“He had so many ways that he impacted his sport, the City of Chicago, literally hundreds of thousands of people that he touched that it’s hard to wrap your arms around everything that he did,” Pompei told ChicagoBears.com. “He was maybe the best tight end in history. He was the coach who turned around a franchise and brought it its only Super Bowl, and I think he was a person that really kind of made Chicago proud again and gave an identity back to a city that probably had lost it for a while.”

PHOTOS: Remembering Mike Ditka

To honor the legendary Mike Ditka, ChicagoBears.com takes a look back at “Iron Mike” through the years, including his time as a Hall of Fame tight end and Super Bowl-winning coach. (Photos via Chicago Bears and AP)

Pompei cherished the opportunity he had in late August to visit Ditka at his home in Chicago and write a feature about it.

“I’m really happy that I did it and I was able to see him again,” Pompei said. “He was in good spirits. Clearly, his health was in decline. But I think he felt like he was in a good place and he was surrounded by people who took good care of him and had his best interest in mind.”

Ditka played his final six NFL seasons with the Eagles (1967-68) and Cowboys (1969-72), helping Dallas win Super Bowl VI and finishing his career with 427 receptions, which remained the most by a tight end until Kellen Winslow eclipsed the mark in 1980. In 1988, Ditka became the first tight end enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.