Cannonball Butler
James Butler
Born: May 4, 1943
Quincy, FL USA
Deceased: February 10, 2014
Atlanta, GA
Position: RB
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 194
College: Edward Waters
High School: Carver (Delray Beach, FL)
Career: 1965-1974
Drafted: 1965 in Round 14, #186 overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers
Cannonball Butler played from 1965 to 1974 during his career with the Atlanta Falcons, Birmingham Americans, Pittsburgh Steelers and St. Louis Cardinals. Butler ran for 2,784 yards in his career on 804 attempts, scoring 9 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 89 passes for 959 yards and 7 receiving touchdowns..
Click on column headings to sort.
Rushing:
| Year | Team | No. | Yds | Avg. | Long | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 46 | 108 | 2.3 | 12 | 0 |
| 1966 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 46 | 114 | 2.5 | 19 | 2 |
| 1967 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 90 | 293 | 3.3 | 24 | 0 |
| 1968 | NFL Atlanta Falcons | 94 | 365 | 3.9 | 60 | 2 |
| 1969 | NFL Atlanta Falcons | 163 | 655 | 4.0 | 39 | 3 |
| 1970 | NFL Atlanta Falcons | 166 | 636 | 3.8 | 33 | 0 |
| 1971 | NFL Atlanta Falcons | 186 | 594 | 3.2 | 19 | 2 |
| 1972 | NFL St. Louis Cardinals | 6 | 3 | 0.5 | 5 | 0 |
| 1974 | WFL Birmingham Americans | 7 | 16 | 2.3 | 5 | 0 |
| NFL | 797 | 2768 | 3.5 | 60 | 9 | |
| WFL | 7 | 16 | 2.3 | 5 | 0 | |
| Totals | 804 | 2784 | 3.5 | 60 | 9 |
Receiving:
| Year | Team | No. | Yds | Avg. | Long | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 9 | 117 | 13.0 | 43 | 1 |
| 1966 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 4 | 93 | 23.2 | 66 | 1 |
| 1967 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 4 | 23 | 5.8 | 13 | 0 |
| 1968 | NFL Atlanta Falcons | 15 | 127 | 8.5 | 31 | 0 |
| 1969 | NFL Atlanta Falcons | 17 | 297 | 17.5 | 65 | 2 |
| 1970 | NFL Atlanta Falcons | 24 | 151 | 6.3 | 25 | 1 |
| 1971 | NFL Atlanta Falcons | 15 | 143 | 9.5 | 27 | 2 |
| 1972 | NFL St. Louis Cardinals | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 8 | 0 |
| NFL | 89 | 959 | 10.8 | 66 | 7 | |
| Totals | 89 | 959 | 10.8 | 66 | 7 |
Kick Returns:
| Year | Team | No. | Yds | Avg. | Long | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 25 | 509 | 20.4 | 36 | 0 |
| 1966 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 17 | 454 | 26.7 | 93 | 1 |
| 1967 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 10 | 223 | 22.3 | 32 | 0 |
| 1968 | NFL Atlanta Falcons | 37 | 799 | 21.6 | 42 | 0 |
| 1969 | NFL Atlanta Falcons | 13 | 405 | 31.2 | 61 | 0 |
| 1970 | NFL Atlanta Falcons | 14 | 284 | 20.3 | 29 | 0 |
| 1971 | NFL Atlanta Falcons | 13 | 372 | 28.6 | 82 | 0 |
| 1972 | NFL St. Louis Cardinals | 4 | 85 | 21.2 | 27 | 0 |
| NFL | 133 | 3131 | 23.5 | 93 | 1 | |
| Totals | 133 | 3131 | 23.5 | 93 | 1 |
Defense and Fumbles:
| Year | Team | Tackle | Brup | Fum | F Rec | FYds | FTD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1966 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1967 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1968 | NFL Atlanta Falcons | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1969 | NFL Atlanta Falcons | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1970 | NFL Atlanta Falcons | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1971 | NFL Atlanta Falcons | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1972 | NFL St. Louis Cardinals | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| NFL | 0 | 34 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Totals | 0 | 0 | 34 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total Scoring:
| Touchdowns | Other | Total | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | Rush | Rec | Punt | Kick | MFG | Int | Fum | Other | FG | X/C | Single | 2Pt | Saf | Points |
| 1965 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |||||||
| 1966 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | |||||||
| 1968 | NFL Atlanta Falcons | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |||||||
| 1969 | NFL Atlanta Falcons | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | |||||||
| 1970 | NFL Atlanta Falcons | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |||||||
| 1971 | NFL Atlanta Falcons | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | |||||||
| NFL | 9 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 102 | |
| Totals | 9 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 102 | |
Playing Career:
| Year | League | Team | GP | GS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | NFL | Pittsburgh Steelers | 14 | 0 |
| 1966 | NFL | Pittsburgh Steelers | 14 | 0 |
| 1967 | NFL | Pittsburgh Steelers | 11 | 0 |
| 1968 | NFL | Atlanta Falcons | 12 | 0 |
| 1969 | NFL | Atlanta Falcons | 14 | 0 |
| 1970 | NFL | Atlanta Falcons | 14 | 0 |
| 1971 | NFL | Atlanta Falcons | 13 | 0 |
| 1972 | NFL | St. Louis Cardinals | 5 | 0 |
| 1974 | WFL | Birmingham Americans |
