Tribute to Coach Butterfield

Coach Butterfield came to Ithaca in 1967
In November 2002 he became teammates with his friends in heaven

Ithaca is where "Butts" coached football and taught for 27 years
Earning three national championships and giving his opponents fears

Coach loved to tell a story to motivate his team
Teaching and coaching was always his dream

A lineman at Maine and a coach who had fun
Celebrated with a martini, whether he lost or won

Raised three great children and loved to talk like Donald Duck
Winning for coach was hard work and preparation -- not luck

We all knew his wife, Lois, and knew she ran the show:
"Jim, running the football is the only way to go"

South Hill Field became Butterfield Stadium in '88
It's where many of us played and would later congregate

Coach was a dad, husband, master teacher, and friend
As his disciple, on his philosophies we would all depend

In 1997 coach got inducted into the College Hall of Fame
He taught us a lot about life and God's greatest game

Thank you, Coach, we love you, you're our hero and leader
We hope to play for you again someday, nothing would be sweeter

-- Randy Garrett '73
Fairport, New York