One can’t tell the story of the NFL without Mike Ditka.
The Ditka family announced on Friday afternoon that the Hall of Fame head coach and tight end passed away at 86. With that said, just because the Chicago Bears’ legend is no longer physically present in the football world, doesn’t mean his legacy won’t be felt for eternity.
As both a player and coach, Ditka was one of a kind and impacted the sport both on and off the field.
Before becoming a legend with the Bears vest on his chest, Ditka was a menace at tight end.
Originally selected by the Houston Oilers with the No. 8 pick in the 1961 AFL Draft, Ditka, an All-American who finished sixth in the 1960 Heisman Trophy voting with the Pittsburgh Panthers, opted against playing in the upstart AFL. One month later, he was selected by the Bears with the No. 5 pick in the 1961 NFL Draft and packed his bags for the Windy City.
Sure, Ditka could drive a defender into the parking lot as a blocker, but “Iron Mike” made history as a pass-catcher.
In Ditka’s 1961 rookie campaign, he became the first tight end in NFL history to log 1,000 receiving yards in a single season, reeling in 56 receptions for 1,076 yards (19.2 yards per reception) and 12 touchdowns. Ditka would be a Pro Bowler in each of his first five seasons in the sport and an All-Pro in 1963 and 1964. Over his first four seasons (1961-64), Ditka averaged 62.0 receptions for 917.8 yards and 7.5 touchdowns per year.
Ditka was part of Chicago’s 1963 NFL Championship team, which marked the Bears’ first NFL championship since 1946.
Following six years with the Bears (1961-66), Ditka spent two years with the Philadelphia Eagles (1967-68) and finished his career with the Dallas Cowboys from 1969-72. On the Dallas front, Ditka helped the Cowboys win their first-ever Super Bowl and championship altogether in 1971, reeling in a 7-yard touchdown from Roger Staubach in the fourth quarter of the team’s Super Bowl VI triumph over the Miami Dolphins.
Ditka parlayed his four seasons with the Cowboys into nine seasons as the assistant head coach and special teams coordinator for Hall of Fame head coach Tom Landry in Dallas from 1973-81.
Meanwhile, up north, after posting losing records in three of the previous four seasons, the Bears fired head coach Neill Armstrong in 1982. Seeing an opportunity to both become a head coach and bring his first NFL love back to prominence, Ditka interviewed for the Bears’ head-coaching vacancy and ultimately got the job â and would later embark on an indelible journey.
The strike-shortened 1982 season, which saw Chicago go 3-6, and a .500 campaign (8-8) in 1983 put Ditka on thin ice. But the Bears found themselves in Year 3 of the Ditka era. As part of a 10-6 season that saw Chicago win its division for the first time since its 1963 NFL Championship season, the Bears reached the NFC Championship Game. After being shut out by Bill Walsh’s San Francisco 49ers, who went on to win the Super Bowl, in the NFC title game, Ditka’s Bears would put together one of the most dominant seasons in NFL history.
In what was a 15-1 regular season â with the mere blemish being a Week 13 loss to Dan Marino and the Dolphins on Monday Night Football â Chicago recorded 70 sacks in 1985, which came after tallying 72 sacks the year prior. The Bears’ defense pitched two shutouts in the regular season and held opponents to no more than 10 points in 11 of 16 games.
Then, Chicago proceeded to shut out BOTH the New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams in the NFC playoffs before laying waste to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX, 46-10.
Who did that defense include? For starters, it had four Hall of Famers: defensive end Richard Dent, linebacker Mike Singletary and defensive linemen Steve McMichael and Dan Hampton. Chicago’s d
