He had been drafted by the Bears with the third pick in the first round of the NFL Draft and there was absolutely no question he would sign with Chicago.

The Broncos, meanwhile, were such a moribund franchise on the field that they pretty much knew in advance there would be no chance of their signing their top draft pick, so they took Butkus largely as a public relations move.

Denver boldly stated they would top any financial offer the Bears could make.

Very likely, Denver did not have the finances to sign Butkus, but it hardly mattered, as it was a certainty that he would never sign with a very poor team from the American Football League instead of the legendary Bears in his hometown.

So executives from the Broncos blustered about their willingness to sign Butkus up until the predetermined moment when he signed with the Bears.

In his illustrious Hall of Fame career, Butkus was a perennial Pro Bowler who was Defensive Player of the Year in 1969 and 1970.

He was the poster boy for the Monsters of the Midway.

Even though Denver failed to sign Dick Butkus, four decades later, the Broncos more than made up for that failed public relations move by bringing in Manning, whose greatness was and is undisputed in the history of the National Football League.

And I have always found it interesting that of all the cities in which the Broncos might have been scheduled for their first game with Manning, it was in Chicago and at the one and only Soldier Field that he stepped on the field for the second phase of his magnificent career which will eventually be capped by membership in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

There, he will join Butkus and Elway, completing the circle of greatness that is forever part of the game.

But that is in the future.