Butler was born in
Tenterfield, New South Wales on 6 August 1917. He represented New South Wales in 1938 before signing with North Sydney in 1940. Butler played occasional games for Norths between 1940 and 1943 while he was training with the RAAF. In 1943, North Sydney made the NSWRL grand final against
Newtown. Norths would lose the match 34–7 at the
Sydney Cricket Ground. North Sydney's loss in the grand final was attributed to the fact that Butler along with Harry Taylor and a couple of other players did not play in the game due to their service during war time. ==Military service==