.
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