Mike Ditka, the football legend who went from star tight end for the Chicago Bears to the most famous coach in franchise history, has died at the age of 86.
His family confirmed his death in a statement.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend, Mike Ditka. While the world knew Mike as a Hall of Fame football player, legendary coach, and leader of the Chicago Bears’ Super Bowl XX championship team, we knew him as the heart of our family. Mike will be missed beyond measure and remembered forever,” the family said.
Ditka was born on Oct. 18, 1939. Long before he became “Da Coach,” the legend of “Iron” Mike Ditka was forged in the blue-collar town of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, northwest of Pittsburgh.
He never forgot his working-class roots, but he used football as his ticket out of the steel mills. Ditka earned a scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh, where he became an All-American tight end in 1960.
“If you wanted to be good at something, you had to work at it, and nobody was going to give you nothing for nothing,” Ditka told CBS Chicago in 1985.
The Bears selected Ditka fifth overall in the 1961 draft. He was named the NFL’s rookie of the year and went on to revolutionize the tight end position as a pass-catcher.
Ditka was known for his competitive edge on the field.
“I didn’t particularly like those people I was playing against, I really didn’t,” he said. “I wasn’t a guy who went up and shook hands before the game or after the game.”
The high point of his six-year run with the Bears came in 1963, when No. 89 helped lead the team to an NFL championship.
But after a contract dispute with owner George “Papa Bear” Halas, the five-time Pro Bowler was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles ahead of the 1967 season.
Ditka capped off his playing career by catching a touchdown in Super Bowl VI for the Dallas Cowboys. After retiring, he immediately joined Tom Landry’s coaching staff in Dallas.
In 1982, Ditka’s career came full circle when Halas brought him back to Chicago as the 10th head coach in Bears history. Fans and the media couldn’t get enough of his gruff, tough persona, and his fiery sideline demeanor quickly translated into success on the field.
“I don’t want to be competitive. I know what that is,” Ditka said in 1985. “I want to be the winner.”
That same season, the Bears reached and won Super Bowl XX. On Jan. 26, 1986, in New Orleans, Ditka’s Bears dominated the New England Patriots 46-10. The victory made Ditka one of only two men to win an NFL title as a player, assistant coach and head coach.
In 1988, Ditka became the first tight end ever inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Later that year, he suffered a heart attack. He recovered, and in 1990, he led the Bears to a sixth division crown.
Following a 5-11 finish in the 1992 season, however, Ditka was fired.
He later returned to the NFL for a three-season stint as head coach of the New Orleans Saints from 1997 through 1999. Afterward, Ditka retired from coaching.
