Mike Ditka: Career retrospective
Mike Ditka is one of the most beloved sports personalities that the city of Chicago has ever seen. He was not from Chicago but won a championship with the Bears as a player and guided them to their only Super Bowl title as a coach.
Here’s a look at the life — on and off the football field — of the legendary Mike Ditka.
Chicago Bears in the 1961 NFL Draft. He was also taken with the eighth overall pick by the Houston Oilers in the 1961 AFL Draft. Choosing to sign with Chicago, the crew-cut-haired tight end made an immediate impact, catching 56 passes with career highs of 1,076 yards and 12 touchdowns en route to becoming the NFL Rookie of the Year.
Ditka famously said of Halas: ”He throws nickels around like they were manhole covers.” His days as a player in Chicago were done.
Philadelphia Eagles, where he spent two rather uneventful seasons. Then it was off to Dallas, where Ditka played four years, caught 30 passes in 1971 and a touchdown pass during the Cowboys’ victory over Miami in Super Bowl VI — making him the only head coach in NFL history to also score a TD in the Super Bowl.
427 receptions for 5,812 yards with 43 touchdowns during his 12-year NFL career. However, he was not through with the NFL. Following his retirement, Ditka earned an assistant coaching gig on Tom Landry’s staff in Dallas. He remained on the Cowboys staff as tight end and special teams coach and was part of the team’s Super Bowl XII victory.
he Bears had a special spot in his heart. He respected the tradition and felt he had some unfinished business with the organization. So in a rather bold move, Ditka sent Halas a letter basically saying he would like to return to the franchise as its head coach. The time was obviously right for a return, as the Bears toiled during a 6-10 1981 season, coach Neill Armstrong was fired and Halas decided to give Ditka another chance — in the role Ditka was meant to fill.
