Mike Ditka, whose name and likeness became synonymous with the history of the Chicago Bears both as a player and coach, has died at the age of 86.
His family confirmed the news in a statement to NBC Chicago Friday morning.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend, Mike Ditka,” the statement read. “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.”
Ditka spent the first six seasons of his NFL playing career with the Bears and was hired by the team as a head coach in 1982, establishing himself as one of the greatest sporting legends the city of Chicago has ever known.
Born in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, in 1939, Ditka was a three-sport athlete in high school and earned himself a football scholarship at the University of Pittsburgh, where he embarked on a career that saw him win first-team All-American honors. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1986.
Ditka was then drafted fifth overall by the Bears in the 1961 NFL Draft, and he immediately began smashing records and dazzling the football world. He was elected to five consecutive Pro Bowls to begin his NFL career and was twice named as a first-team All-Pro.
In six seasons with the Bears Ditka racked up 316 catches for 4,503 yards and 34 touchdowns, and he would later finish his career with the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, winning a Super Bowl with Dallas in 1972.
Ditka would ultimately serve as an assistant coach under legendary Cowboys coach Tom Landry until 1981, and it was then that legendary Bears owner George “Papa Bear” Halas brought Ditka home, hiring him as head coach of the Bears in 1982.
Needless to say, the decision paid off handsomely for Halas and the Bears, as Ditka won 106 games during his tenure, the second-most of any coach not named Halas in Bears history.
He also coached 12 playoff games for the Bears, more than any other coach in the team’s history, and he posted a 6-6 record in those games.
His most famous season with the team came in 1985, when the Bears went 15-1 and then steamrolled through the playoffs, thrashing the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX for their first and only Super Bowl championship in team history.
That season’s Bears team will forever be known as one of the greatest ever put together in the history of the sport, topping the league in rushing yards and touchdowns while also putting together one of the best defensive seasons ever with legends like Mike Singletary, Richard Dent and Dan Hampton terrorizing opposing offenses.
During his coaching career Ditka was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988, and he spoke eloquently about his attitude toward the sport, and toward life.
“In life, many men have talent, but talent in itself is no accomplishment,” he said. “Excellence in football and excellence in life is bred when men recognize their opportunities and then pursue them with a passion.”
Ditka did have a health scare during the 1988 football season when he suffered a mild heart attack, but he only missed one game as the full-time head coach and returned to the sidelines a short time later, further cementing his reputation as Chicago tough.
Unfortunately the Bears began to slide in the final years of his tenure, and in January 1993 the team fired him after 11 seasons at the helm.
After his time with the Bears ended, Ditka went on to coach for the New Orleans Saints, but his run there was far less successful, going 15-33 in three seasons before he was fired after the 1999 season.
He also produced and endorsed a number of products, including wine and cigars, and he even did some work in Hollywood, appearing as himself as a coach in 2005’s “Kicking and Screaming” with Will Ferrell, among other projects.
Ditka never forgot his football roots however, and he used his platform to push hard for healthcare and other assistance for retired players on a variety of fronts, including through the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund, which provides grants and pro bono medical assistance to retired players.
Ditka has had a variety of media jobs, including serving as an analyst on ESPN’s NFL Countdown, but he has always maintained a presence in Chicago, and he holds the distinction of being the last Bears player to have their number retired by the team, as his No. 89 jersey was officially taken out of circulation by the Bears in 2013.
Needless to say, Ditka never let go of his time as a Bears coach and player.
“I know one thing: I’m a Bear,” he said. “Whether people don’t like it or they like it, I’m a Bear.”
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