They say things come in threes. Mostly with celebrity deaths. Last Friday one of Chicago’s famous celebrities passed away at the age of 86. Da Coach, Mike Ditka, who made an impact playing on the gridiron as a player and the legendary head coach for the Chicago Bears. Besides the Chicago sports landscape, he had his own restaurant. He had his own line of cigars, meats, and wine. He became a Chicagoan even though he was born and raised in the state of Pennsylvania. Many of the greats that played on the gridiron came from the city of Pittsburgh, or many of the smaller towns in Pennsylvania. Before his own players hoisted him up in the air after he led the Bears to their only Superbowl, he was a Hall of Fame tight end. Kind of a trailblazer at the position. He lived a full life and was a straight shooter with a fiery personality that some would say was a temper. He was a BEAR!!! Iron Mike took the city of Chicago on his shoulders on the football field and beyond. This weekend black clouds were across the Chicago sky line losing one of our own, a legendary figure in the sports landscape. It followed in threes. On Friday the news of Ditka’s passing hit the airwaves on every television in every watering hole across the state of Illinois. On Saturday the White Sox lost a crucial game 5 and were eliminated from post0season. While Sunday, the Bears got their arses beat in by their archrival Green Bay Packers to close out a weekend.
Mike Ditka played his college ball at the University of Pittsburgh. He actually was drafted in the first round of two different football leagues. It was in 1961 before the NFL and AFL merged their two leagues into one monopoly. The Bears drafted him in the first round 5th overall. In the AFL, the old Houston Oilers drafted Ditka in the first round 8th overall. Ditka went to Chicago where he became the first tight end ever to surpass 1,000 receiving yards. Which he did in his rookie season in a Bears uniform. Obviously he won Rookie of the Year that first season. He was the Gronk, or Travis Kelce Swift of the NFL world before the tight end became a flux capacitor in the passing game. Ditka was the first tight end enshrined in Canton which is where the Football Hall Of Fame resides. That was in 1988. As a player he played 12 seasons in the NFL, which six of them were with the Bears. He played 2 seasons with the Eagles and then 4 with the Cowboys. He played in 158 regular season games in the NFL from 1961 until 1972. His last game he wore a Cowboys uniform. He hauled in 427 receptions which he tallied up 5,812 receiving yards and caught 43 touchdown passes. Back then those were incredible numbers. He was a 5 time pro-bowler. The Bears retired his jersey back in 2013.
The Original Papa Bear, George Halas, hired Mike Ditka to be the next Bears legend head coach like himself. Papa Bear nailed it. Da Coach became Da Coach in 1982 and he coached 11 seasons in Chicago until that dreaded day in 1991 when the organization cut ties with Ditka. He left a legacy mark in his coaching including the ’85 Bears who won it all including the Superbowl. In 1985, the Bears went 15-1 that season. They stormed through the NFC playoffs. Then slaughtered the Patriots in the Superbowl. The Bears defense that year is probably the best of all-time. The Bears would eventually make it back to the Superbowl in 2006 but lost to Peyton Manning’s Colts. Still to this day Da Coach Iron Mike Ditka was the only Bears head coach to win a Superbowl. Ditka did another thing that many head coaches have suffered with since he left town. He always beat the Packers. He went 15-5 versus the cheese-heads as the head coach of the Bears. After he left, the Bears have been owned by quarterbacks like Brett Favre and the douche in Pittsburgh right now, Aaron Rodgers. This has been going on for decades. In 11 seasons as head coach with the Bears, he went 121-95 and 6-6 in the post-season. His temper butted heads with his quarterbacks like Jim Harbaugh and Jim McMahon. He did not get along with Buddy Ryan, who was the D-Coordinator of that great defense in ’85. That Superbowl team had all kinds of personalities and talent. Ditka somehow meshed them all together and gave us a team to remember for the rest of our lives. That ’85 team may have been one of the best teams in the history of the game.
Da Coach was like a cat as he landed on his feet after he was fired by the Bears. Ditka went to the Big Easy and took on his second head coaching job with the New Orleans Saints.
Looks like Ditka got married in New Orleans. The cover of ESPN magazine had Da Coach in a tuxedo with his bride running back, Ricky Williams, as the bride in a gown. This symbolized a football marriage. Ditka definitely lost some of his marbles using all his draft picks in one season which were 8 of them in a trade with Washington to get running back Williams. But he did it. The owner let him do it and Ricky was running with the Saints. In Chicago, Ditka had the best running back of all-time in Walter Payton. This may be what Da Coach was thinking landing the next Payton in Williams. It did not happen. Ditka and the Saints were not very good. In three seasons in New Orleans, Da Coach suffered a losing record of 15-33. He would only last three seasons in the Big Easy. Williams was a bust with the Saints. He would play better with the Dolphins in Miami later in his career.
Mike Ditka still lived life in the football world after his coaching career. He became a television analyst for years telling all the fan bases how football should be played. He was not gun shy about his opinions on a player or any reporter. As a head coach, he put his gum on some news reporter’s camera lens. He unloaded the middle finger on a reporter telling him, “This is your IQ BUDDY.” Ditka was old school, but he didn’t care what you thought of him. People loved him including the Super Fans on Saturday Night Live as Mike Swerski did multiple skits on Da Coach. Making him sound like a god of the gridiron. Da Coach was bigger than life. He is only a few that have won a triple crown in professional football. He won a Superbowl as a player with Dallas and an assistant coach after his playing career concluded. Then add the Superbowl he won as head coach with the Bears. Some great things come in threes as well. On the Chicago Mount Rushmore of the sporting landscape for head coaches or managers. You have to go Ditka for the Bears, Phil Jackson for the Bulls, Joe Maddon for the Cubs, Joel Quennville for the Blackhawks and the great Ozzie Guillen for the White Sox. They are the main sports in my lifetime. Any player or coach has never brought a drink in Chicago that played or coached on that ’85 team. It’s the only thing we’ve got and we still hang on to it like a teddy bear the way a kid will. Ditka was the Papa Bear of many of the generations in Chicago. He cemented a legacy in this town and did not leave it for greener pastures. It is a sad week in Chicago losing one of our biggest sports legends and a citizen of this great town we call Chicago. RIP IRON MIKE!! Thanks for the memories, not holding back, and being that straight shooter that all people should respect.
