The last time I penned a piece like this, it was also about a member of the 1985 Chicago Bears. Then it was about the passing of Steve McMichael, who was the guts of that legendary team. As I said then, Walter Payton was the heart and soul of the team, and Jim McMahon was the star; the quarterback and the face of the Bears. But Mike Ditka was their unquestioned leader.
I met Mike Ditka in an airport lounge once. Even though he was well into his 60s at the time, and even though his body was seriously showing the signs of being double-teamed by a life of football awash in Father Time, it was still clear the man was one tough son of a bitch. Not only that, but the man had that kind of charisma that easily could replace the electricity in any room he occupied.
That’s why he inherited the throne reserved for the King of Chicago from Harry Caray. Leading the ’85 Bears to a Super Bowl championship made him the Windy City’s crown prince, but it was the Bill Swerski and the Super Fans skit on Saturday Night Live that coronated him. Like Caray before him, Ditka transcended sports to become the embodiment of the “City of Broad Shoulders.” If Chicago printed it’s own currency, Ditka would be on the $100 bill.
Given all that, Ditka’s contributions to the game as a player cannot be overlooked. Simply stated, every tight end in the game today owes a debt of gratitude to Mike Ditka; he transformed the position in the National Football League.
Coming out of the University of Pittsburgh in 1961, the Bears selected Ditka with the fifth overall pick in that year’s NFL Draft. In those days, tight ends were used as little more than extra offensive lineman. But Ditka became a force in the passing game; in 84 games as a Chicago Bear, Ditka totaled 316 receptions for 4,503 yards and 34 touchdowns. He would add to those career totals with two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles (1967-68) and four as a member of the Dallas Cowboys (1969-72).
Mike Ditka the player was a two-time NFL champion, two-time First-Team All-Pro, three-time Second-Team All-Pro, five-time Pro Bowler, and was named to the both NFL’s 75th and 100th Anniversary All-Time Teams and became the first tight end inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988.
RIP, Michael Keller Dyczko Jr. You were a legend on the football field both as a player and a coach, and someday I’ll have to write about the afternoon I got to pull airport bar duty with you.
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