D3: The Life and Times of "Iron Mike" Ditka

                There are few players that embodied the attitude that Mike Ditka had. He was one of the greatest tight ends of all time because he revolutionized the position. Aside from being an amazing blocker Ditka astounded defenses with his hands and his route running. Mike blazed past defenses in his rookie year in 1961 by catching 56 passes for 1076 yards in the Dark Age of passing, when a linebacker or cornerback could take your head off and get away with it. Three years later he caught 75 passes in a season, a record that was not broken until 1980. He wound up his 12-year career with 427 receptions for 5,812 yards and 43 touchdowns. For two seasons he was in Philadelphia. At that point the Eagles were not a very good team, and Mike Ditka didn’t want to be there. He was considering retirement before Tom Landry came along and whisked out of retirement. He spent four years in Dallas and his best year was 1971 when he helped the Dallas Cowboys reach the Super Bowl for the second year in a row. Mike Ditka caught the final touchdown in a 24-3 in over the Dolphins. During his time in the NFL, Mike Ditka earned the name “Iron Mike” for his grittiness and the attitude he showed on the field. After several years with the Cowboys as an assistant he was hired as the Head Coach of his first team, the Chicago Bears. Many thought at that time that he was not head coaching material. The Bears had trouble getting good at first, but it very apparent that Ditka’s edge had made an impression on the Bears. They soon rose in the ranks among the great teams. They were led by one of the most fearsome defenses of all time. The defense was led by Mike Singaltery, Otis Wilson, and Wilber Marshall at the linebackers, while Richard Dent, William “The Fridge” Perry, Steve McMichael, and Dan Hampton, and the Secondary was full of no slouches either because they were led by Garry Fencik and Dave Duerson. Ditka had made a phenom out of “The Fridge” who was put in on goal line situations and one game the legend rose to a height that had never been seen before. Against the Green Bay Packers “The Fridge” led the way for Walter on a touchdown, and even caught one. Ditka led the Bears to a 15-1 record. In the playoffs there was no competition the Bears held the New York Giants scoreless and defeated Eric Dickerson and the Los Angeles Rams 24-0. During the week of the game he emphasized that they(Bears) were the Grabowski, a hardworking,  blue collared team, and the Rams were the Smiths. In Super bowl XX the Bears blew out the Patriots in the Super Dome. It really was no contest at all, and by half time the Bears had the game won. Maybe the highlight of the game was “the Fridge” running over the defenders to score a touchdown. That was maybe the pinnacle of Ditka’s career; he had a lot of great seasons with Bears, before he was fired in 1992. He had 3 lack luster seasons with the Saints. Ditka was notorious for trading his whole entire draft for Ricky Williams. Ditka’s career as a player and a coach was filled with many highs and lows, but many people remember him for the intensity and his attitude he showed as a player and as a coach.