Bears to stop retiring numbers after Ditka's 89
Mike Ditka's No. 89 will be the last one the Chicago Bears retire.
The Bears, who plan to honor Ditka during their game against the Dallas Cowboys on Dec. 9 at Soldier Field, have retired more numbers than any other NFL team at 14.
"If there is going to be a last one, there is no more appropriate one than 89," Bears owner George McCaskey said in a statement.
That means other Bears greats including Richard Dent, Dan Hampton, Mike Singletary and Brian Urlacher will not have their numbers retired.
The Bears have previous honored Nos. 3 (Bronko Nagurski), 5 (George McAfee), 7 (George Halas), 28 (Willie Galimore), 34 (Walter Payton), 40 (Gale Sayers), 41 (Brian Piccolo), 42 (Sid Luckman), 51 (Dick Butkus), 56 (Bill Hewitt), 61 (Bill George), 66 (Clyde "Bulldog" Turner) and 77 (Harold "Red" Grange).
