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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

  
 
2    WHEREAS, On December 9, 2013, the Chicago Bears football 
3club retired jersey number "89" in honor of Mike Ditka, 
4football player and coach; and
  
 
5    WHEREAS, After being drafted as a first-round tight end by 
6the Chicago Bears out of the University of Pittsburgh in 1961, 
7Mike Ditka continued to play in the same position for George 
8Halas' Bears through 1966; and
  
 
9    WHEREAS, With the Chicago Bears, Mike Ditka was recognized 
10as one of the great tight ends of all time, winning Rookie of 
11the Year honors in 1961, being named to the Pro Bowl 5 times in 
12a continuous streak from 1961 through 1965 (wearing the Bears' 
13navy blue and orange in all 5  years), and compiling a record 
14that would lead to his election to the Pro Football Hall of 
15Fame in 1988, the first player so honored for his career as a 
16tight end; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Mike Ditka's playing career included membership 
18on the 1963 Chicago Bears squad that captured the National 
19Football League championship; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Following their 1963 National Football League 
21championship, the Chicago Bears compiled a 20-year record of 
 
 
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1mixed outcomes, with many all-time great Bears players such as 
2Dick Butkus, Walter Payton, and Gale Sayers caught in a 
3continuous pattern of rebuilding; and
 
4    WHEREAS, After the National Football League merged its 
5championship game with the rival American Football League to 
6create the Super Bowl, Mike Ditka continued his career with the 
7Dallas Cowboys, scoring on a touchdown pass tossed by Roger 
8Staubach in Super Bowl VI in January 1972; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Starting with the 1973 season, Mike Ditka 
10transitioned to coaching; in 1982, in one of owner George 
11Halas' final executive moves with the Chicago Bears 
12organization, he hired his former player, Mike Ditka, to be the 
13new head coach of the Chicago Bears; and
 
14    WHEREAS, New coach Mike Ditka, aided by an aggressive 
15coaching staff and front office, and  with the support of owners 
16Virginia Halas McCaskey and her husband Ed, was determined to 
17change the pattern of ups and downs the Chicago Bears had been 
18experiencing for the past 2 decades; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Building around running back Walter Payton, Mike 
20Ditka's Chicago Bears returned to the playoffs in 1984; and
 
21    WHEREAS, In 1985, the 20th year of the National Football 
 
 
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1League in the Super Bowl era, Mike Ditka's Chicago Bears, led 
2by quarterback Jim McMahon, Walter Payton, and other players 
3too numerous and immortal to list here, achieved a 15 and 1 
4record in the regular season; they marched through the playoffs 
5with opposing teams failing  to score a single point in either 
6of the 2 games; the Bears qualified for the National Football 
7Conference's slot in Super Bowl XX, played in what was then the 
8Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans on January 26, 1986; and
  
 
9    WHEREAS, The Bears, led by "Da Coach" Mike Ditka, won Super 
10Bowl XX by a score of 46-10, at that time the largest winning 
11margin in Super Bowl history; and
  
 
12    WHEREAS, After retiring as a football coach at the end of 
13the 1999 season, Mike Ditka transitioned  into broadcasting and 
14a business career; and
  
 
15    WHEREAS, The Chicago Bears retired Mike Ditka's number "89" 
16on December 9, 2013 in the presence of his Chicago Bears and 
17Dallas Cowboys; the Bears have announced it  will be the final 
18jersey number to be retired by the team; therefore, be it
  
 
19    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
20NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 
21we congratulate Michael Keller "Mike" Ditka for his 
22unforgettable service to the Chicago Bears, the City of 
 
 
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1Chicago, and the State of Illinois as football player and 
2coach; and be it further
  
 
3    RESOLVED, That we congratulate the Chicago Bears football 
4organization for its decision to allocate its 14th and final 
5jersey number retirement to Mike Ditka; and be it further
 
6    RESOLVED, That we wish many future years of success, in and 
7out of the football world, to Mike Ditka and his family; and be 
8it further
 
9    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be 
10presented to Mike Ditka and to the Chicago Bears football 
11organization.