Leonard (Butch) Levy papers

On February 19, 1921 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Leonard Bernard "Butch" Levy was born to Abraham Levy and Rose Shapiro; his grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Lithuania and Russia. From an early age, Butch Levy was an all-around athlete; during his time at Minneapolis West High School he earned 12 letters in football, hockey, wrestling, and baseball, winning the 1937 and 1938 Minnesota State Hevyweight and Northwest AAU wrestling championships. Butch went on to the University of Minnesota to study economics and continued with athletics -- he was on the undefeated 1940 and 1941 Golden Gophers football teams where he earned All-America honors as defensive tackle and guard, was AP All-Western Conference First Team in 1941, and played as part of the college all star game in 1942. He also continued with wrestling, winning the NCAA hevyweight title in 1941 and the NAAU hevyweight title in 1942. Upon his graduation, Butch was the number one draft pick of the NFL Cleveland Rams; he instead chose to serve three years in the US Navy in the World War II from 1942-1945, despite being initially turned away due to poor eyesight.

While serving in the miliary, Butch met his wife, Loretta "Lucky" Bellson, daughter of Julius and Jean Bellson. A native of Hamburg, Germany, her family had escaped Nazi Germany in 1939 and resided in Minneapolis. Butch and Loretta married in 1944; they eventually had one daughter and two sons. The year they married Loretta's oldest brother, Peter Hans Bellson, died in the the Battle of the Bulge.

After World War II Butch returned to football. He played again for the NFL Cleveland Rams, who in 1946 became the Los Angeles Rams. In 1947 Butch played one season for the then-new AAFC Los Angeles Dons. Afterwards Butch continued with professional wrestling until 1956, eventually retiring from sports to a successful career as an insurance agent and securities salesman. Loretta passed away in 1997 and Butch succumbed to cancer in 1999.