Educated at Taunton School, Mr Butler joined the Express and Echo in the early 1950s at the age of sixteen. Starting at around the same time as his near-contemporary Tony Court, he was mainly based in the paper's Taunton office even though he did cover sports assignments in the Exeter area. After serving with the Somerset Light Infantry on National Service, his reporting career soon led to stints on the Nottingham Evening News and Leicester Mercury before getting his break on Fleet Street with The News Chronicle. With that title's closure in 1961 he moved to the Daily Telegraph where he made his reputation prior to becoming the BBC's football correspondent in 1968. The author of the Official History Of The Football Association and the Pictorial History Of The Football League, he remained with the broadcaster until 1991 and was fondly remembered for his many commentaries including England's 1986 World Cup defeat at the hands of Argentina and Diego Maradona's two greatly-contrasting goals.

After leaving the BBC he continued to write a weekly column for the Daily Telegraph as well as to pen articles about cricket. He died in April 2001 at the age of sixty-six just a few months before his former Express and Echo colleague Tony Court. Although it's not known if Bryon Butler ever reported on Exeter City it is believed he covered local football in both Devon and Somerset during his time with the Express and Echo.