Isiah “Butch” Robertson, a former All-Pro linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams, died in a car crash Thursday night, via multiple reports. Robertson was 69.
He was returning home from speaking at a high school football banquet outside Dallas when he was killed in a three-car accident not far from the drug and alcohol treatment center Robertson founded in Mabank, Texas. Robertson was driving a limousine in the rain at an unsafe speed around a curve before skidding and then striking a truck and another vehicle, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The Rams made Robertson a first-round draft choice in 1971, the 10th overall selection. He played eight seasons in Los Angeles before finishing his career with four seasons in Buffalo.
Robertson earned six Pro Bowl selections and four times was named All-Pro. But he might be best remembered for Earl Campbell head-butting him in the sternum, a play that frequently appears in Campbell’s highlight reel as he runs over the Rams in a 1978 game.
Robertson, though, later knocked Campbell out of the game with a hit to Campbell’s thigh.
The Rams earned six consecutive NFC West titles while Robertson was a starting linebacker for the team. In 111 games with the Rams, he made 18 interceptions. He made seven interceptions in 57 games with the Bills.
Robertson, who attended Southern University from 1967-70, was inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame last year.