Camacho Announces Ditka 89

On Wednesday, Camacho quietly announced the Ditka 89, which will be the fifth installment in their Ditka line and is being made to celebrate Mike Ditka’s upcoming jersey retirement by the Chicago Bears.

The cigars are described as medium to full body and will be available in a single Toro vitola. Specifics as to the size and blend were not disclosed by Camacho.

Pricing is slated to be around $12 per cigar before taxes. The Ditka 89 will come in 20-count boxes, with production limited to 2,000 boxes, for a total run of 40,000 cigars. They are expected to be released in late November or early December.

The Bears announced that Ditka’s jersey #89 jersey would be retired back in late May, with the ceremony scheduled for December 9 at Soldier Field in Chicago. Ditka began his pro football playing career with the Bears in 1961 and spent six years with the club as a tight end. He ranks fourth overall on the Bears’ career receiving list with 4,503 yards, and fifth in both receptions (316) and touchdown catches (34). He went on to play with Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys before retiring in 1972.

He rejoined the Bears as their head coach in 1982, and led the team to a Super Bowl win in 1985, their last NFL title. He spent 11 years at the helm of the Bears, departing after the 1992 season. He also coached the New Orleans Saints from 1997 – 1999.

In 1988, he became the first tight end elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

There was speculation that the long-standing feud between Ditka and the McCaskey family, who owns the Bears, might have prevented such a jersey retirement from taking place. At the time of the announcement, Bears chairman George H. McCaskey commented via the team’s website that “Mike Ditka embodies the spirit of everything the Bears are about; he’s an icon. The last time we won a championship, Mike Ditka was our coach, and the last time we won before that, Mike Ditka was a player. The organization knew [retiring his number] was the right thing to do.”He will become the 14th player to have his jersey retired by the Bears.

Camacho announced that they had entered into a partnership with Ditka in July 2012, with the first trio of cigars, the Player, the Coach and the Hall of Famer, being released on December 14, 2012. In April 2013, Camacho announced a fourth cigar in the Ditka line, a 6 x 50 Toro called the Throwback.