"GO BEARS!"

On December 9, 2013, Mike Ditka became 14th and final Chicago Bear to have his jersey number retired. A sold out Soldier Field witnessed Ditka take the frigid field during halftime where the Bears presented him with a framed presentation featuring his iconic Bears sweater and 89 jersey. Ditka told the crowd, "I've been living a dream for 74 years. I hope it will never stop but it will. But you people have been a big part of my dream. You brought me great joy to be able to please you. The players we had in 1985 are the greatest collection of guys I've ever been around. My teammates in 1963 - what a great bunch of guys. That was Coach Halas' last championship and I'm very proud to be a part of that team. I could go on but I want to say, thank you, thank you, thank you and GO BEARS!"

The coat includes Ditka's personal December 9 game program vs Dallas Cowboys where jersey number 89 was retired at halftime.

NOTE: If a bid is placed within one minute of the closing time of a lot, five additional minutes will be added to the designated closing time for that lot. This process will repeat until no new bids are placed in the final minute of a lot. Please note that the extension of one lot’s closing time does not affect other lots’ closing times. A detailed explanation of the Timed auction format can be found here.