1983 Chicago Bears-Getting Ready to Roll
1983 Chicago Bears team photo.
Mike Ditka expected his team to make the playoffs in 1983. Bolstered by one of the best drafts in team history, the team was "ready to roll."
September 4, 1983 provided for the last opening day Bears loss they would have to endure for the next 10 seasons. It was a 20-17 heartwrencher at the hands of the Atlanta Falcons. The game featured the debut of three rookie starters-Jim Covert, Willie Gault, and Mike Richardson. After opening day, the Bears beat Tampa Bay at home, 17-10. After this win, the team then dropped two overtime games. They lost in New Orleans 34-31 in a game that featured a high powered offensive showing led by Jim McMahon, Walter Payton, and rookie speedster Willie Gault. The next week, they went to Baltimore and lost 22-19 in OT, and after the game, coach Mike Ditka broke his hand by punching a locker. His team was just too good to be dropping the close ones.
Chicago came home and smoked the Denver Broncos 31-14, then lost 2 straight division games to Minnesota and Detroit. They then wrapped up the first half of the season with an unimpressive 3-5 record. In Mike Ditka's second year, many, including the coach himself, were expecting much more from the young team.
The following week, October 30th, they opened the second half of the season by losing at Detroit. The day after, October 31, 1983, George Halas passed away from pancreatic cancer. The team, city, and NFL mourned its 88-year old founder. Halas had summoned his hand-picked coach shortly before his death, and gave him a present, not to be opened until after the team won the super bowl. Ditka promised Halas he would deliver the goods.
The team seemed to have a spark after Halas' death. Although they lost the first game in Los Angeles to the Rams, they seemed recharged. They rattled off 3 wins over Philadelphia, Tampa and San Francisco, then lost at Green Bay by 3 points. On December 11th, they won at Minnesota. And on December 18th, they finished the 1983 season at home against the hated rival Packers. Green Bay led throughout the contest in one of the coldest games ever played at Soldier Field. With less than a minute remaining, Jim McMahon drove Chicago down the field, Bob Thomas kicked the winning field goal, and Green Bay was defeated. The Green Bay loss sealed the fate of long-time Green Bay coach Bart Starr, as he was fired the next day.
Chicago wrapped up the 1983 season at 8-8, with many positives to dwell upon in the offseason. First, they had finished the second-half of the season 5-3, and may have finished as strong as 11-5 had they pulled out a few close losses. Statistically, they were enormously better than in 1982, thanks to the additions of rookies from the star class of '83. They improved from 26th on offense, to 4th overall, 1st in rushing, and 2nd in passing. Defensively, they moved up from 16th overall to 8th.
As 1983 turned to 1984, the team felt that they may be just on the verge of something special.
Quote of the Year: "Ditka got done chewing us out, then he turns around and sees one of those equipment lockers, and just hits it...BAM.  I think he thought it was made of particle board or something, but it was hard plywood.  In a high-pitched voice, he asks an assistant to lead us in prayer.  None of us could get through that prayer without laughing."  -Walter Payton describes the scene in the postgame locker room in Baltimore, when Ditka broke his hand
1983 Records:Preseason 3-1, Regular Season 8-8
1983 NFL Rankings: Offense 4th overall, 1st rush, 2nd pass; Defense 8th overall, 11th rush, 12th pass
1983 Coaches: Mike Ditka, Head Coach; Buddy Ryan, Defensive Coordinator; Ed Hughes, Offensive Coordinator
DATE
TEAM
RESULT
NOTES
8/6
Bills
27-17
Preseason
8/13
Cardinals
24-27
Preseason
8/20
Raiders
27-21
Preseason
8/27
Chiefs
20-17
Preseason
9/4
Falcons
17-20
Last opening loss til 93
9/11
Bucs
17-10
Record even.
9/18
Saints
31-34
Gault big day.
9/25
Colts
19-22
Ditka smashes hand.
10/2
Broncos
31-14
Big bounce back.
10/9
Vikings
14-23
Central loss.
10/16
Lions
17-31
No match for Lions.
10/23
Eagles
7-6
Turnaround begins.
10/30
Lions
17-38
Another Lion loss.
11/6
Rams
14-21
Halas mourned.
11/13
Eagles
17-14
Sweep of Philly.
11/20
Bucs
27-0
Tampa good medicine.
11/27
49ers
13-3
Defense coming on.
12/4
Packers
28-31
Loss ends plyoff hopes.
12/11
Vikings
19-13
Even score with Vikes.
12/18
Packers
23-21
Loss gets Starr fired.
HOME
AWAY
Passing: Jim McMahon- McMahon was benched at one point for veteran Vince Evans, but led the team with 2,184 yards passing and a 77.7 rating.
Rushing: Walter Payton-Payton again increased his average to 4.5 yards per carry and rushed for 1,421 yards and 6 touchdowns.  Matt Suhey added another 621 as the Bears led the league.  He also threw three TD passes.
Receiving Yards: Willie Gault- As a rookie, Gault led the Bears with 836 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.  Payton led the team in receptions.
Scoring: Bob Thomas- Thomas returned to the Bears and led the team with 77 points.
Sacks: Mike Hartenstine- In his ninth year with the Bears, Hartenstine led the team with 12 sacks.  He also knocked four passes down and forced three fumbles.
Interceptions: Leslie Frazier- The 1981 free agent signing led the team with seven interceptions and defensed 21 passes.
1983 Chicago Bears Normal Starters
Jim McMahon Walter Payton Matt Suhey Ken Margerum Willie Gault Jim Cover Noah Jackson Jay Hilgenberg Kurt Becker Keith Van Horne Emery Moorehead Bob Thomas
9 QB
34 RB
26 RB
82 WR
83 WR
74 LT
65 LG
63 C
79 RG
78 RT
87 TE
16 K
Dan Hampton Steve McMichael Jim Osborne Mike Hartenstine Al Harris Mike Singletary Otis Wilson Leslie Frazier Todd Bell Gary Fencik Mike Richardson Bob Parsons
99 DE
76 DT
68 DT
73 DE
90 LB
50 MLB
55 LB
21 CB
25 SS
45 FS
27 CB
86 P
McMahon started the majority of the season at quarterback, but was benched for a period while the offensive line had its problems.  Rookies Jim Covert and Willie Gault made their first starting appearances at LT and WR, respectively.  Third-year center Jay Hilgenberg replaced longtime veteran Dan Neal.  On defense, Dan Hampton is listed as playing right defensive end, although he missed some time with knee injuries.  Steve McMichael made his first starts at tackle, and Al Harris moved from defensive line to linebacker, replacing Gary Campbell.  Rookie Mike Richardson started at cornerback.  Bob Parsons punted for most of the season, his last as a Bear, while former Packer Ray Stachowicz did some of the punting.  From left to right: Offense Jim McMahon, Walter Payton, Matt Suhey, Ken Margerum, Willie Gault, Jim Covert, Noah Jackson, Jay Hilgenberg, Kurt Becker, Keith Van Horne, Emery Moorehead, Bob Thomas.  Defense Dan Hampton, Steve McMichael, Jim Osborne, Mike Hartenstine, Al Harris, Mike Singletary, Otis Wilson, Leslie Frazier, Todd Bell, Gary Fencik, Mike Richardson, Bob Parsons.
7
QB
Bob Avellini
Maryland
9
8
QB
Vince Evans
USC
7
9
QB
Jim McMahon
BYU
2
16
K
Bob Thomas
Notre Dame
8
19
WR
Dan Plater
BYU
1
20
S
Kevin Potter
Missouri
R
21
CB
Leslie Frazier
Alcorn St.
3
22
S
Dave Duerson
Notre Dame
R
25
S
Todd Bell
Ohio State
3
26
RB
Matt Suhey
Penn St.
4
27
CB
Mike Richardson
Arizona St.
R
29
RB
Dennis Gentry
Baylor
2
32
RB
Anthony Hutchinson
Texas Tech
R
33
RB
Calvin Thomas
Illinois
2
34
RB
Walter Payton
Jackson St.
9
43
CB
Walt Williams
New Mexico
7
44
CB
Terry Schmidt
Ball St.
10
45
S
Gary Fencik
Yale
8
50
LB
Mike Singletary
Baylor
3
51
LB
Kevin Atkins
Illinois
1
53
LB
Dan Raines
Cincinnati
2
54
LB
Brian Cabral
Colorado
5
55
LB
Otis Wilson
Louisville
4
57
LB
David Simmons
N. Carolina
3
59
LB
Gary Campbell
Colorado
7
62
G
Mark Bortz
Iowa
R
63
C
Jay Hilgenberg
Iowa
3
64
G
Rob Fada
Pitt
R
65
G
Noah Jackson
Tampa
9
68
DT
Jim Osborne
Southern
12
71
T
Andy Frederick
New Mexico
7
73
DL
Mike Hartenstine
Penn St.
9
74
T
Jim Covert
Pitt
R
76
DT
Steve McMichael
Texas
4
78
T
Keith Van Horne
USC
3
79
G
Kurt Becker
Michigan
2
80
WR
Rickey Watts
Tulsa
5
81
TE
Jay Saldi
S. Carolina
8
82
WR
Ken Margerum
Stanford
3
83
WR
Willie Gault
Tennessee
R
84
WR
Brian Baschnagel
Ohio State
8
85
WR
Dennis McKinnon
Florida St.
R
86
P
Bob Parsons
Penn St.
12
87
TE
Emery Moorehead
Colorado
7
88
TE
Pat Dunsmore
Drake
R
90
DE
Al Harris
Arizona St.
5
95
DE
Richard Dent
Tenn. St.
R
98
DE
Tyrone Keys
Miss. St.
R
99
DL
Dan Hampton
Arkansas
5
Ditka on his dream
88 year old NFL and Bears founder George Halas had completely remade his team in late 1981 and '82, but by the beginning of the 1983 season he was ailing and out of the public view.
According to Armen Keteyan's book Monster of the Midway, Mike Ditka was summoned to Halas' deathbed in his final days.  Halas presented Ditka with a bottle of champagne with a note attached, which read "Don't open until you win the Super Bowl."
Halas passed away on October 31, 1983.
The Chicago Bears Board of Directors, headed by Hala's daughter Virginia and her husband Ed, chose their 39 year old son Michael to become the new President and CEO of the club.
History would show that in the late 1980's, Michael would declare a "New era of fiscal responsibility" for the Bears.  Evidently part of the plan for this era would be to refuse to pay stars such as Willie Gault and Wilber Marshall, and the release of popular General Manager and Ditka ally Jerry Vianisi.  McCaskey would later fire Ditka after just his second losing season of the 10 seasons he worked for the new President.
The following are interesting quotes from an article by Mark Friedlander of the Bear Report from November 17, 1983:
"He's a very sharp guy.  He'll do some things to help this organization.  He won't make changes just for the sake of making changes." -Ditka on McCaskey
"Projections show profits will be declining for all NFL clubs in future years.  We have a smaller stadium and not a favorable lease compared to other clubs.  Imagination and hard work in management of this team will pay off."
"George Halas was always captain of his ship.  He was involed in every major decision that involved the Chicago Bears.  Pro football in the 1980's has become a specialized endeavor, so we will try to decentralize the front office."
"I've always advised people I've worked with, I don't come into an organization and start making abrupt changes."  -Michael McCaskey
 
 
 
According to my research, the last Chicago Bears home game to not sell out was the 9/11/83 game against Tampa.  Every Bears regular season and playoff game has sold out since then.  Prior to the 2006 season, that's a streak of 192 consecutive home games.  The Bears made a whopping offensive improvement in 1983, improving to 4th overall, 1st rushing and 2nd passing.  Coach Mike Ditka broke his hand by punching a locker after the loss to Baltiimore.  According to Armen Keteyian's book Monster of the Midway, General Manager Jerry Vanisi had dinner with Ditka prior to Chicago's game in Philadelphia, and urged him to control his temper and motivate in a more positive fashion.  Ditka seemed to take notice and became close friends with the GM.  Normally teams only played teams within their own division twice in a season, but by virtue of the Bears' last place finish in 1982, they played Philadelphia twice.    
1983 will forever be remembered as the year of the quarterback in the draft, even though only two of them really panned out. John Elway, Dan Marino, Tony Eason, Todd Blackledge and Ken O'Brien are selected. Elway goes first, and remarkably, Marino is taken last, after the other three. Elway is originally selected by Baltimore with the first pick, but demands a trade and threatens to play baseball rather than for the Colts. Denver steps up and trades for Elway, and the rest is history. The 49ers rebound to post an NFL-best 14-2 record, but lose to Washington 24-21 in the conference championship game. Seattle, in its eighth year in existence, advances to the AFC Championship, but the Seahawks lose to the Raiders. Oakland wins Super Bowl 18 38-9, denying the Redskins a second straight championship.
1983 Bears Draft
Rd
Pos
Name
School
1a
T
Jim Covert
Pitt
1b
WR
Willie Gault
Tennessee
2
CB
Mike Richardson
Arizona St.
3
S
Mike Duerson
Notre Dame
4a
OL
Tom Thayer
Notre Dame
4b
TE
Pat Dunsmore
Drake
5-Traded to New England
6-Traded to Cleveland
7-Traded to Cleveland
8a
DE
Richard Dent
Tenn St.
8b
DT
Mark Bortz
Iowa
9a
G
Rob Fada
Pitt
9b
LB
Mark Zavagnin
Notre Dame
10
RB
Anthony Hutchison
Texas Tech
11
RB
Gary Worthy
Wilmington
12a
WR
Oliver Williams
Illinois
12b-Traded to San Diego
1983 Bears Trades
Traded 1984 6th round pick to Dallas for TE Jay Saldi
Various draft-day trades
1983 Bears Free Agent Signings
WR Dan Plater
WR Dennis McKinnon
1983 Bears Retirements
None
1983 Chicago Bears Awards
Walter Payton, RB, Pro Bowl
Mike Singletary, LB, Pro Bowl
 








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