Mike Ditka's five greatest moments as a player and coach: Super Bowl XX takes top spot — SkimNews
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- Mike Ditka passed away on Friday, leaving a legacy as one of only two men in NFL history to win Super Bowls as a player, an assistant coach, and a head coach
- Ditka capped his playing career by catching a 7-yard touchdown pass from Roger Staubach in Super Bowl VI — the Cowboys' first Super Bowl championship — before immediately joining Tom Landry's coaching staff
- Ditka played on the 1963 Bears squad that went 11-1-2 and forced six turnovers, including five interceptions of league MVP Y.A. Tittle, in a 17-14 NFL Championship win over the Giants
- Ditka turned William 'Refrigerator' Perry into a running back in 1985 as calculated payback against the 49ers; Perry scored a Super Bowl touchdown, but Ditka later expressed deep regret that it came at Walter Payton's expense
- Ditka's 1961 rookie season — 56 catches, 1,076 yards, 12 touchdowns, and a 19.2 yards-per-catch average — earned him Rookie of the Year and made him the first tight end inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1988
- Ditka coached the 1985 Bears to a Super Bowl XX victory, the franchise's only Super Bowl title, and was carried off the field by his players
Why it matters: Ditka's career bookended a 22-year Chicago championship drought — the 1963 title was the franchise's last under George Halas, and the 1985 Super Bowl XX team remains the Bears' only Lombardi Trophy. His rare trifecta of winning Super Bowls as player, assistant, and head coach sets him apart from every other figure in NFL history.
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