Highlights
The Bears' 1961 first-round draft choice would go on to become the first tight end inducted into the Hall of Fame after changing the nature of the position from virtually a third tackle to a receiver. Ditka set an NFL rookie record with 56 catches, went to five Pro Bowls and was a fixture on the Bears' 1963 championship team. He was abruptly traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1967 after a number of clashes with Papa Bear Halas and finished his playing career in a Super Bowl appearance with the Dallas Cowboys. Ditka became a Dallas assistant coach before returning to Chicago as head coach in 1982. So began a Golden Age of Bears football, capped off by the Super Bowl XX victory, in which Dit...
The Bears' 1961 first-round draft choice would go on to become the first tight end inducted into the Hall of Fame after changing the nature of the position from virtually a third tackle to a receiver. Ditka set an NFL rookie record with 56 catches, went to five Pro Bowls and was a fixture on the Bears' 1963 championship team. He was abruptly traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1967 after a number of clashes with Papa Bear Halas and finished his playing career in a Super Bowl appearance with the Dallas Cowboys. Ditka became a Dallas assistant coach before returning to Chicago as head coach in 1982. So began a Golden Age of Bears football, capped off by the Super Bowl XX victory, in which Ditka's teams won 112 games, six NFC Central Division titles, and reached three NFC championship games. Ditka eventually was fired by President Michael McCaskey, went into the TV analyst side of the game, returned to coach the New Orleans Saints for three unsuccessful seasons and now, as one of the most successful ad pitchmen in sports history, remains a regular in NFL sports broadcasting.
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Ditka hosts fundraiser in suburban Chicago
Former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka is hosting a fundraiser with several NFL legends at his suburban Chicago restaurant. About 30 former NFL players came to Ditka's Oakbrook Terrace on Saturday night for a Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund benefit....Tags: Green Bay Packers, Dan Hampton, Chicago Bears, Paul Hornung, National Football League
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Member of 1986 Bears' Super Bowl squad arrested in SoCal
The Associated PressFormer NFL cornerback Michael Richardson, who won a Super Bowl with the Chicago Bears in 1986, faces up to 13 years in prison if a court finds he violated terms of a probation granted after his 21st drug conviction. Richardson was charged this week in...Tags: Chicago Bears, Lawyers, Multi-Sport Events, National Football League, San Francisco 49ers
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Ditka calls occasional foe 'a great man'
Chicago Tribune reporterMike Ditka and Gene Upshaw were Hall of Fame players with comparably obstinate personalities. Then their common threads began to unravel. The two would become fierce antagonists over the appropriate level of health and retirement benefits for NFL...Tags: Gene Upshaw, Retirement, National Football League, Death and Dying
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Hall of Famer, union chief Gene Upshaw dies
NFL players should say a prayer today for Gene Upshaw and his family. Without him, free agency as we know it never would have existed. Upshaw's stunning death Wednesday night at 63 after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer Monday comes at a...Tags: Gene Upshaw, Unions, Trace Armstrong, Super Bowl, Troy Vincent
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For 41 years, Upshaw was major force on, off field
bob.glauber@newsday.comStacy Robinson first got to know Gene Upshaw during his days as a Giants receiver in the mid-1980s. It wasn't long before Robinson grew to respect and admire Upshaw for being a tenacious advocate on issues affecting the players. "I came into the league...Tags: Gene Upshaw, Unions, Kevin Mawae, Matt Stover, New York Jets
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Ex-Bears DB facing prison
Former NFL cornerback Mike Richardson, who won a Super Bowl with the Bears in 1986, faces up to 13 years in prison if a California court finds he violated terms of a probation granted after his 21st drug conviction. Richardson was charged this week in...Tags: Chicago Bears, Prisons, Multi-Sport Events, National Football League, San Francisco 49ers
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Quotes on death of Gene Upshaw
Quotes on the death of NFL Hall of Famer and NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw: ------ "The Raider organization, the National Football League, and the world have lost a great man. Gene Upshaw's career successes as a professional football player and a...Tags: Jeff Saturday, Green Bay Packers, Tennessee Titans, ESPN, Gene Upshaw
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Gene Upshaw, 63; Oakland Raiders star and NFL players union leader
Los Angeles Times Staff WritersGene Upshaw, a Hall of Fame offensive lineman for the Oakland Raiders who led the National Football League Players Assn. through a strike and into an era of labor stability and soaring salaries, died only days after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer,...Tags: Dallas Cowboys, Oakland Raiders, Parliament, National Football League, Upper House
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McCain, Obama punt political football
Sentinel Staff WriterSen. John McCain readily admits that his football career was not the stuff of legends. Sen. Barack Obama, meanwhile, has made his sporting name playing basketball. Both presidential contenders are big fans of their home-state NFL teams — McCain for...Tags: Rex Grossman, John McCain, Super Bowl, Franco Harris, Garrett Wolfe
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Song of century
The Palm Beach PostGary Pressy has never played Carnegie Hall, and he doesn't have a Grammy or a gold record. Still, 81 days a year, he performs to a packed house with some of pop culture's biggest names. Pressy is the lead organist for the Chicago Cubs, accompanying the...Tags: Chicago Cubs, Russell Crowe, Frank Sinatra, Muhammad Ali, Film Festivals
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Bears' Beekman starting to gain some leverage
BOURBONNAIS — Tuesday's 2-minute drill ... You might have heard Josh Beekman is short. He certainly has. Shorter than the attention spans at a day-care center. Shorter than Mike Ditka's temper. So short he cannot reach his potential without a...Tags: Soldier Field, Steve Smith, Rex Grossman, Brian Griese, Terrence Metcalf
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ESPN's witty Wingo finds Fame
Sentinel ColumnistTrey Wingo's work for ESPN almost always is laced with a strong sense of sardonic humor. He knows he's in the country's biggest toy department and never takes sports (or himself) too seriously. But Saturday is special as for the fifth time Wingo hosts...Tags: Mark O'Meara, Beijing Games, Hale Irwin, National Football League, New York Giants
Aug 23, 2008
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Aug 22, 2008
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Aug 22, 2008
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Aug 22, 2008
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Aug 23, 2008
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Aug 21, 2008
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Aug 22, 2008
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Aug 22, 2008
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Jul 27, 2008
|Story| Baltimore Sun
Aug 5, 2008
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Aug 1, 2008
|Column| Orlando Sentinel
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