1985 Mike Ditka Super Bowl XX Personal Playbook. While the status of "greatest baseball team ever" is all but universally assigned to the 1927 New York Yankees, the debate over a corresponding gridiron honoree tends to narrow the field to two before devolving into a shouting match with little hope of resolution. For more than a decade following the undefeated season of the 1972 Miami Dolphins, there was little question but that supremacy belonged to south Florida, but when all the pieces fell into place at Soldier Field during the 1985 NFL season, the 'fins suddenly encountered a challenger for the throne.

If charisma figured into the metrics, the '85 Bears would be the clear victor, helmed by a brash Jim McMahon at quarterback who wore his emotions on his sleeve, and on his ever-present headband. With an iconic Hall of Fame running back nicknamed "Sweetness" and a massive defensive lineman called "The Refrigerator," the Bears dazzled as they dominated, cementing a place in popular culture with a charmingly amateurish and irreverent rap video entitled "The Super Bowl Shuffle."

But if the talent-laden crew was a ship of fools, they were held in check by a stern captain, a favorite son of the Windy City named Mike Ditka. Three years before becoming the first tight end ever enshrined at Canton, Ditka led the Bears back to the glory he had enjoyed twice as a player, crushing the New England Patriots by a tally of forty-six to ten at the New Orleans Superdome to win Super Bowl XX.

Presented is the playbook that Ditka used as a road map to that Lombardi Trophy, a fascinating assembly of handwritten and printed diagrams, texts of inspirational speeches, travel itineraries and more. The well-worn three-ring binder is affixed with a "Coach Ditka" sticker on the front cover, where two paper clips hold a handwritten index card reading [with misspellings uncorrected]:

"You are the Bears. Cent Div. Champions. You eared it--don't let any body take it away. Show the nation that we are for real & we must be reconned with. 2nd half team."

It's often said that football is a religion to the residents of Chicago, making this its most sacred text. Certainly it ranks among the most significant artifacts of Chicago Bears football ever to be made available to the collecting public. Joining the playbook is a wool cap in Ditka's distinctive style, directly from the legendary coach's personal wardrobe. LOA from Heritage Auctions.