Hall of Fame Assistance Trust to Be Dissolved

According to Richard Willing, Ditka to dissolve fund after critical report, usatoday.com, Dec. 11, 2007:

Football Hall of Famer Mike Ditka said Tuesday that he will dissolve a charity that collected $1.3 million in its first three years and gave only $57,000 to needy ex-players.

Ditka’s Hall of Fame Assistance Trust *** spent the bulk of its money — more than $715,000 — staging three golf tournaments from 2004 to 2006 to aid the charity. In 2005, the trust paid $65,000 in appearance fees to get former stars to play in the tournament. That was $8,000 more than the charity paid indigent players in its first three years.***

“There is nobody who has received one penny to administrate the trust,” Ditka said. “The guys have done it all on their own.” ***

But separate charities maintained by the union and the league gave away an average of $1.1 million a year from 2000 to 2005, USA TODAY reported. Because funds available exceeded the number of potential recipients, that figure includes $220,000 a year donated to youth groups and scholarships.