Ex-quarterback Terry Bradshaw paid tribute to the "wonderful" Mike Ditka on FOX NFL Sunday, following the passing of the legendary former Chicago Bears head coach last week
Terry Bradshaw paid tribute to Mike Ditka, who passed away last week
Terry Bradshaw paid tribute to Mike Ditka, who passed away last week(Image: X/@NFLonFOX)
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Sunday saw Terry Bradshaw and the NFL world pay tribute to Mike Ditka, the legendary head coach of the Chicago Bears, who passed away last week.
On Friday, it was announced that Ditka, the first tight end ever inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, had passed away at the age of 86. Alongside his accomplishments on the field, which included winning a Super Bowl title with the Dallas Cowboys as a player, he presided over one of the greatest defenses the NFL has ever seen in the 1985 Bears.
Chicago's lone Super Bowl win came with Ditka in charge, with the Bears crushing the New England Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX.
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In a statement released on Friday morning last week, Ditka's family said: "It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend, Mike Ditka.
"While the world knew Mike as a Hall of Fame football player, legendary coach, and leader of the Chicago Bears' Super Bowl XX championship team, we knew him as the heart of our family. Mike will be missed beyond measure and remembered forever."
Ditka left a mark on the NFL and will forever be remembered as one of its greatest characters. On Sunday, his former colleague Bradshaw, who worked with the legendary head coach during their time together at CBS, paid tribute to Ditka, telling viewers and the rest of the FOX NFL Sunday team that he "loved this guy."
"I actually worked with him when we were at CBS together, I loved this guy. He's what the NFL ... his attitude is what made the NFL what it is today," said Bradshaw.
"What people loved about the NFL is guys like Mike Ditka. I was at his restaurant, he did not know I was there in Chicago, he found out, he came down, he pulled up a chair, asked if he could have dinner with us, absolutely, he bought the most incredible bottle of red wine, which I could not afford, we sat there and we had a great evening. He's a wonderful man.
"Great player, wonderful man."
Mike Ditka of the NLF 100 All-Time Team is honored on the field prior to Super Bowl LIV between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs at Hard Rock Stadium on February 02, 2020 in Miami, Florida
Mike Ditka's family announced last week that the NFL legend died, aged 86(Image: Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
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Jay Glazer also paid tribute to Ditka, having also previously worked with him at CBS. "I worked with him at CBS in the early 2000s," said Glazer. "This was my dude, man. We hung out all the time.
"I learned so much from him, but the biggest thing is, generosity. Like you could go out, Ditka would come into town, and he would have this huge wad of hundred-dollar bills, I'm talking like five, 10 thousand dollars.
"And everywhere he went, he'd just start handing it out to people he thought needed it. It could be somebody on the street who was homeless; it could be a busboy; it could be anybody.
"He was a Hall of Fame player, a Hall of Fame coach, but if there was a generosity Hall of Fame, coach Ditka got his own wing."