NFL-Fearsome 'Monster of the Midway' Dick Butkus dies at 80

:The menacing Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus, who struck fear in opposing offenses and quarterbacks for nine National Football League (NFL) seasons, has died, the Chicago Bears said on Thursday. He was 80.

Known as a ferocious and punishing tackler, Butkus came to define the modern middle linebacker while spending his entire career in Chicago, where he earned eight Pro Bowl selections.

"The Butkus family confirms that football and entertainment legend Dick Butkus died peacefully in his sleep overnight at home in Malibu, California," the Butkus family said in a statement provided by the Bears.

The late Deacon Jones, a defensive end and fellow Hall of Famer, once described the two-time Defensive Player of the Year as "A well-conditioned animal, and every time he hit you, he tried to put you in the cemetery, not the hospital."

His accomplishments were acknowledged in 1985 with the institution of the Dick Butkus Award, an annual honor recognizing the best linebacker at the high school, collegiate and professional levels.

"Dick was the ultimate Bear," team chairman George McCaskey said in a statement. "He refused to accept anything less than the best from himself or from his teammates."

'WOULDN'T SETTLE'

A definitive figure in the pantheon of Chicago sports greats, Butkus was born and raised in the Windy City as the youngest of nine children.

He decided by the fifth grade that he wanted to become a professional football player and stayed close to home to play at the collegiate level at the University of Illinois before the Bears drafted him third overall in 1965.

"I dreamed of being a great football player as far back as I can remember. I decided to take one step at a time and wouldn't settle for less," Butkus said at his Pro