Mike Ditka has died at 86. But before “Da Coach” became a Chicago legend, he was a young champion under George Halas, a warrior sent away, and finally the man summoned home to restore the kingdom.
What followed in 1985 hardly seems like ordinary sports history. There was Walter Payton, the aging champion who had carried the Bears through the wilderness; Jim McMahon, the wild young prince in sunglasses; Buddy Ryan, the rival general commanding his fearsome 46 Defense; Mike Singletary, the captain; William “The Refrigerator” Perry, the giant; and Ditka—the former player who returned to become king.
They marched to 12–0, discovered their mortality in Miami, boasted before battle with “The Super Bowl Shuffle,” shut out two playoff opponents, and overwhelmed New England 46–10 in Super Bowl XX.
Yet the most revealing part of the story may be the one thing Ditka wished he had done differently.
A Chesterton Radio deep dive into the 1985 Bears as an American epic—and into the strange distance between winning a championship and becoming a legend.
