Bill Butler
Before there was a Country Breakfast playing in Kansas City, the first Bill Butler was a Royal. William Franklin Butler, known as Bill, hailed from Herndon, Virginia. The Detroit Tigers had selected Butler in the 37th round of the very first amateur baseball draft in 1965. Looking back at that draft it’s amazing to see how many players eventually played for the Royals: Joe Keough, Bob Stinson, Amos Otis, Hal McRae, Marty Pattin, Tom Murphy, Gene Garber, Freddie Patek, Steve Renko and Bill Butler. The 1966 draft produced six players who eventually found their way into a Royals uniform, but nothing like the trio of Otis, McRae and Patek from 1965.