Tag / Football HOF

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RIP Coach Ditka

Former Bears coach and Hall of Fame tight end Mike Ditka passed away this morning at the age of 86.  Ditka, who spent 17 seasons with the Bears, six as a player and eleven as head coach, is one of only two people to win a Super Bowl as both a player, assistant coach, and head coach and one of only four in the NFL’s modern era to win a championship coaching a team for which they played.

Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Ditka was drafted by the Bears in 1961, winning Rookie of the Year honors after becoming the first tight end in history to surpass 1,000 receiving yards.  He was a member of the franchise’s 1963 NFL Championship team before being traded to the Eagles due to a contract dispute with George Halas.  Inducted to Canton in 1988, he was the first tight end enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

After his playing career, he became an assistant coach with the Cowboys under Tom Landry.  Letting bygones be bygones, he was hired by Halas in 1982 to take the top spot with the Bears.  Ditka led the team to the playoffs seven times during his eleven-season run, reaching the NFC Championship Game on three occasions.  In 1985, the Bears cruised to a 15-1 regular season record before easily defeating the Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX.

He became an icon in Chicago, opening several restaurants and endorsing a long list of products, including wine, cigars and sausages.  He starred in television commercials and appeared, as himself, in several television shows and in Will Ferrell’s 2005 comedy Kicking and Screaming.  He was immortalized on Saturday Night Live in their series of Superfans sketches that paid tribute to Ditka and “Da Bears.”

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Express Train From West Lafayette To Canton

Former Purdue quarterback Drew Brees, who led the school to their last Rose Bowl appearance in 2001, got the call to Canton last month as a member of the NFL’s Hall of Fame class of 2026.  Brees joins the hall alongside Roger Craig, Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Kuechly, and Adam Vinatieri and will be inducted August 8 in Canton, Ohio.

Receiving scholarship offers from only two schools, Brees arrived in West Lafayette as an unheralded freshman in 1997.  He became the starter the following year and, alongside head coach Joe Tiller, helped lead a resurrection of a moribund football program.  He left Purdue following the 2000 season with two NCAA records, thirteen Big Ten Conference records, and 19 program records.

His NFL career began in 2001 after being selected by the Chargers in the second round of the draft.  After backing up Doug Flutie in his rookie season, Brees became the starting quarterback for the Chargers for the majority of the following four seasons.  Following the 2005 season, Brees became a free agent and headed to New Orleans, where he became a legend.  In 2009, he led the Saints to their first Super Bowl appearance and championship in franchise history.  He retired in 2021 as a thirteen-time Pro Bowler, two-time NFL Offensive Player of the Year, the 2006 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year, and holding eight league records and fourteen Saints franchise records.

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RIP Mongo

Former Bears great and NFL Hall of Famer Steve McMichael died today aged 67.  He was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, in January of 2021 and was removed from his ventilator and moved to hospice care earlier today.

McMichael spent thirteen seasons as a defensive tackle with the Bears, earning All-Pro honors twice.  He’s currently second in franchise history with 92½ sacks and third with 814 tackles.  He made a franchise record 191 consecutive starts, starting in week 7 of 1981 and lasting through the end of the 1993 season and was a key part of the fabled “46” defense that led the Bears to the Super Bowl XX title.  He was elected to the Hall of Fame last year.

Following his football career, McMichael turned to professional wrestling, where we worked with both the then-WWF and WCW.  In August of 2001, he appeared at Wrigley Field as the guest conductor of the seventh inning stretch.  Prior to belting out Take Me Out to the Ballgame, McMichael had a few words for home plate umpire Angel Hernandez, who was involved in a questionable call the previous inning.  Hernandez stared down McMichael from the field and, eventually, McMichael left the booth, having been ejected from the stadium.

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The Call To The Hall

Three former Bears will be heading to Canton this summer as part of the NFL’s Hall of Fame class of 2024: Steve McMichael, Devin Hester, and Julius Peppers.  McMichael, the legendary defensive tackle who is battling ALS, makes it after nearly two decades of waiting.  Hester, the record-setting return man gets in on his third try. Peppers, a nine-time Pro Bowl defensive end, makes it on his first attempt.

McMichael, 66, spent thirteen seasons with the Bears, earning All-Pro honors twice.  He’s currently second in franchise history with 92½ sacks and third with 814 tackles.

Hester, 41, was drafted in the second round of the 2006 draft and quickly made an impact, returning a punt for a touchdown in his first game and recording six touchdowns over his first thirteen weeks.  In less than two seasons, he became the leading kick returner in Bears history.  In 2011, Hester became the NFL’s all-time leading punt returner after breaking Eric Metcalf’s record with a TD return against the Panthers.  He currently holds the NFL career record with 20 special-teams regular season touchdowns.

Peppers, 44, spent most of his 17-year career with the Panthers, but gathered 37½ sacks in his four seasons with the Bears, earning All-Pro honors in 2010.  He is currently fourth in NFL history with 159½ sacks.