BUTLER TWP — The surroundings were quite strange, the honor quite humbling.

Butler senior fullback-linebacker Bill Rettig found himself giving a speech at a football banquet — West Mifflin North's football banquet.

“I was there because they named me the toughest opposing player they faced all year,” Rettig recalled. “It really was a humbling honor.

“I didn't know what to say up there. I complimented and praised their team. After all, they beat us.”

Rettig gained more than 100 yards in the 1963 WPIAL championship game, but the Golden Tornado suffered a 12-6 loss after completing only the second perfect regular season in the school's football history.

During that year, the 5-foot-10, 212-pound Rettig became the first Butler running back to ever rush for 1,000 yards in a season. He finished the regular season with 1,008 yards, including 131 in the season finale against New Castle.

“No one thought about a back getting 1,000 yards for us, it was never a goal or anything,” Rettig said. “We just wanted to win football games.

“But when I got close, around 880 or so, our offensive line made sure I got there. That was one of the best lines Butler football has ever put together. And the ends blocked quite a bit, too.”

Gordon Cavalero was the Tornado's starting center. Ralph Beck and Jim Adamosky were the guards, Tom McGrath and Nick Jankovich the tackles.

The playing field at New Castle was soggy and muddy the night of the Butler game — a 27-6 Tornado victory — “and we were in the middle of a drought at that time,” Rettig recalled.

He bumped into New Castle coach Lindy Lauro a few weeks after the game and asked him about the field.

“I asked if they had a water main break or something,” Rettig said. “He smiled and admitted they watered the field a bunch of times before the game in an attempt to slow us down.

“I didn't have much speed, anyway,” Retting added, laughing. “A long run for me was maybe 35 yards. My running style was quick, short bursts. I had a fast time in the 40-yard dash. In the 100, I was a little slower.

“The 220 ... I thought those guys were nuts,” he added.

But Rettig, nicknamed “Tank,” suited Butler's offense just fine.

“Bill was the perfect fit for the Woody Hayes-style offense I loved to run back then,” retired Butler coach Art Bernardi said. “He ran low to the ground and was strong enough to get through people.”

Rettig often carried the ball 25 to 30 times a game, along with standing out as a linebacker. He went on to play linebacker at Penn State.

He got physically stronger and improved his flexibility by working out with the gymnastics team.

“I worked closely with (then Tornado assistant coach) Paul Uram and he wanted me to practice with his gymnasts,” Rettig said. “They had a lot of fun laughing at a 200-pounder trying to do their stuff, but those workouts definitely helped me.

“Coach Uram had a way about him ... If he told me to run through a wall, I was running through a wall. I never questioned him. And if you didn't do something on or off the field he expected you to do, he had a way of letting you know.”

Uram strengthened Rettig as an athlete.

“He was a durable kid who stayed away from injury,” Bernardi said.

The Tornado offense was vanilla — but it worked.

“There was nothing complicated about what we did,” Rettig said. “Our plays were 46 right, 46 left ... our trap plays were so effective. The linemen just blew out the first line of defense and, often times, I was running alone with only the safety in front of me. I could either juke him or run him over.

“And when we needed 3 yards or the fourth-and-1s, we got 'em.”

Bernardi said execution was the key to that offense's success.

“People knew what was coming, to one side or the other, and still couldn't stop it,” the coach said. “Our line could block, and Bill could block. He was one tough football player.”

As well as he played offensively, Rettig preferred to play on the other side of the ball.

“Hit people as opposed to getting hit by people? No-brainer,” Rettig said.

Besides, younger brother Terry Rettig — who went on to play linebacker at Vanderbilt — rushed for nearly 1,200 yards for Butler in 1964.

“He told me he had to put me in my place,” Rettig said.

Butler Football Hometown Heros will honor the 1963 football team prior to kickoff of the 2013 season opener Aug. 30. Anyone knowing the whereabouts of players and coaches from that team are urged to call Kevin Vogel at 724-822-5291.

This is the first in a series of articles commemorating the 50th anniversary of Butler's undefeated 1963 varsity football team.