McMahon was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was raised Catholic.[1] He moved with his family to San Jose, California, when he was three.[2] Growing up, McMahon played all sports in his neighborhood, encouraged by his parents. "We told him to believe he was the best," his mother said. "If he didn't, nobody else would."[2]
McMahon played high school football his freshman and sophomore years at Andrew Hill High School, then moved with his family in the summer of 1975 to Roy, Utah, where he played his junior and senior years at Roy High School and graduated in 1977.[2][3]
College career
McMahon enrolled at Brigham Young University (BYU) and played college football for the Cougars. He was their punter during his freshman season. He also played baseball, but he played enough at quarterback to throw his first-ever collegiate touchdown pass against UTEP. He continued as the Cougars' punter as the 1978 season began, but when Marc Wilson was injured in the third game of the season (against Colorado State), McMahon became the starting quarterback. McMahon led BYU to victory against Colorado State, accounting for 112 passing yards, 80 rushing yards, and two touchdowns. He was named Chevrolet Player of the Game and Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Player of the Week for his performance. McMahon and Wilson shared quarterback duties for the rest of the season; McMahon played well enough to earn All-WAC honors and Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America. The best game of his sophomore year was against Wyoming: he passed for 317 yards and rushed for 49 more yards, earning another WAC Player of the Week award.
McMahon suffered a knee injury towards the end of the 1978 season and BYU coaches chose to redshirt him in 1979. McMahon watched from the sidelines as Wilson set nine NCAA records, tied two others, and became the first BYU player to earn consensus first-team All-American honors; he finished third in Heisman Trophyballoting.
With Wilson graduated and in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders, McMahon beat out Royce Bybee to claim the starting quarterback position in 1980. BYU lost the opener 25–21 against New Mexico, but then won eleven straight to claim the WAC championship. McMahon set 32 NCAA records, including single-season records for yards of total offense (4,627), passing yards (4,571), touchdown passes (47), and passing efficiency (176.9). His best game was against Utah State; he completed 21 of 33 passes for 485 yards and six touchdowns, and added two rushing touchdowns. That performance earned him Sports Illustrated's National Player of the Week award. McMahon's season statistics might have been even better, but he spent significant time on the sidelines because the Cougars won many games by wide margins. Although he started all 12 regular-season games, he only finished three of them.
BYU led the nation in passing offense, total offense, and scoring offense during the regular season. McMahon earned numerous awards for his individual accomplishments, being named WAC Player of the Year, unanimous First-team All-WAC, Utah Sportsman of the Year, and Deseret News Athlete of the Year. He was named to four All-America teams and finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting.
In the Holiday Bowl, the Cougars faced an SMU team led by star running backs Craig James and Eric Dickerson, and the Mustangs built a 45–25 lead over BYU with just four minutes left in the game. As Cougar fans headed for the exits, McMahon screamed that the game was not over yet. He promptly guided BYU's offense to three quick touchdowns, including a 41-yard Hail Mary pass to Clay Brown to win the game[4] as time expired. It is regarded as one of the greatest comebacks in college football history;[5] BYU fans refer to it as the "Miracle Bowl".
In McMahon's senior season in 1981, despite missing two games due to injuries, he passed for 3,555 yards and 30 touchdowns in the regular season, again leading BYU to a WAC championship. For his efforts, he was named WAC Player of the Year and unanimous First-team All-WAC. On a national level, he was named First-team All-American by five different organizations and finished third in Heisman Trophy balloting. He received the Davey O'Brien Trophy and the Sammy Baugh Award, and he shared the Pigskin Club NCAA Offensive Player of the Year award with USC's Marcus Allen. He earned Sports Illustrated's Player of the Week award after his performance against Colorado State, in which he tied a school record with seven touchdown passes.
In his last game as a Cougar, McMahon passed for 342 yards and 3 touchdowns in BYU's victory over Washington State in the 1981 Holiday Bowl. His career totals were 9,536 passing yards and 84 touchdown passes (not including bowl games). McMahon left college with 70 NCAA records[4] and tied for one other. He entered the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.[6]
In September 2010, McMahon announced he would complete his coursework at BYU, which would qualify him for induction into the Brigham Young University Athletics Hall of Fame. On October 2, 2014, after completing his degree in communications, McMahon was inducted into the BYU Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the 2014 class.[7] BYU honored McMahon by retiring his No. 9 jersey during a halftime ceremony at the BYU vs. Utah State football game on Friday, October 3, 2014.[8]
Professional career
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears selected McMahon in the first round (fifth overall) of the 1982 NFL draft. McMahon, thrilled to be free from what he considered a restrictive culture at BYU, strolled into his first public function with the Bears holding a cold beer in his hand. Head coach Mike Ditka was not impressed, nor was Bears owner and founder George Halas. McMahon was to find the atmosphere in Chicago almost as challenging as that at Brigham Young, and he would lock horns with Ditka routinely during his seven years with the Bears.
McMahon won the Bears' starting quarterback job as a rookie in 1982, and was named to several All-Rookie teams when he nearly led the team to the playoffs, despite the NFL only playing two games before a players' strike that cancelled nearly half the season. McMahon quickly displayed a natural ability to read defenses and an athletic versatility that surprised many.
McMahon, a rollout passer, explained that coaching in his youth had taught him to square his shoulders to the direction he wanted to throw the football, and he was thus able to execute passes with tight spirals and a high degree of accuracy when running to either his left or his right. The Bears finished the strike-shortened season at 3–6, and McMahon was named NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year, losing the league-wide honor to Marcus Allen.
In 1983, McMahon continued to improve as a passer and as a field general. He made a habit of changing the play both in the huddle and at the line of scrimmage, a practice which frustrated Ditka but usually led to success. His knowledge of the game and an instinctive, intuitive grasp of in-game situations were significant. He became a frequent scorer in goal-line situations, after the dying Halas instructed Ditka to make the quarterback sneak a bigger part of the Bears' offense. He also began to catch touchdown passes on option plays, and was the emergency punter. Chicago finished the season at 8–8, missing the division title and a playoff berth by one victory.
In 1984, the Bears broke through, reaching the conference title game before losing to the San Francisco 49ers. McMahon started the season strongly, though nursing minor injuries like those that would plague him throughout his career. In a violent game against the Los Angeles Raiders at Soldier Field, McMahon sustained a season-ending injury when he was brutally tackled by two Los Angeles defenders. He suffered bruised ribs and a lacerated kidney on the play, but limped to the huddle and breathlessly called the next play, despite difficulty breathing and increasing pain. The players could barely hear him in the huddle, and when McMahon attempted an audible at the line of scrimmage the Bears receivers were unable to hear his call. McMahon was on the verge of collapsing on the field, clutching his flank and rasping in his attempts to convey his situation. The offensive linemen helped McMahon stand and leave the field. McMahon went to the locker room, and reported urine that "looked like grape juice".
1985
McMahon dives into the end zone to score a touchdown for the Chicago Bears during Super Bowl XXThe 1985 Chicago Bears' visit to the White House in 2011.
In 1985, the Bears had a tremendous season, later voted by Sports Illustrated magazine as the greatest of all time, winning their first 12 games and finishing at 15–1. McMahon became a media darling, not only for his outstanding play on the field, but also for his personality. He appeared in a rap record made by the team, "The Super Bowl Shuffle", in which he proclaimed, "I'm the punky QB known as McMahon." In an early-season Thursday night game at Minnesota, McMahon was slated to back up Steve Fuller, as McMahon had missed practice time earlier in the week due to a neck injury that required an overnight hospital stay. Midway into the third quarter, the Vikings held a 17–9 lead. McMahon lobbied to get into the game until well into the third quarter. Once finally on the field, his first play was an opportunistic 70-yard touchdown pass to Willie Gault. After an interception by Wilber Marshall on the Vikings ensuing possession, McMahon's very next offensive play was a 25-yard touchdown pass to Dennis McKinnon, making him 2–2 for 95 yards and two touchdowns. He followed up with another successful offensive drive, including a crucial third and short sneak to set up another 43-yard touchdown pass to McKinnon. The Bears led 30–17 and went on to win the game 33–24.
McMahon played solidly, throwing for career-highs of 15 touchdowns and 2,392 yards in 13 games and running well (5.4 yards per carry, three rushing touchdowns).[2][9]
McMahon was notorious for head-first baseball-style slides when running the football, despite being coached to slide feet-first to protect his body. In the playoffs, McMahon heeded this coaching advice and was speared by a defender's helmet squarely in his buttocks, causing a painful deep bruise for which McMahon sought acupuncture treatment.[10] This led to a point of controversy before the Super Bowl in New Orleans, when McMahon "mooned" journalists who were inquiring as to the status of the injury. Thursday morning before the big-game, McMahon made more headlines when a local television station reported that he had called women of New Orleans "sluts", an accusation he denied and which the announcer later admitted was made up.[2] McMahon claimed in an interview, that he received death threats and wore a different jersey number during practice.[11]
He ended the season with a strong performance in Super Bowl XX, which the Bears won 46–10 over the New England Patriots.[12] In that game, McMahon became the first quarterback in the history of the Super Bowl to rush for two touchdowns.[13] McMahon earned a spot in his only Pro Bowl.
In week 12 of the 1986 NFL regular season, McMahon was playing against the Green Bay Packers, while dealing with an existing rotator cuff injury to his right shoulder. After throwing a third down interception and at least two seconds after his pass was thrown, Green Bay nose tackle Charles Martin grabbed McMahon from behind and body-slammed him to the turf, exacerbating his existing rotator cuff injury. McMahon briefly returned to the game, but it soon became apparent that he couldn't throw effectively, and he left the game in the third quarter, never to play again in 1986. Martin was immediately ejected from the game and later suspended for two additional games — the first multi-game suspension for an on-field incident in modern NFL history. Without McMahon, and despite finishing tied for the league's best record at 14–2, the Bears were unable to defend their Super Bowl championship and lost in the Divisional Playoff round to the Washington Redskins.
McMahon battled injuries for the rest of his career, although at one point between the 1984 and 1987 seasons, he won 22 consecutive regular-season (25 including playoffs and the Super Bowl) starts, the longest "regular season winning streak" by an NFL quarterback at the time, now held by Peyton Manning, who won 23 in 2008 to 2009 (but lost a wildcard playoff game to the Chargers during his "winning streak").
In 1987, McMahon came right back from a head injury and brought the Bears back in the first game following the NFL players strike to defeat the Buccaneers, 27–26. The Bears went on to an 11–4 record, with many expecting McMahon to start and lead the Bears back to the Super Bowl. However, 1987 ended exactly the same way 1986 had, with the Bears being eliminated by the eventual Super Bowl champion Redskins.
McMahon returned for the 1988 season with a much more serious attitude. His main offensive weapon in Walter Payton had retired and McMahon publicly expressed his desire to win a Super Bowl again. The Bears looked strong all season and went 12–4, again winning the NFC Central, and finishing with the NFC's top seed, ensuring they would host the NFC Championship Game at Soldier Field if they advanced that far. McMahon was unable to get the Bears back to the Super Bowl, as they were routed by the eventual Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship which saw McMahon benched in favor of Mike Tomczak in the fourth quarter.
During the offseason, McMahon and Bears president Michael McCaskey had a major falling out. He also fell out of favor with head coach Mike Ditka, and after spending his first seven seasons in the league with Chicago, McMahon was traded to the San Diego Chargers.
As of 2017's NFL off-season, McMahon held at least 15 Bears franchise records, including:
Completions: playoffs (70)
Passing Yards: playoffs (967), playoff season (636 in 1985)
Passing TDs: playoffs (4), playoff season (3 in 1985; with Rex Grossman), playoff game (2 on 1986-01-05 NYG; with Steve Walsh and Jay Cutler), rookie season (9 in 1982; with Kyle Orton)
Passer Rating: playoffs (77.1), playoff season (106.6 in 1985), rookie season (79.9 in 1982)
Sacked: playoffs (10), rookie game (7 on 1982-11-28 @MIN)
Yds/Pass Att: playoffs (7.61), playoff season (9.64 in 1985)
Pass Yds/Game: rookie season (187.6 in 1982)
San Diego Chargers
McMahon started 11 games for the 6–10 Chargers team in 1989. He went 4–7 in the games he started, though the team lost four of those games by a combined 11 points. He had only 4 games over 200 yards, but had 389 yards against the Houston Oilers in a Week 2 loss.
However, McMahon again found himself in trouble when he fell out of favor with his coach, Dan Henning, his teammates, and the team's front office staff. He was benched for the final four games in favor of Billy Joe Tolliver and finished the year with 2,132 yards, 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. McMahon was released after the season.
McMahon signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, who were coached by former Bears assistant Buddy Ryan, for the 1990 season. For the first time in his career he served as a full-time backup, as Randall Cunningham was entrenched as the starter. After Cunningham tore his ACL in the opening game of the following season, new coach Rich Kotite named McMahon his starter. He helped the Eagles to a 10–6 record and earned the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award. McMahon stayed with the Eagles for one additional season in the backup role.
McMahon's last chance to be a full-time starter came with the Minnesota Vikings in 1993. Supplanting Sean Salisbury as the team's starter, McMahon led the Vikings to eight wins in twelve starts and returned to the postseason as a starter for the first time since 1988. However, the Vikings lost to the New York Giants.
After the season, McMahon joined the Arizona Cardinals, now coached by Ryan, for the 1994 season, where he made his final career start in Week 3, against the Cleveland Browns. He finished the season as the team's third quarterback behind Steve Beuerlein and Jay Schroeder and left the team at its conclusion. McMahon made the Cleveland Browns in the 1995 preseason but did not play a down with them, McMahon later in the season joined the Green Bay Packers. He retired following the 1996 season, which finished with a Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots in New Orleans, eleven years to the day of the Bears' Super Bowl victory over the Patriots in the same venue.
McMahon caused some controversy when he showed up to the Packers' reception at the White House wearing his Bears jersey, due to the rivalry between the two teams. McMahon later explained that he did so because he was unable to visit the White House when he led the Bears to victory in Super Bowl XX; two days after the Bears won the game, the crew of Space Shuttle mission STS-51-L were killed in the explosion of their craft, Shuttle Challenger, and the Bears' scheduled visit was cancelled. McMahon and his surviving teammates and coaches were eventually received in 2011 by President Barack Obama, himself a Bears fan.[14]
Post-retirement
Legal troubles
In November 2003, McMahon was apprehended in Navarre, Florida for driving under the influence. "One breathalyzer exam put McMahon's blood-alcohol level at 0.261 percent, another put it at 0.258 percent. The legal limit in Florida is 0.08 percent," the Associated Press reported. "During a sobriety test, Mr. McMahon looked at the officer and said, 'I'm too drunk. You got me,'" a Santa Rosa County, Florida sheriff spokesperson said.[15]
On April 9, 2012, it was reported that McMahon was targeted by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for $104 million in bad loans made by Chicago-based Broadway Bank, where McMahon was a member of the board. The FDIC sought to recover $104 million in loans made by the bank before it was shut down. In addition to McMahon, six other former Broadway Bank board members and two former bank executives were targeted. McMahon approved only one of the 17 bad loans, which was used for the purchase of a $28 million Miami Beach condominium project. The FDIC said the bank lost $19.5 million on the loan. McMahon said in a statement that the FDIC's claims were without merit and he expected to be vindicated. "I am proud to have served as an outside, independent director for a brief part of the bank's history," he wrote, according to the Sun-Times.[16] In 2016, the FDIC settled its lawsuit against the bank with a $5 million settlement.[17]
Concussions
In a November 6, 2010 interview, McMahon admitted to having memory problems due to injuries suffered on the football field. McMahon was quoted as saying, "There are a lot of times when I walk into a room and forget why I walked in there."[18]
Along with six other retired professional football players, McMahon filed a class action lawsuit against the NFL in August 2011, citing the league's negligence and misconduct in its handling of concussion-related injuries. It followed lawsuits filed shortly before by 75 other NFL retirees making similar claims in addition to asserting that the NFL knew about the dangers concussions posed to its athletes as far back as the 1920s and actively withheld the information from the affected and the general public until summer of 2010. The August suit that McMahon joined seeks to expand the scope of the suit to potentially all NFL players who suffered game-related concussions or head injuries.[19]
On September 27, 2012, it was reported that, at age 53, McMahon had been diagnosed as being in the early stages of dementia.[20] McMahon's condition has since improved after receiving chiropractic treatment, citing less frequent headaches and improved short-term memory.[21]
The improvement in McMahon's health was documented in 2017 by longtime San Francisco Chronicle columnist Scott Ostler. In the years following his initial cervical spine realignment, McMahon earned a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University and participated in celebrity golf tournaments. McMahon expressed skepticism toward the effectiveness of NFL-sanctioned treatments for head and neck injuries, believing that NFL officials prioritize corporate interests over player well-being.[22]
McMahon uses cannabis to treat the chronic pain and arthritis that he suffers from as a result of his football career.[23] He has called cannabis a "godsend" that allowed him to eliminate his painkiller habit, which he says included 100 Percocet pills a month.[24]
McMahon has been active in speaking about his experience using cannabis, serving as spokesperson for the Cannabis Sports Policy Project[25] and a member of the Gridiron Cannabis Coalition along with several other former NFL players.[26] McMahon appeared in a TV ad supporting a ballot measure to legalize cannabis in Arizona.[27]
In November 2016, McMahon was among the signatories of an open letter addressed to the NFL, urging a change in the league's policy towards cannabis.[28] The letter was penned by Doctors for Cannabis Regulation and signed by several other NFL players.[29] McMahon is also a member of the Doctors for Cannabis Regulation NFL steering committee.[30]
In November 2012, McMahon appeared on an episode of the sitcom The League called "The Tailgate."[33]
In August 2020, a documentary entitled Mad Mac: The Memory Of Jim McMahon by director CJ Wallis began shooting. The film covers McMahon's life in and out of professional sports.[34][35]
Legacy
Throughout his career, McMahon was known for both on- and off-field antics. His wearing of a headband while on the sidelines led to him being fined by then NFL commissioner, Pete Rozelle, since the headband had an unauthorized Adidas corporate logo on it. The next week, his headband simply said "Rozelle". The commissioner later admitted in a letter to McMahon that the headband with Rozelle's name was "funny as hell", but declined to rescind the $5,000 fine. Prior to Super Bowl XX, hundreds of fans mailed McMahon headbands in hopes he would wear them during the game; Rozelle warned the quarterback not to wear anything "unacceptable".
In response, McMahon decided to help bring attention to Juvenile Diabetes by wearing a headband simply stating "JDF Cure", before switching to one stating "POW-MIA", and finally one with the word "Pluto", the nickname of his close friend and favorite collegiate receiving target, former BYU wide receiver Danny Plater, who was afflicted with a brain tumor.[36]
McMahon is known for his trademark sunglasses, which he wears for medical reasons. At age six, while trying to untie a knot in a toy gun holster with a fork, he accidentally severed the cornea in his right eye when the fork slipped. While his vision was saved, the accident left that eye extremely sensitive to light.[37] On the field he was among the first to wear a helmet fitted with a tinted plastic visor covering the eyes, leading to nicknames like "Darth Vader"[38] and "Black Sunshine."[citation needed]
McMahon met Nancy Daines at BYU, and the couple married in 1982 after four years of dating.[36] They had four children together and divorced in 2009.[39] He was in a romantic relationship with Laurie Navon, who was cited in the Sports Illustrated article where his health was discussed.[40] The specifics of his relationship with Navon are not known, but more recent media reports seem to indicate he may be in a relationship with Mayra Montoya.[41][42]
Super Bowl XX was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Chicago Bears and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1985 season. The Bears defeated the Patriots by the score of 46–10, capturing their first NFL championship since 1963, three years prior to the birth of the Super Bowl. Super Bowl XX was played on January 26, 1986, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.
Jon Steven Young is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, most notably with the San Francisco 49ers. He was drafted by and played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Prior to his NFL career, Young was a member of the Los Angeles Express in the United States Football League (USFL) for two seasons. He played college football for the BYU Cougars, setting school and NCAA records en route to being runner-up for the 1983 Heisman Trophy.
Michael Keller Ditka is an American former professional football player, coach, and television commentator. During his playing career, he was UPI NFL Rookie of Year in 1961, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, and a six-time All-Pro tight end with the Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, and Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League (NFL); he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988. Ditka was the first tight end in NFL history to reach 1,000 yards receiving.
Ty Hubert Detmer is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL). He won the Heisman Trophy in 1990 while playing college football for the BYU Cougars. Detmer broke numerous NCAA records with BYU, and was twice recognized as a consensus All-American. A late-round pick in the 1992 NFL draft, Detmer played for six NFL teams over 14 seasons, mostly in a backup role. He is currently the Athletic Director at American Leadership Academy – Gilbert North High School in Gilbert, Arizona.
Richard Lamar Dent is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL), primarily for the Chicago Bears. He was the MVP of the Super Bowl XX. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
Charles Carroll "Tony" Eason IV is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini. Taken 15th overall by the Patriots in the 1983 NFL draft, he was one of the six quarterbacks selected during the first round. Eason served as New England's primary starter from 1984 to 1986, where he helped the team make their Super Bowl debut in Super Bowl XX. Competing as the starter with Steve Grogan throughout his Patriots tenure, Eason was released during the 1989 season. He spent his final two seasons as a backup with the New York Jets.
Michael John Tomczak is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in National Football League (NFL) from 1985 through 1999. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He played in the NFL for the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Stephen Ray Fuller is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He played college football for the Clemson Tigers, where he was twice named ACC Player of the Year, and was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round of the 1979 NFL draft. Fuller played his first four seasons with the Chiefs and was a member of the Los Angeles Rams during his fifth season. He joined the Chicago Bears in 1984, where he spent four seasons as a backup and was a member of the team that won the franchise's first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XX. In his final season, Fuller was a member of the San Diego Chargers.
The 1980 Holiday Bowl was a college football bowl game played December 19, 1980, in San Diego, California. It was part of the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. The game is famous due to a furious fourth quarter rally—including a last-second "miracle" touchdown—that gave BYU a 46–45 victory over SMU. Thus, the game is known as the “Miracle Bowl”, especially among BYU fans.
The Chicago Bears American football franchise is a charter member of the National Football League (NFL), and has played in all of the league's 100 seasons. The team has captured nine NFL championships – eight NFL championships and one Super Bowl – second most all time behind the Green Bay Packers. The franchise has also recorded more victories than any other franchise (739), retired the most uniform numbers (14), and have the most members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (29). The Bears have played in over a thousand games since becoming a charter member of the NFL in 1920.
Marc Douglas Wilson is an American former professional football quarterback who played for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Oakland / Los Angeles Raiders. He played college football for the BYU Cougars, where he won the Sammy Baugh Trophy. Selected by the Raiders in the first round of the 1980 NFL draft, Wilson spent seven seasons with the team. In his final two seasons, he was a member of the New England Patriots. Wilson was inducted to College Football Hall of Fame in 1996.
Robert Hayden Avellini was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Chicago Bears. He played college football for the Maryland Terrapins and was selected by the Bears in the sixth round of the 1975 NFL draft. He finished his career with the New York Jets, for whom he did not appear in a game.
Vincent Tobias Evans is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans and was the most valuable player (MVP) of the 1977 Rose Bowl after the team's 14–6 victory over Michigan. He was selected by the Chicago Bears in the sixth round of the 1977 NFL draft.
The 1985 season was the Chicago Bears' 66th in the National Football League (NFL) and their fourth under head coach Mike Ditka. The Bears entered 1985 looking to improve on their 10–6 record from 1984 and advance further than the NFC Championship Game, where they lost to the 15–1 San Francisco 49ers. The Bears did improve on that record, and put together what would be considered by many football historians one of the greatest seasons in NFL history.
The 1984 season was the Chicago Bears' 65th in the National Football League the 15th post-season completed in the NFL, and their third under head coach Mike Ditka. The team improved from their 8–8 record from 1983, to a 10–6 record, earning them a spot in the NFL playoffs. The Bears went on to lose in the NFC Championship Game 23–0 to the eventual Super Bowl Champion San Francisco 49ers led by Joe Montana.
The 1987 season was the Chicago Bears' 68th in the National Football League the 18th post-season completed in the NFL, and their sixth under head coach Mike Ditka. The team was looking to return to the playoffs, win the NFC Central Division for the fourth consecutive year and avenge their loss in the Divisional Playoffs to the Washington Redskins the year before when the team finished 14–2.
The 1989 Chicago Bears season was their 70th regular season completed in the National Football League. The Bears were looking to win the NFC Central for a sixth consecutive season, but instead finished with a 6–10 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1983. The Bears’ offseason moves prior to this season had consequences for years afterward as the pieces from Super Bowl XX’s team slowly began to leave or retire.
Robert Herber Parsons was an American professional football punter and tight end who played twelve seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Chicago Bears from 1972 to 1983 and later played with the Birmingham Stallions of the United States Football League (USFL).
The Bears–Packers rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers.
The Bears–Vikings rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings.
↑ "SMU fell to BYU as quarterback Jim McMahon engineered what many dubbed 'the greatest comeback in college football bowl history'." Duffy, Patrick (narrator). "Pony Excess", 30 for 30. ESPN, November 11, 2010.
↑ In Life, First You Kick Ass: Reflections on the 1985 Bears and Wisdom from Da Coach, Mike Ditka with Rick Telander, Sports Publishing, 2005, ISBN978-1-58261-977-4
↑ Wiedeman, Reeves (October 7, 2011). "What's in a Nickname?". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on August 22, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
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