Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame tight end who played on the Bears' 1963 NFL championship team and coached the team to its only Super Bowl championship after the 1985 season, has died. He was 86.
He died about 9 a.m. Friday surrounded by family and friends, a family spokesperson said.
A statement issued by the family said that "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."
As a player, a coach and a larger-than-life personality who invigorated a generation of Bears fans, Ditka left an indelible mark on the Chicago sporting landscape — from the playing field to sports talk to pop culture — that few can match. Of Chicago's impressive list of Hall of Fame athletes — Sid Luckman, Walter Payton, Bobby Hull, Ernie Banks, Stan Mikita, Frank Thomas among the all-time greats — only Michael Jordan can challenge Ditka's legacy as a local sports icon.
As a Bears legend, Ditka was one of the last direct links to George Halas, the Bears' founder and owner. Halas drafted Ditka out of Pittsburgh in 1961. And even after a falling out that led to Halas trading Ditka in the prime of Ditka's career in 1967, Halas hand-picked Ditka to coach the Bears in 1982. Four years later, Halas was gone (he died in 1983), but Ditka led the Bears to victory in Super Bowl XX in the midst of the best run of Bears success since winning four NFL titles from 1940-47 with Luckman at quarterback.
Nearly 40 years after that glorious 1985 season, the team hasn't had even a semblance of the Ditka-era success. In 31 seasons since Ditka was fired by team president Michael McCaskey in 1993, the Bears have yet to have even three consecutive playoff seasons or three consecutive winning seasons.
The son of an ex-Marine, Michael Keller Ditka grew up in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, 20 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, and was a three-sport star — football, basketball and baseball — at Aliquippa High School. As a shortstop, he attracted interest from the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Braves as a senior. But he opted for football and chose Pitt over Notre Dame and Penn State.
Impact player
Ditka also played basketball and baseball at Pitt, but it was clear that football was his future. As a senior, Ditka was a first-team All-American at end. He was the defensive star in Pitt's 10-0 upset of No. 3 Syracuse, ending the defending national champion Orangemen's 16-game winning streak. His 59-yard catch paved the way for a victory over No. 14 Notre Dame the following week. And the week after that, Ditka blocked a punt in a 7-7 tie with No. 12 Army.
"He is the best college player in the country," Pittsburgh Steelers coach Buddy Parker said of Ditka.
Parker likely wanted Ditka for the hometown Steelers and nearly had the chance. The Bears selected Ditka with the fifth overall pick of the 1961 draft (conducted Dec. 27, 1960) — after winning a coin flip with the Steelers.
Halas was looking to capitalize on Ditka's outstanding blocking ability, but quickly realized he had much more than that in the 6-3, 230-pound end. Combining his size, strength, athleticism with his own brand of relentless aggressiveness, Ditka transformed the end position into a pass-catching, big-play role rarely seen before in the NFL.
He had 56 receptions for 1,076 yards (19.2 yards per catch) and a franchise-record-tying 12 touchdowns as a rookie in 1961 — winning the NFL Rookie of the Year Award.
Ditka made the Pro Bowl his first five seasons with the Bears and was named first-team All-Pro in 1963 and 1964. His 75 receptions (for 897 yards and five touchdowns) in 1964 set an NFL record for a tight end that lasted for 16 seasons, until the Chargers' Kellen Winslow had 89 receptions in 1980.
But Ditka became disenchanted in 1966, when he had just 32 receptions for 378 yards and two touchdowns and, claiming a "clash of personalities" with Halas, signed a three-year contract with the AFL's Houston Oilers. Before the Bears could challenge the legality of that move — the AFL and NFL were in the process of a merger — Halas traded Ditka to the Eagles for quarterback Jack Concannon.
Ditka played two seasons with the Eagles and four with the Cowboys, but never had the same impact. He did win a Super Bowl with the Cowboys, catching a seven-yard touchdown pass to complete a 24-3 victory over the Dolphins in Super Bowl VI in Dallas' 24-3 victory after the 1971 season.
Move to the sideline
Ditka retired after the 1972 season — his 427 career receptions were the most by an NFL tight end at the time. He immediately became a special teams and wide receivers coach for the Cowboys and coach Tom Landry. He was never considered a major candidate for a head coaching job, but always had his eye on the Bears.
"In 1978, I wrote Mr. Halas a letter," Ditka said in his book, "In Life, First You Kick Ass," written with Sun-Times columnist Rick Telander. "I was the special teams coach for the Cowboys and I was no big deal. Maybe I was a little wild. But what I said in the letter was, 'We didn't part on the best of terms when you traded me, but I would love to come back some day, back to Chicago. And be the head coach. I'm not ready yet, but I will be some day. I'll bring back Chicago Bears tradition and pride. I promise.'"
Halas took Ditka's sentiment to heart. In 1982, after consecutive seasons of 7-9 and 6-10, he fired coach Neill Armstrong and hired Ditka.
"I believe everyone has a destiny in life and mine is with the Chicago Bears," Ditka said at the press conference announcing his hiring.
The timing was just right. With general manager Jim Finks building the roster with young talent (Dan Hampton, Otis Wilson, Matt Suhey, Mike Singletary, Keith Van Horne to go with star Walter Payton), the Bears added Jim McMahon in 1982 and a stellar 1983 draft class that included future Hall of Famers Richard Dent and Jimbo Covert.
They were ready for takeoff. The Bears went 10-6 and reached the NFC Championship game in 1984, then went 15-1 and won the Super Bowl in 1985 — one of the best NFL teams of all time. That was the start of an eight-season run in which the Bears went 90-37 and made the playoffs seven times.
They never got back to the Super Bowl, though. And on a team of personalities and egos, Ditka's own personality and ego played a part in the demise of that era. After going 5-11 in 1992, Ditka was fired by team president Michael McCaskey.
As it turned out, Ditka and the Bears were never better than when they were together. Ditka was hired to coach the Saints in 1997, but went 6-10, 6-10 and 3-13 and was fired after three seasons.
Pop star
Ditka's popularity never waned. In fact, it continued to grow as the Bears futilely struggled to recapture the glory of the Ditka era. Ditka stayed in the public eye by doing NFL analysis on ESPN, CBS and NBC and radio stations, including WMVP-AM in Chicago.
The Ditka legend continued to be self-perpetuating. The "Superfans" skit on Saturday Night Live in the 1990s that was inspired by Bears fans' almost irrational reverence for Ditka has itself sustained the fans' love for "Da Coach."
Ditka was noticeably absent at major Bears events in recent years because of declining health. He did not attend Steve McMichael's induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August 2024 and was not one of the myriad members of the 1985 Bears honored in person at Soldier Field during the 40th anniversary season.
During the lead up to the Super Bowl earlier this month, McMahon said Ditka would have been the perfect teammate because he played the game the right way.
"Had he been in my huddle, he would've understood me a hell of a lot better," he told the Sun-Times. "He would've known I actually do know what I'm doing and we wouldn't have fought so much. We probably would've hung out more than anybody.
"He's going to be missed. He made his mark in this world and in this league being who he was."
That's the kind of effect that made Ditka more than just another popular player or coach. There might someday be another personality who matches his accomplishments. But there will never be another Mike Ditka. He'll be remembered for his best moments and his worst, and for his indomitable spirit that was both a strength and a flaw. But he never will be forgotten.
Steve Greenberg contributed.
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