Legacy Panel - 1963 Championship

Thanks for being here and Tom and I Boat. I was telling Johnny, you can see the nineteen sixty three game in its entirety on YouTube, and to take the time to watch those guys play back then it was a treat. We'll start with Mike because, like we said last night, your play as a tight end, it's probably the most underrated aspect of your football career in my opinion. And being on that championship team and you coming there a couple of years earlier, it changed the face of

the offense, didn't it. Well, I don't you know. We had a block. We were tight ends and we blocked. They don't block anymore. They received or we blocked, and we blocked a lot. And we had great running backs, had Willie Gallimore. I played. I mean we had we made great backs. We had a quarterback I'd like to throw the football, Bill Wade. So we threw the ball to Johnny every once in a while. We throw it to me once in a while, but not very much. You threw it to Johnny all the time because Johnny

was faster and he got open more night. Did yeah, come on, you tore it up? No, I didn't you tore it up? Did we not tear it up? But hey, coach I saw highlights of you. I saw highlights of Coach Dicka where you're lined up almost what by a wide receive, you know, six seven yards off of your offensive tackle, So you weren't always right there with your nose in the dirt. Hey A, I was a tight end, That's all I know. Actually, Mike and probably John Mackie

if you remember him with Baltimore. You know before in the sixties, before the sixties, your tight end was usually tall guy, catch the look and look past six eight yards for the first down. Mike who had decent speed, He had good speed, especially when he was younger, and he he changed the game. He and John Mackie changed the game. They became threats downfield. And that that's that's

what changed the game. And the other thing that changed the game was putting the smaller guys out as wide receivers that usually uh you know, usually the smaller guys were running backs, and they put him out as wide receivers. Changed John John till I was really fast. I was a real fast tight end. I'll run everybody. Hey, how are the you know, when we look at that game, Bob, how are the field conditions? Like, where did your spice get into the ground. Did you have a choice of

shoes to wear? The field conditions? They had hay on the field and then they tried to heat and then took all the hay off the field before he played. Obviously, that was that was for the for the championship game that they put hay in the field. They put huge tarps across the field and huge blowers and so for about two weeks before the game they put these blowers and blew the tarps high. So when we took the field on the champion the championship game, the turf was

in good shape. It was hard as this though, no it got hard the second half. Yeah, it was. It was still pretty good the first half, but In the narration of the game, they referred to the Wrigley Field as a modern day structure. Did it feel that way to you, guys or not? Did not? Not really, especially if you saw the locker rooms. U. The facilities weren't weren't the best, but it was what we had to live with. I just want to say one thing. Uh,

you're talking about Mike Ditka in the tight end. Uh. We played the Pittsburgh Steelers the Sunday after the assassination of Ted Kennedy or a president Kennedy, John Kennedy, and it was a tough game and we were losing, and Mike did caught a short pass and everybody under Pittsburgh Steelers had a shot at this guy. Here it is he ran over about three or four people. Three or four is more than that. One count two, three, four, five, five, six.

And that that that catch and run, that catch and run enabled us to kick a field goal that tied the game. And that's why we ended up in the champions Right, you were tuckered out, not too much speed, Well, now you were tired. I didn't The breakaway speed came later in life. I didn't have it dead. But when you see that run set the dynamics of that because you you admitted you were you were out of gas. A different play was called and you said, hey, give

me a short pass and bam. Yeah, I can tell exactly. I don't know if you remember, John, but Bill Bill asked me, he said, what can you run? I said, no, I can't run. I said, throw me a short pass and I'll try to run with it. And he threw me a look in and I ran with it. I'm serious. I was dead. That's the first time that I had been back to Pittsburgh and I played in front of the people. That's where I went to score and everything but my family, everybody's there. I mean, I was so

hyped up for the game. And the standards were a good football team. They were good football. They had a good defense. But it just I got lucky. They didn't have tackling practice that way. Everybody missed me. But the reality of it, and we have a graphic of this as well with the assassination. How difficult was it to play, guys? How hard was it to play that game? For you? Well, we really didn't know that we were going to play the game until Saturday morning when we came to practice.

We were coming off the practice field on Friday and the clubhouse guy Bill Martell, said, the president's been shot. And so before we after everybody showered, they still didn't know where, if the game was going to be played or not. So Hallis said, you pack your bags as if we're going to be going on the trip. And we never really knew that we were going until we came to practice on Saturday morning and going there, you know,

it's just very quiet. The stadium was dead silence. There was no public address, there was no bands, there was no noise, there was nothing. It was just just eerieus. Heck, you know you share the same memory of that, Johnny. Yes, nobody really wanted to play, but we just, uh, it was decided that we were going to play, and the decision was made, and so we did it. And I'll never forget that that whole weekend the United States of

America was really affected by that. Bob. You're also quoted on the way to the stadium, Lee, Harvey Oswald, you heard was shot, and I read this that mister Hallis smashed the radio explained what happened. Well, we were driving over to the from the from the hotel to the stadium, and somebody had the radio on in the luggage track and they were talking about the transfer of leave Harvey Oswald from one prison to the next, you know. And so we're listening to this intently all the way from

the hotel to the to the field. And just before we got to the field, just as the bus was stopping and the guy was announcing how Harvey Oswald was being transferred all and everything, and all of a sudden, he's stilled. He's been shot. He's been shot. You know. That hallis jumps up and he says, we got a game to play. Shot that blank radio WAF Bengal. That was over. You know, crazy time. Yeah, you know, every time I sit see Bob. You gotta remember football was

a little different back most of our playing days. The quarterback called the plays. Now, maybe from the sidelines they would send in a player with the play, but the quarterback called the plays. And of course they they ran a lot more back in those days than they passed. And I'd be right next to Bob in the huddle and Dicker was close by, and we with the quarterback calling the players, you could say, hey, let's do this. We could talk in the huddle, and you know, sometimes

I'd say, let's let's do this call. Listen Bob to say, hell, no, we're gonna run the ball. We gotta get three yards, you know. So it was more fun in the huddle than nowadays. The play comes into the quarterback right, and you know that's the play that the coach is called, and so nobody says anything. You know, I'm I don't think they say that much in the huddle, like like we used to. We used to have fun in the huddle, right, Doddle, He said, you guys had fun in the huddle? Was

it fun? Very much? Attention, Johnny? Did you come out of a three point stance as a wide receiver back then? Because I thought I saw some highlights of you extended out there, and it seemed like that was a transition in the NFL that wide receivers made from a three point stance into a two point stance. But you are also a great track man. Well, I think they when at first see back, the wide receiver was called a flanker in those days. The flankers the same thing as

a wide receiver. And I had been a running back for the so I was kind of used to going in a three point stance. But once I was there for a few you know, for a training camp of one season, I said, no, you got to stand up. And the thing is you can get a much quicker start when you stand up. To start running, you have to kind of put your feet back and you don't get off as quickly. It's kind of hard to explain, but did you track background help you in those terms

of getting off the ball quicker? Yeah, it helped you, especially as a running back. Yes. As a wide receiver, I still think that if you're up and you can survey to feel better certain things, it's just better to stand up as a as a wide receiver, it's more effective in the long run. Did you know that Johnny held the world record for the forty yard or informal record? Yeah, I mean, you know, it's it is interesting because you know, not a lot of time to speed translated to being

a good football player. And when I look at some of the numbers you had, you had a great year in sixty four two. So who fed who? Did you feed passes for Dick Ga or did Difca feed passes for you? Well? I think it's back and forth. Both of us did the same for each other. But the thing was Mike and I were usually we were just

on the same side of the field. I was strong side, so it was hard for the teams to double both of us when we're When you have a strong tight end with the wide receiver, it was hard to double. You go only double one guy, you got double both guys. So that was one of the strengths we had in our team. There's a quote from Rica Serras that always rings with me. Said, if you were a bear, you were a king in Chicago. Did you feel that way back in nineteen sixty three, I guess it's been And

what bars you hung out in? No, it was great, it really was. We used to go to a place called the Cottage. I mean, that's what I really remember. Freddie Hattenberg had a place down All the Cubs used to go there on a Bear player right down on Clark Street, on the North Clark Street, and I mean on a Sunday night, and the place would be packed. But then everybody would come to see the Bear players.

You know, Mike Ditka, I remember watching films. He is the only guy that I can remember that I saw on many occasions, throw a block, cut a guy down, and immediately roll over and get the next guy. Because you when you have a block to make it, you make your block. You know, you look up at hey. I did my job. He had that natural instinct to go for the second block. And how many times do you see a guy make a second block in one play, right, Bob?

I used to see you block. Johnny That's what we called him, was sneaky because he would go down the field and they'd be passed caught by somebody else and he would sneak up behind the defensive back and get down on all fours. So when the guy turned around, he fall over. John Bob, what was the Bear signature play of that year for offensive line or what type of running play was your signature play? Running play? Probably the quarterback sneak. I think we scored more touchdowns with

a quarterbacks saw you're running in that game a few times? Bill, Wait, didn't he score both touchdowns on quarterback sneaks after throwing to Mike For a couple of team plays. Yeah, we had a sweep, we had a knoptacle play, and we had we had the fullback right up the middle. I don't remember who Hello, A lot of players that we had. It wasn't too complicated. I know we had one where tackle on the tight end, I blocked down, a tackle came out, we kicked out. I don't know, but I did.

It was interesting, all right? Tell us about that defense, gentlemen, because ten points a game it allowed, that's it. In nineteen sixty three. How great was the sixty three defense? You know, I can't win in this. I think it was the best. I really do think it was the best. Well, you're going to give up ten points. Hello, those those guys were trying to score our defense and was unbelievable. I mean, people don't remember back and remember how Joe

Fortunato or Bill George and those guys. They were good. They were really good. J C. Caroline, I ain't going on Rosie Tatter. They were good football players. They were really good. They didn't get the claim that they would get today. No, we have Bill George, Doug Atkins. I mean, uh, Mike, you're that you're a really good judge. You played on that team and you also coached the the Super Bowl team. Could you compare the Bears sixty three defense to the

eighty five defense? Well, you know that would be unfair to both. But uh, I'm just glad I was a part of the sixty three thing because, uh, those guys were good. I mean Richie Pettybone, I mean he he was bigger than me and he played safety six. Yeah, I mean bigger many way more troop. And then we had Benny McCrae was as fast as the cattle. It was a little painting pain and the ass uh cornerback Benny mccraig, Dave Whitson, Will Dave Whitson. Yeah, he was good.

How were how were the p You know, we we are fortunate to practice against the eighty five defense, and we practiced live most times. How what was the temple of practice back against the team of the sixty three defense? Yeah, well, we never really had difficult practices, to be honest with you. It was just more or less walkthrough plays and all that stuff. Once the season started, we really didn't heed. Yeah that's interesting, coach, I thought, George Hallis raised you

as a coach. You're killing us in practice and when you were going through walkthroughs. Yeah, I didn't hurt him. Look at him. Um, that is funny. I never realized that you guys, didn't you know, going back to that the sixty three defense, there's no question that they were were excellent, and the offense really wasn't that potent. So whenever they get the you know, get the ball and we'd go on the field ed Obada, which used to tell us, okay, guys, hold him, Yeah, that Dakins. They

didn't count sacks in those days. Uh, Doug Yatkins. I bet if they went back and looked at his thirteen year career and check out, I wonder how he would rate on sacks because it seemed like he had three or three or four sacks the game. To me, Well, he said uh at once that he thinks he would have had twenty five sacks in one year. So it

is a shame that they didn't keep that statistic. By the way, that team picture that was put up, twenty six players and coaches on that team photo right there again, coaches included on former Bears players that became coaches were ranked in Don Pearson and Dan Pompey's top one hundred list. So that's quite a testament to the quality on that team, gentlemen, including Now I'll tell you what of all the things

on that team. I remember one thing. We had the best damn punter I've ever seen in Bobby Joe Green. He could punch the football. I mean, I'm really unbelievable. And I was a putter and colleague. So I come out and Hollis had me out there putting. I'm setting next to this guy putting. I'm going, hey, I can't punt with this guy. He was unbelievable. He was, and he was. You know, people don't think about the putter A big part of that team change field position for us a lot of time by just the way he

putted the ball. But his big strong suit was it was a hang time. It was punts. Oh yeah, he'd be over forty yards, but it'd be so high that they kicked, the team would be able to get down there for the defense before the ball would He's the second best punter I can ever remember in the NFL, next to the Gray guy. Yeah. You know. Um when mister Buckets was on before, he said that Doug Gakins never worked out and if he would have worked out,

he would have been the superman of the NFL. Did any were any of you guys introduced to wait at that time, time or any type of fitness or when was your introduction to fitness and weights? Well, actually it came after the sixty three season, I think him sixty three Emrick joined the team. We were doing uh isometric exercises. The one guy that did it was Stan Jones. I remember him. Yeah, he did work out and he had a weight program and everything, and a few guys got

involved in it. But I'll be honest, most of us. Mike, did you ever did you ever commit to the weight room? Only when I was with the Cowboys, But no, we didn't do all that much walls. I got in great shape in Dallas. You know, that's a whole different thing. And if the weights on your legs, we were told, and I agree with it, that if you want to maintain quickness and speed, you don't build up the muscles

in your legs. You've got to be kind of life, you might say, especially fancy players receivers and backs and stuff that. So some guys do kind of overdo that, I think in this day and age. Bob, did you finish your career the same way you started your career? No? Actually, the weight was a real problem with the Hollis used

to be have a real fixation on weights. He would give everybody to sign weight, and every Thursday he would have a weigh in of the whole team, and if you're more than three pounds over your assigned weight, he would define you fifty dollars a pound and take it out of your paycheck. So on Wednesday nights, every steam room in the city of Chicago was occupied by bear players trying to sweat off the weight. So and they did all kinds of shenanigans to try to fix the

scales and everything else, but nobody ever was. They tried getting fish string, in visible fish string, so the guys were staying the scale and hold on the string or stuff stuff underneath, you know. But I started out at two forty nine, and as I got older, I was in the steam room myself. I finished up about two fifty five. For me, it was just the opposite. I

only waited one seventy eight. So when I was rookie and we started weighing in, I had two two two pound lead weights that I put under my in my arm kits. Because you had a great thing. I wanted to be over one hundred and eighty, so that mister Hollis wouldn't think I was, you know, too small. So I used those weights for the first year until I made the team, and then I stopped doing it. But

it worked. Tom did that man. When I my last year I played for the Miami Dolphins, that I had a hard time keeping my weight down because we practiced in the eighty degree weather every time. So we used to wear these girdles underneath our path and I would take and stick a ten pound plate in the back of my girdle and then get out in the scale and the guy waging the engles, Damn, you're thick for a little guy, and so you know he's just trying

to whatever. However you could get that weight, you could. Yeah, Dickon never had a problem. He always used to wore it were rubbers, uh, shirt over under his pads whenever he practiced, so he was always wet. He had to lose ten pounds of practice or whatever. It worked. Huh did you ever get fined for weight? Did he find you, guys if you were under or overweight? Five people? I know I never got fined for it, but he find people. Yeah, well, yeah, you got to make your weight. I mean we had

guys like Herman Lee. I mean, we had you guys that couldn't make their weight, didn't We have to run the mile the first day that we got there, had a mile under six minutes or you had to keep running it well. Training training camp back in the Dames in Rensseleer, did you guys go to training camp for six or seven weeks at a time? That's right, Renstler are Indiana the armpit of the nation. Yeah, yeah, we

would be there six days a week. We never got there, we trained for We'd get there at the middle of July and not leave camp until after September. I think I remember, like we were there almost three weeks before we played a preseason game, weren't Yeah yeah, And we only got Sunday one practice on Sunday, but the rest

were two days, weren't they. Yeah? Yeah? But you know again, the first time I ever went to training camp with the Bears, and we went twenty two straight days of doubles in full pads every practice, with conditioning and weightlifting, so all these things at the Great George Hallis we were hoping they were you know, some of that would come off on Mike Didka I learned from the best. Yeah,

you did, you know? I did want to. I wanted to ask you this coach, because two fifty North Washington, come up here and I'll kick your ass the role or don get your mouth shut? All these quotes by you as a head coach, would George Hallis say that? What? So during your your time as a head coach, I said some of your press conferences in your radio show, you told one guy, hey, I was nuts. I mean, you come on, I was certified bit crazy. But you can't go by it any I was out of touch

with reality for about twenty years. Now I'm back in touch reality. I'm a pretty good guy now. But the painting the ass then I know that. I man, that's like so like he said, what were you? What were your initial impressions of mister Hollis? All three of you Sharef's story. We'll start with Mike, and you know he brought you back twice. Well, the the first time I met him. Of course, there were one sixty three West Madison,

I guess, or wasn't it. So I came in from Pittsburgh on a plane, I got in a cab and I drove down to one sixty three West Madison, and I went up and I saw a man named Alice and he's the guy who started the national football and you got to realize he was he was. He was really considered. To me. He was an old man. I was twenty one years old. And I went into the office and and I mean the conversation was kind of amazing. I was a six sixth player picked in the first round.

And he said, I'm gonna pay you twelve thousand dollars with a six thousand dollars signing bonus. This is what he told me. And I knew what my dad made working in the mill. I said, hey, man, hey, I'll take that. Coach. So I had a real good year, made All Pro and everything. And I came back next year and I said I was looking to get a big contract and he says, uh, I'm gonna pay you fourteen thousand this year. I said, Coach, I made sixteen last year. He said, no, you made twelve. I said, oh,

so I took the contract for sixteen. I mean, that's just the way it was. And I was happy to have it. And we all had another job. Everybody had. You had another job, I had, you had another. We all had another job. What was your other job? Well, I sold for everybody. I don't nobody really remembers, but I sold. I would have saund bullshit if I could anything. How about you, mister Hallison, mister Harolis, Probably he gave

me an opportunity. I was in those days. In nineteen fifty nine, there were only twelve teams in the NFL and there were only thirty eight players on the squad. And those are the days of the College All Stars used to play the winners of the championship of the previous season. And so I was on the College All Star Games. And I was rafted by the Redskins and forty ninth player picked. And I joined the Redskins a couple of weeks late, and after the second exhibition game,

they said goodbye. You know, here's your plane ticket home. Well, I got a call from George Hallis and he said I was. We were in North Carolina at that time at an exit preseason game and he said, you know what do you I'd like you to come back and sign with the Bears. And I said, well, I don't know what I want to do. You know, I'm enjoying the Marines. I was very disappointed. So he said, well, you got to come through Chicago anyhow, you're back home

to Minneapolis, He's just stop by and let's talk. So he said, what I'll do is I'll i'd like you to sign come on the Taxi squad this year and signed the contract for next year, and I'll give you a chance to play. Well, he gave me a chance to play, and I made it. So I played ten years. It was the greatest thrill in my life, you know, winning the championship. So to me, he gave me a great opportunity and I was fortunate enough to be able to capitalize on him. Johnny Well, I had an unusual

situation too. I was at Santa Barbara College doesn't have a football team anymore, and our coach died. I can't remember my third or fourth year, but he died and Ed Cody, who used to be a Chicago Bear, came in as coach. They hired him as a coach. He came in as an assistant. He was an assistant when the coach died and he took over. And in those days, they didn't have scouting systems like they have now, and I wasn't a very big player, and Ed Cody called

Papa Bear Hollis and told him. He said, I got a kid that I think can make it, make it the team. So make a long story short, the Bears were going to pick me up as a free agent because they didn't feel they had to draft because nobody knew about me. And sure enough, I get a telegram five days before the draft from the Green Bay Packers and they said we were interested in you. Would you like to play for the Packers and all that kind

of stuff. I gave it to Cody, and Cody called Hollis and told him, Hey, the Packers are interested in Johnny, and so that changed their philosophy and instead I got drafted way way down in the twelfth round. But they drafted me instead of trying to sign me as a free agent afterwards. So it's one of those things. If Ed Cody hadn't been named a coach at Santa Barbara College, I might have never played pro football. You know, you guys all talk about your first experience with George Hallis

and him telling you how much you're gonna make. When did agents enter the picture and would George all or would George Hallis be able to accept an agent negotiating on behalf of any of you guys. No way, you would not talk to agents. You would not know. I uh, I don't know. I don't think I ever signed a contract as a player, even when I was with the Cowboys with an Asian. I always signed on my own. Uh. When I when I went with coach Landry, I mean, whatever he said, it was good enough for me. I

mean I never needed an agent. What do you need an Asian for me? I have an agent now, but but nobody wants me so I mean, how so I gotta send him out there, you know, But it's okay. Do do any of you guys remember throughout your lives or career when agents came on the scene and had the guts to sit in front of some of these great owners of the early part of football. I think they came in with the advent of the American Football League the AFL, when the teams were bidding against the

same players all the time. I know, I got a call from an agent as bad as I was to switch over the AFL. So okay, and you got an offer from the AFL, didn't you? And wow, you drafted me in the AFL. So, I mean, so I when it came time, but they gave me like a eight thousand dollars twelve I remember what it was, something like that, and uh, because they thought they were gonna get me. And I never went there. I got the keep the

twelve thousand dollars. So actually my first year with the Bears, I made pretty good money or second whatever year it was because and I never had any intention of going today Houston, but it was it was a good bargaining thing. But you couldn't bargain with hellis what the hell you weren't gonna win. It didn't matter what you had, what you said. You could say anyone, I don't do that. Al Davis contacted me, and I felt the same way.

They just I wanted to be in the NFL. In those early days, nobody even considered I mean, the AFL got popular in the mid sixties when guys had two choices and they started offering big money, you know, to those guys about the innovation of George Hollis and his coaching staff. Eight. Because you had no real idea that you were gonna be a tight end. You thought you were gonna be a defensive player, in the national football That was a little Johns's really yeuh, Luke, And you

know you can talk about all the old guys. He had a good staff, but he had a very loyal staff. Those guys were all very loyal to him. And you know he said, he said, you're gonna play tight end. I said, what the hell will tight end? And Luke john So really designed the position. Because you remember John. I mean I lined up. I'd line up, I'd be this close to my offensive tackle and I would try to get off and release it. The guy would jam me down inside. I couldn't get off the ball. So

I told I come out. I told Luke, I said, I can't get off the ball if I if I try to go inside, he pushed me down, or he pushed me too far outside. So as you split open about two or three yards, he told me. And we started doing that, and then I had a two way release. And then I thought I was pretty damn good because I could get off the line of scrimmage. And it was it was Luke, I mean Luke where he created that. He started flexing us out a little bit. That was good.

The reason why I took her had a line up so close to the tackles because I was playing tackle and I needed help. Wow, not not true. Well, you know, how'd you feel about the quality of that offensive line? I mean, you guys were good. They were good. They were good. Remember the Packer game. Jim Cadillo said it was the best performance by an offensive line. Guys ran for two hundred forty eight yards. Remember that game. You're talking about the game we beat the Packers, Yeah, in

sixty three. Yeah, that game was. The tone of that game was set when J. C. Caroline on the opening kickoff went down and just small some what was herb adderly? Her badly? Her badderly was the best defensive back that I ever faced? Him in night train Lane? How about rain Niski? Yeah, rain Niky, asked Mike. He used to go after him. He was just d He was the meanest man I've ever met. He He wasn't happy at any time in his life. I mean really, Uh. I got to know him a little bit later after, but

he absolutely tried to kill me. And he tried to kill me. It didn't matter where I was. He was gonna find me and he was gonna hit me. It was okay because I found him and hit him too. What about the stand up with a middle linebacker, because I you know, you talk about the evolution of the great linebackers and middle linebackers throughout Chicago Bear history, while you talk about Bill George going from a stance up to a middle linebacker position. Was that a component that

really allowed that position to grow? Yeah, and there's no question about it, Bill Bill. When Bill George played, he was letting, he was down in three points a lot of times, he played right over the center and he was quicker in hell. But but then he stood up too. But I mean, I'm just saying, you know, we had other linebackers that fortunate a pretty good football player too. So uh and who the guy? Yeah, Larry Morris? Who Larry Morris? Larry Morris can't remember? Then Joe Fortunato. Yeah,

good linebackers we had. Larry Morris was the MVP of the game. Absolutely, Yeah. Two interceptions. When you when you watch that position, you watched the sixty three game, you see him come up out of a stance and the linebackers were shifting. You know, there there are some similarities between football today with the motions out of the backfield

in the shifting of the linebackers. So there had you know, there's those elements that are still in the game today that you know, you guys had a chance to start. It was a whole whole element about shifting is basically you're trying to distract, so you you you if you can confuse I know, offensive lineman or hard to confuse, right, you can confuse him a little bit and make him uncertain about who the hell are you supposed to block.

It gives you a big edge because the ball is going to be stepped in one two three period, so you know, he didn't have the time to make up his mind, and that's what people were doing. That's all they were doing. It gives you, It gives you a little advantage because you know, offensive linement aren't death smart. Go ahead, loo, hey, let's throw up a picture of the sixty three guys getting ready for a practice at Wrigley Field. How close were you guys as a team?

Obviously the team was smaller than it is today. What's everybody thinking here in this picture? Johnny, you're getting ready for I guess practice. You got Edi Edo Bradovitch in there. You got Doug Atkins. John just got a manicure. Obviously, he's looking at his finger and I was just checking

my fingernails. When you look at that picture, does it take you back to Wrigley Fields, to take you back to that time with your teammates and friends telling me, tell us what each of you feel about looking at that picture. I've always wont to what they were looking at. Seventy four kill Colin, kill Colin. Yeah, I got most of them, don't. I don't know what they're looking This has gotta be pre game, you guys. You guys are in full uniforms here this this. You guys don't dress

that well for practice. I assume that's gotta be pre game. There was probably a band or something that was pretty game, that was pretty game. Yeah, so, Bob, you think it's when the band was on the field very well, be yea and all that stuff. What sticks out to me is eighty one eighty one. That's Doug Adkins. That was a man six foot eight, two hundred ninety something like that that I think I would really like to know

how many sacks he had in his career. Always fought with Hallis, always argued with hellis Dick Dick Buckers is on here just a little bit ago said if he actually worked out and trained, he should have been yeah, banned from the NFL because he would have heard there was one Oh oh, don't get him mad, right, and we scrimmaged the Bears when I was an All Star and uh I had an angle blocking him. Fucked down him. So I got my arm in between his legs, and I have all his legs. I have a question. He

reached down. He picked me out. I'm really by the back of my shoulder. I pulled me on me over. You can block me, son, but if you ever hold me, I'm gonna break your goddamn neck. I thought, yes, sir, I have a question for you for and I know a lot of the audience, some of the guys were talking about people who are young out there. They don't know, but can you do? You know who the first smaller guy in the NFL was thrown out to be a wide receiver? Who was the first guy. There's a question

that anybody could answer. I'll give him to It gets to McDonald. Who Tommy McDonald he was seconds played for the Cleveland Browns. Bobby Mitchell, Yeah you remember Bobby Mitchell. Oh yeah, he was the first guy that they put out as a flankers receiver that wasn't six foot two,

you know, or something like that. Now, if I'm not mistaken, Tommy McDonald, who was a Hall of Famer for the Philadelphia Eagles, they had him in mind when they moved you into different positions, a smaller, shifty guy that could play any of the receiver spots. Do you recollect that? Say that again, I didn't hear that. I know that. It's the sound is really difficult for year, so we apologize. So when they started to move you all over the field, Yeah,

it was because of how Philadelphia used Tommy McDonald. Yes, that's accurate. Does that resonate with you? That's accurate. Yes, that just they used the game became more important about speed and uh, the guys who had speed or the little guys. And they found that the little guys that could take the punishment, they became great players because they

had speed and ability. And you see it every day in the NFL now, the little guys or the way little guys excite the fans that when you when you see a team pitcher coach, I thought, I remember you telling us when I played for you that Rick Casaris was one of the toughest football players that you He was the toughest football player I ever saw. Why. Well, I'll tell you one thing. When he used to he was kind of a prize prize fighter, and when Marciano retired,

they wanted Rick to try to become heavyweight champion. He was a mean son of a gun. I was in a place up on h It wasn't the cottage, It was a place up on Clark Street one night and he Patty was his girlfriend, Patty Counts, and uh, somebody somebody said something to Patty and I never seen anything like it. I mean, I I was scared he's gonna kill the guy. I mean and uh, I mean he was mean and he was the nicest even tempered guy

in the world. But if he got pissed off, Wow, were you with the team yet when he when he when they got in a brewhall with Detroit over in Detroit, and we saw in the game films afterwards, Rick had walked out on the field and he decked that linebacker from Green Bay from Detroit, and he just walked off the field And we didn't know it until after we

watched the game for they tell a story. They tell a story when he was a Florida when he was in college that in the game they went in and they'd say he locked the door to the locker, little door to the other team, and he said, anyone one of the time or all of me, come on. I don't know what happened, but I mean those are stories they tell. I don't know if they're true. But Rick Assars was the toughest guy I mean, to me, he

was anyway. How did that translate to the football field, that toughness of how did it translate to what he had to do on the field? Ricks greater better days where a hit behind him, But he still was tough. I mean, you know he was. He was a grinder at the time I got to know him. But when he was early in his career, he was at a hell of a running back. I mean, through some real bad injuries all the time. He's really a tough guy, really tough. So you guys win the sixty three championship,

you're the toast of the city. How were you received by mayor daily and that whole time after the championship, Well, they had us down at the Mayor's off us remember we went down there A bunch of the guys during it actually afterwards during the offseason. But I don't think too many guys cared. I think we're on our way to get a beer somewhere. There wasn't anything like after the Bears won the Super Bowl in the eighty five.

You know, there's your quarterback Bill Wade. Mike, why don't you tell him the story about Bookkeeach and Wade Rudy book. What's the story? I don't know if he wants to tell him. I shouldn't have brought it up. Johnny, you want to tell it? No, the time we got in trouble with Papa bear On, did I mean Rudy and Bill Wade or your memories going huh what I do? I know I showed up somewhere, But you know at that time, you know, Rudy was a better football player.

I mean, there's no question about it. I mean Bill Bill, Bill was fantastic for us, but Rudy was. Rudy was talented. He could throw the football, and John he could throw the football as good as anybody I've ever seen. After games, did you guys have evalue like film evaluation? Did you have that technology back then, because I always bring up in our film evaluation with coach Dicker running the projector, it was a humbling experience. Did you guys go through that?

The same thing with George. We used to break up into units, you know, the offensive line, defensive line, all that stuff, and the coach would go over the game films, you know, and somebody would make the mistake run that back, run that back. Look what you did? You know, so point out to everybody. So it was kind of humbling experience.

Didn't say too much and you made a great block, but when you missed something that was really pointed out all right before Gael Sayers Willie Gallimore, how great was he? How hard was nineteen sixty? After what happened, Well, I think that ruined our season. I think we were planning on repeating as champions, and when they got killed, it just kind of took the wind out of our sales. What happened. It was on a Sunday and we were in Rentalleier Course and on Sunday the served old liquor

in Indiana. But we were always accepted at the Rentsaler Country Club. So a bunch of us fellas went out to the country Club to have a beer or two, and Willie and John Farrington when came and brought the pizzas for everybody. So they had a Volkswagen with a sun roof that was opened and we all just stayed there for a little while watch TV and had had the pieces and we left for camp out laugh for

Camp Well. They took a different road back and right after that we after we left and about an hour later became news that they had missed a curve driving back on the highway and both of them had gone through the roof of the volkswagen and were killed. And that was probably the most difficult thing I've ever had to experience him going on that wake at in Rensselaer

in that season. We wore badges on our our jerseys that year, and I think that was the constant reminder of their presence and what we missed, and I think it just had a deflating effect on the whole year. Johnny, how good of a player was Willie? How great of a player was Willie Gallimore? Really was? He had speed, boyd Uh that second gear two had a great second gear. He wasn't quite as quick right out of the gate, is like a like a Sayers, you know, but he

had that second gear. If he got opened that nobody was even going to be come close to him. You know, I've had played with I played with Sayers, and I covered Peyton, and I've covered a lot of Remember Jimmy Brown, all these great running backs, And I like to say, the best way to explay the greatest backs of all time. You're trying to figure out who it is, And the best way I could say is that if I wanted any running back for a season, I'll take Walter Payton,

the greatest ever. If I want a player for one play, I'll take GAYL Sayers for one play, GAYL Sayers. And you can talk about Jimmy Brown and talk about OJ and talk about a lot of these great players. But I think it's one thing that Chicago Bears are noted for a lot of great players, especially on defense, but they had some pretty darn good offensive players. Right, there's one right over there. Yeah, that's pretty good. John was. He was a guy like Willie Gallimore. You know one

thing about Walter Peyton. You know, we had a designated play call. It would make an impact in the defense for two or three yards and that Walter display his greatness. A guy like Willie Gallimore was he was your was your offense? Bob, was a designed to that specific or did you did you have a freedom of choice? Well, we ran the players that were called. I think, Uh, I don't think Willie had an inordinate number of plays called like they would for Walter Peyton or somebody like that.

But he was the key to his His running style was yet a very long stride and he's you know in a way. Gail says was that way too, and they'd be able to change directions into you know, very very quickly. Yeah, Gail was, you know, more quicker cutting and open field than Willie was. But Gallimore, what I never saw anybody so fast once he got through the line of scrimmage. You know. All right, we got some fan questions we're gonna bring out here in a second.

Each guys stayed in Chicago after your playing careers, started your second careers, Johnny who became a famous TV sportscaster here in town. Did you love that part of your life being a sportscaster. Oh yeah, it's straight fun, especially being able to cover the sport that you played, you know, and uh, kind of went through generations of Bears. That's

one of the things here. When I came here, I had a bigger problem remembering faces and names because I had every decade to worry about because I either played with them or covered them until the last twenty years. You know. But but that's Uh, it's been a good life. What was it like interviewing Mike after games? Oh? No, we we used to. But we did a lot of those Sunday night shows. Uh, when I was a little under the weather. That's sometimes on the Bears extra. We

used to have fun. I mean, he were famous. Those interviews were legendary sometimes, right, Well, they were better when we won than when we're lost. I know that. But but he was he was he was he was a fair journalist, right, No, he was. No, he was great. Great, it was great. He was a bright shining light in Chicago at that time. Was it was it hard to separate build the friendship you guys forged and as being players together, that all of a sudden you're on a

kind of a different professional stage than a professional playing field. Well, I don't. I never looked at it that way. I'm sorry, but I never looked at it that way. I mean, John was my friend and he had a job, and he did his job and I did my job, and sometimes it didn't work well. You know, I know, I know us as players that we would watch that show just hoping that you wouldn't say anything mean about us.

If we got through the Johnny Moore Show and I'll coach Dick is saying, then okay, you can maybe might get through the film session the next day. I never said the offensive line stunk. No, wait, we had no It was fun. I had a lot of fun doing a show with John I really did. And I'll tell you what, I bet you that was one of the best received shows in Chicago television. We had the ratings, the ratings were astronomical, and people they loved Mike DiPT

they loved the Bears and he's entertaining. As we knew. Well, it was a great time. It was a great period of time. Did you enjoy being called a commentator on the network for games? Yeah? That was doing network games? Was was was fun. I was always happy if I got to do a Bear game. You know, when you work for a CBS network and I'm in Chicago. I did my local sportscasting and then on the weekends I would go do games, and I would always want to do Bear games, but I didn't always get the Bear games.

Sometimes the Bears were playing here and I'm doing a game, you know, Detroit Lions against Minnesota and have to fly back and do Bears extra and stuff when I hadn't even seen the Bear game. You know, it can be it could be a hassle. So but that's the nature of the nature of the beast, right all right? Some fan questions is from a Manda Schaumberg. What was it like playing at Wrigley Field? I never ran into the goal post? Did you? Did you ever run into the

goal post? I'm sure the receivers did, though the goal post were on on the goal line in those days, and neither of the end zones was actually ten yards deep. One ended up at the wall, and the in the in the north end zone was just short of ten yards and they ran into the brick wall and you know the left field wall. Did that affect your goal line offense or even the type of pass plays you guys would run from the five yard line in I don't you ever going to dugout on the first place side?

I think I went in there one time accidentally split in their after catching the path. You know what. It was close, but it was great. I mean I thought it was great. The fans were right on top of you. They were right on top of you, you know you uh. I thought it was a great place to play football. I really did. Was it wasn't half the year in field for you? And then they did? Did they go to all grass or wasn't in field all year round? Well?

They they sotted the infield after. You know, when you played your first couple of games, it was great dirt, but they sotted it. Then it was terrible I ever had because the Cups played, yeah, until late September, we always had to play on the road. The first two or three games that it was a great field, they sotted it and it never came up when we played,

you know, and then branded from Oak Park. What was the best lesson you all learned from coach Alice Bob you're laughing, don't swear, but beyond time, pay attention and play like hell. Best lesson to watch your pennies. When he signed me, he said, Johnny, we're gonna we like you. We want you to play for us. And everything. We're gonna give your six thousand dollars and that was an NFL minimum. So I had a pretty good year and I thought I was going to get a raise. He

offered me seven thousand and next year. You know that's that was Papa Bear, George Hollis. He told me to watch my opinnies and that's what I do. What was anybody on making money? Wasn't well? Who was the guy that walked in the locker room and said, Wow, this guy's making some coin or this guy's Nobody knew what everybody was making everybody really really happened with with Sayers and buttkis right. That's where the big money started when

they came in. When they came in two years after you win a championship, did you guys think, wow, we're gonna win another one. We were a pretty good team and uh in sixty five and we didn't win it. We got beat out by Baltimore, I believe, but uh on a controversial call, remember that, Ray Berry? Yeah yeah, but uh, we're a good team in the sixty five, no question about it. But what we had stars and we had Rudy Boukas was quarterback. I said Rudy Bukers

was quarterback and Stars was a running back. So I think that's the first time with the Bears have ever led the league in the offense for the year, for the season. And then last question from Ryan and Rickleyville. Do you guys like the direction of the way the league is going here in twenty nineteen? The league? Yeah, sport so many? Are you kidding me to making a lot of money? Are you kidding me? Have play sports today?

You make a lot of money. I mean, these guys should never have to work for a day in their life. They should be set for life if they take care of it. And that's great. I'm glad to see that. I'm glad to see them making that kind of money because it's a tough game. You get hurt, and you can you can be screwed up for over life. But uh no, I just hope, I hope they appreciate what

they got because it's not gonna be there forever. But while you got it, put it away, save it, and when you're done playing, you won't have to work anymore. But I don't like is all the the instant report, I mean, the timeouts for the referees reviewing the referees calls. Now they're you're getting more more calls for controversial past interference and all that type of stuff that just you laying the game and it just makes it makes it bad for the fans to sit, particularly at the games,

to sit on their hands. Well, they didn't know what's going on, Johnny, I forgot the questions state of the league right now? Are you excited to where the NFL is hitting ahead a couple of times? What was the question he was asking, Johnny, if you're excited the direction the league is going, the different aspects of either and its own celebrations, the whole social media involvement, the you know, replays, bioficials,

all those elements. I think it's just it's society changes, every generation changes, and so the way it's going, it's it's all right with me. I think it's fine. Guys want to celebrate in the end zone and whatever. It's just that you almost have to accept what's changing. Just look at the this is my own opinion. Everybody's got computers now, everybody's got iPhones now, and all this hacking that's going on, all these things that are happing Baltimore

the city of Baltimore got hacked. They hacked and they had to pay money to get unhacked. It's like, I'm gonna give you an example. You remember when autoation was getting they were going faster and faster, the Indianapolis five hundred faster. Pretty sure they had. They started having a lot of accidents when I was covering it because they were getting too fast. So what did they do. They put limits on the horsepower and so they've really cut down.

They knew man couldn't control it anymore. Man could not control the speed, so they cut back on it. Now, what's happening with computers and iPhones and all this stuff. We can't control it anymore. It's getting out of hand. And what is what is it going to be like? I mean, you know, everybody that has computers, you know what's going on. And I just wonder how it's all gonna end up. I don't know. It just kind of scares me. Interesting time. Indeed, all right, we're out of time.

The sixty three championship team, Mike Dit, Bob Watsca, Johnny Morris, thank you everybody, Thank you guys very much,