Ian (Rocky) Butler is pretty low-key for a guy with a CFL game named after him.
For many, the 2002 Labour Day Classic between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers is still remembered as “the Rocky Butler game” due to the stellar showing the Roughriders’ then-rookie quarterback turned in in his first pro start.
“I guess I did something pretty good that day,” the man in question says with a chuckle when reminded that his name is still attached to the contest.
Butler, 39, laughs again when it’s suggested that Roughriders fans likely would buy him a beer or two (dozen) if he turned up Sunday at Mosaic Stadium for the 2018 Labour Day Classic. But his overriding reaction these days to being the star of “the Rocky Butler game” is more subdued than one might expect.
“It’s a great memory, but that part of my athletic career is over,” says Butler, who now trains quarterbacks at Position Specific Training in Freeport, N.Y., when he isn’t working as a phys-ed teacher and football/track coach in Long Beach, N.Y. “Those are some great memories and I share them with some great people, but I’m kind of past it.”
Originally from Allentown, Pa., Butler spent five seasons at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y.
In 2000 — his first year as the Flying Dutchmen’s starting QB — he was named the NCAA Division 1-AA Independent offensive player of the year after throwing for 2,341 yards and 22 touchdowns and adding 439 yards rushing and 11 TDs.
The following season, Butler was named a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, which goes annually to the top player in Division 1-AA football. He threw for 3,311 yards (the second-highest single-season total in school history) and set a school record with 30 TD passes as a senior.
In May of 2002, the 6-foot-0, 204-pounder signed with the Roughriders, whose quarterbacking stable also included Nealon Greene, Kevin Glenn and Jonathan Beasley.
By the time the annual Labour Day clash with the Bombers rolled around, Greene (pulled hamstring) and Glenn (injured right thumb) were on the shelf, so Roughriders head coach Danny Barrett had to choose a starter from Butler and Beasley.
Surprisingly, Barrett decided to give Butler his first career start.
“It was between me and (Beasley) and, since no one had got the nod early in the week, I knew there was a chance of me starting,” recalls Butler who, legend has it, wasn’t told he was starting until the morning of the game.
“I prepared all week like I was going to be the starter, so when I did get the nod, it wasn’t a shock. It was more of a relief than anything.”
Did not being told earlier in the week help keep Butler’s nerves in check?
“I don’t think there were nerves,” he replies. “It was more anticipation than anything.
“At that point I was a rookie, so I didn’t realize the significance of the Labour Day Classic and I didn’t think anything of it. I just thought of it like a Homecoming Game in college — the games you wanted to be pumped up for.”
Butler was definitely pumped up in the game. He completed nine of 16 pass attempts for 165 yards and rushed nine times for 63 yards with touchdown runs of one, eight and 32 yards in Saskatchewan’s 33-19 victory.
Asked 16 years later if he surprised himself with his play that day, Butler replies: “Not really.”
“I just wish I had thrown for more yards than I did instead of rushing, but whatever helped us to win,” he adds.
For his efforts, Butler was named the CFL’s offensive player of the week.
“Butler, though not a textbook quarterback, withstood the assault of the attacking Winnipeg defence,” player-of-the-week judge Bob Krause said in a media release at the time. “He beat them not with his arm, but with his legs on ad-lib plays, sprint-outs and draws.”
Butler was back on the bench for the Roughriders’ subsequent games, so his passing statistics didn’t change for the rest of the season. He finished the campaign with 12 carries for 68 yards and the three TDs that he scored in the Classic.
He spent the next four seasons with Saskatchewan as well, making one start (which he lost) in 2004 and two starts (one of which he won) in 2006. He was traded to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in January of 2007.
There’s little doubt that the game for which Butler is most remembered is the 2002 Classic.
“I wish I could have had more opportunities to have more of (those types of games),” he says. “But I’ll always remember that one. It showed me that I belonged …
“We had four quarterbacks on the roster at that point — maybe five — and the following year we had Henry Burris come in, so any opportunity I got, I had to try to prove that I could play.”
Butler was cut by Hamilton prior to the 2007 season and signed with the Toronto Argonauts, for whom he started two games. The Argos released him in advance of the 2008 season.
He subsequently returned to Hofstra and got his master’s degree in physical education in 2010. He was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2015.
Nowadays, when he has time, he watches CFL games on TV.
“I check out what the new stadium (in Regina) looks like; it’s pretty awesome,” Butler says. “I check out the uniforms; I always liked the CFL uniforms. And I’m checking out how (Montreal Alouettes quarterback) Johnny Manziel is doing.
“I’m a football fanatic, so anytime I get a chance to watch football, I’m watching it.”
