Jack Butler Dies: Former Steelers Cornerback Passes Away At 85

The 85-year old Butler, who assumed an integral part in the Steelers' four Super Bowl title in the 1970s, finally succumbed to complications of staph infection.

Jack's son, John Butler, said his father had been hospitalized for the last several months to treat his illness, which he lived through ever since his retirement in 1959.

"It had been a long road," John Butler told CBS News on Saturday. "It wasn't completely out of the blue."

Butler started his football career as a wide receiver at St. Bonaventure. He initially had no plans on turning professional until he received an invitation from then Steelers business manager Fran Fogarty in 1951.

The 6-foot-1, 200 pound Butler emerged as the NFL's most fearsome defensive backs, obliterating the opposition with his rough play and unlikely athleticism to intercept passes. Over his productive nine-year NFL career, Butler had 52 interceptions and was a regular member of Pro Bowl (four times) and All-NFL teams (three times).

However, his career came to a grueling end when he collided with Philadelphia Eagles tight end Pete Retzlaff.

"He caught the ball and I was coming over to hit him, to tackle him and before I got to him, he tripped or caught his foot or something," Butler said in July, 2012, according to CBS News. "As he was going down, his shoulder hit my (left) knee."

The injury was so severe, Butler needed 10 surgeries to at least give him some mobility, but his football career was pretty much done because there was no arthroscopic knee surgery back then.

Nevertheless, Butler was still inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame after he was elected by the Senior Committee in 2012.

"If you'd asked him five years, 10 years ago, he'd have said it was no big deal," John Butler said Saturday. "But then when it happened, he was like, 'this is a big deal.' When they told him 25,000 players or so had been in the league and you're No. 268, he was like, 'Wow, that's pretty good.' He kind of really figured it out."