About Inductee

James R. Buttram was one of the most outstanding athletes in the history of Huntsvilles S. R. Butler High School. Born on May 30, 1934, in Chattanooga, Buttram and his family moved to Huntsville in 1951 after attending various schools in Maryland and Tennessee. When Jim came here, says former Butler player Donald Crutcher, it was one of the best things that ever happened to the 1952 Butler High football team. Buttram earned two letters as a fullback on coach Fulton Hamiltons football teams, two letters in basketball under Gilbert Ayers and two more in track under Charlie Hopper. He was one of the stars of the 1952 football team, which went undefeated in the regular season. An All-State, All-South and All-America as a senior, Buttram played in the 1954 Alabama high school all-star game. He was heavily recruited by colleges throughout the South and signed a scholarship with Mississippi State. He signed with Mississippi State because of the schools science and chemistry departments and because he wanted to play for States young head coach, Darrell Royal. While winning three varsity letters and a freshman letter at Mississippi State, Buttram played several positions, including end, center, guard, fullback and linebacker on defense. Coach Royal called him his best utility man because he could play several positions. After graduation, he enrolled at Auburn, where he received a PhD in Entomology and Toxicology. He remained on the faculty at Auburn for six years before going to the University of Georgia and eventually joining The Upjohn Co. in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he helped develop several new chemicals, including the pain reliever Motrin, through grants with major universities in the U.S. and Canada. Buttram currently owns two companies in Winter Garden, Florida. Jim has always loved football and the character it builds in young men. Because of his love for the game, he has served on the YMCA board and also coached Pop Warner football. His 1975 Pop Warner team won the first Walt Disney bowl game. He also assisted in football at his local middle school and at West Orange High School when two of his sons were playing. Buttram hopes to retire someday soon and move back to Huntsville. I may just have a golf game or two left, he says.