Mike Ditka is one of the most badass figures in Chicago sports history. He oozes machismo and personality, and the city practically deified him when he brought home the Lombardi Trophy for the first time nearly 30 years ago. No one would argue he belongs on the Mt. Rushmore of "badass Chicago sports figures.
Yet, he might be even more badass than we realized.
On a recent episode of Kevin Clark's "This Is Football" show, Jim Nantz joined the program and started sharing Ditka stories from when the two worked together at CBS. According to Nantz, Ditka would show up in New York City every weekend with $5,000 in $100 bills, and he would use those hundos to pay for EVERYTHING.
"All he did was peel off c-notes, all the time," Nantz said on the show. "Buy a beer at the bar on the way out to dinner? Gimme a Budweiser, $100, keep the change. Coat check, comes into a restaurant, comes out, $100."
Ditka is Da man (and everyone in Chicago knows it)
Nantz elaborated that Ditka's spending habits weren't a gaudy display of wealth or a way to lord over his friends. He used the $100 bills both as a way to enjoy his time each weekend in New York City and as an act of generosity. For instance, Nantz shared that there was a homeless person who picked up on Ditka's pattern and would show up at a restaurant the two frequented. Ditka would be sure to give the man $100 every time he saw him.
Finally, Nantz said he worked up the courage to ask Ditka why he didn't just get change or carry smaller bills.
"He said, 'Hey, what's the difference anyway? The way I look at it, when I die and they drop me into the ground, I hope there's a little opening in that coffin, and my last $100 bill comes flying out and goes up into the sky and drifts away. That would make me happy.'"
Da Coach reached icon status when he helped Da Bears win Da Big One in Super Bowl XX. You still see folks dressed up in his trademark sweater vest every game, complete with a pair of shades, a chevron mustache, and, of course, a cigar.
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Ditka joined CBS as a studio analyst in 2000, shortly after he was fired as the head coach of the New Orleans Saints. He worked there until 2004, when he left for ESPN. He was a regular on ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown" show until 2016.