Monday was the 40th anniversary of Super Bowl XX. It was the first and only Super Bowl victory for the Chicago Bears, the capstone to the legendary 1985 season.
And now, perhaps the most iconic piece of 1985 Bears memorabilia is up for auction.
Even more than the No. 34 jerseys or the 1980s headbands, the dominance of the 1985 Bears came to be symbolized by the sweater vest of their head coach, Mike Ditka.
Darren Rovell is the founder of Collect Media, a media site devoted to the world of collectibles and memorabilia.
“Of course Ditka, the big bold letters, B-E-A-R-S, was just so iconic, because it was a uniform. This wasn’t Nike or Reebok or someone telling a coach what to wear. This was his uniform. He was going to wear it every time,” he said.
Rovell said the sweater is swagger.
“Most swagger ever, maybe most memorable Super Bowl team still,” he said. “I think the fact that the Bears haven’t won since – I don’t want to say it to Bears fans – but it makes that team more iconic.”
The sweater vest Ditka wore during the epic Super Bowl victory is now up for auction with Goldin Auctions. It is not “photo matched,” but it comes with a letter of provenance from Ditka himself.
Ditka, who is 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 245 pounds, wore a size XXL sweater vest.
“This is the perfect time to sell this, at the 40th anniversary,” Rovell said. “Anniversaries present perfect times to sell memorabilia. It’s when there’s the news cycle, it’s when people are thinking about it.”
To this day, Bears fans dress like Ditka before, during, after and at Bears games. Rovell said the authentic game-worn Super Bowl vest could break a record for the highest price paid for any collectible associated with a coach.
“I think that’s probably the biggest mic drop of all time from a Chicago fan to have Mike Ditka’s sweater vest,” he said.
It was an iconic look that showed Ditka was the vest in the game.
