BlazerBelle13
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Joined: 29 Mar 2005
Posts: 1775
Location: Oklahoma City Blazers!!!! |
Bill Butters
Thought some of the old timers might remember this guy.
From the Timmins Daily Press, Ontario
Choosing his battle
Posted By CHELSEY ROMAIN, THE DAILY PRESS
Posted -23 sec ago
Bill Butters spent his career in the professional hockey world as a notorious enforcer.
Early in the 1974-75 season, he accumulated almost 200 penalty minutes in just 32 games with the Central Hockey League's Oklahoma City Blazers.
But one day, his hockey career ended, and Butters' life spiraled out of control. That is, he said, until a group of young hockey players led him into a life of Christianity.
Butters, returned to Timmins for the second time this decade, as the guest of honour at the Athletes in Action banquet last night. Held every year and hosted by the Grace Bible Chapel, the event provides an opportunity for people to take their faith seriously and hear the story of how one person's life was changed because of that faith.
"With professional athletes, most of us are interested in them, and this lets them share their story," said the evening's master of ceremonies, Sean Lee. "We may not be able to relate to them on a professional level, but we can on a personal level."
For the past 29 years, the banquet has brought men and women to Timmins who have found fame in sports. Over the years, professional hockey players, members of the Canadian Football League and the National Football League have been featured as the guest speaker.
In the beginning, those star athletes would stay in Timmins for a week, visiting local and area schools, spreading an antidrug message.
Over the last number of years, the event has consistently been sold out.
"Many are not keen to go to a church meeting, but they are willing to come to an event like this," Lee said. "It has always been well-received and well-attended."
When Butters walked up to the podium last night, he said his welcomes and thank yous, and then played a tape. On the tape, was commentary from a game when he played in the World Hockey Association.
During that commentary, Butters said he had gotten into about seven altercations with various players.
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It was why he began playing hockey, and what he would be known for.
"I was in 102 fights and only won two of them," he said as the crowd reacted with laughter.
After breaking his nose in baseball, and discovering he was too slow for football, the Minnesota native took up hockey. That was where he was told his knack for hitting people -- and liking it -- would come in handy.
At a time when teams were good, but soft on the tough side of the sport, Butters was brought up to a Toronto Maple Leafs training camp.
"Instead of looking at your goals and assists, they would look at your PIMs," he said. "A guy would drop the puck, we would drop our gloves and fight.
"We did that for four weeks."
Eventually Butters ended up playing 72 NHL games spanning two seasons for the Minnesota North Stars, where he was teammates with Timmins local Paul Harrison.
"I can tell you, he was as tough as they came," Harrison said. "He brought a lot of fire and credit to a young team.
"He came in with a reputation of being hard nosed to a team that needed that strength."
In 1980, the North Stars general manager told Butters he wished he was a better player. While his spirit and passion was good to have on the bench, it just wasn't enough.
"He told me he couldn't afford to have to a professional cheerleader on the bench. I was crushed," Butters said.
Not long after, when his life had become a spiral of everything he hoped he wouldn't become, a friend convinced him to volunteer to help coach at a Christian hockey camp. For days he fought against the religion that surrounded him, until one day in the chapel, a talk with some of his players changed it all.
"I was there to teach these little boys how to play hockey, and these little boys were leading me to Jesus Christ," Butters said.
Today, Butters has combined his passion for hockey and his faith in God to teach others. He is a chaplain to pro and amateur hockey players, a coach and in 2006 was chosen as one of 10 chaplains to serve the athletes at the Winter Olympics.
"I tell them it's OK to play the fastest, most fun game in the world," he said, "and still love Jesus."
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That forces another disappointingly-blatant-attempt-by-team-management-to-demean-fans'-intelligence-by-promoting-a-stupid-commercial-sponsorship face off
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