Mike Ditka, the fiery football legend who helped turn the Chicago Bears into champions and became one of the city’s most recognizable figures, died Friday at 86. His family confirmed his death.
Ditka died about 9 a.m., surrounded by family and friends, a family spokesperson told the Chicago Sun-Times in a report published by WBEZ. A cause of death was not immediately announced.
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.
With love and gratitude, The Ditka Family
Known to generations of fans as “Da Coach,” Ditka commanded attention with his intensity and unmistakable sideline presence. His greatest coaching triumph came when the 1985 Bears won Super Bowl XX, overwhelming the New England Patriots 46-10 in January 1986. It remains the franchise’s only Super Bowl championship.
His place in football history began long before that victory. Drafted by Chicago in 1961, Ditka helped the Bears win the 1963 NFL championship and later played for Philadelphia and Dallas. In 1988, he became the first tight end inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Away from the roar of the stadium, Ditka spoke with gratitude about the Christian faith his mother helped instill.
“I am so grateful for the Roman Catholic faith,” he told Timothy Gordon in a 2018 interview with OnePeterFive. Ditka recalled that his mother, a Catholic convert, ensured her children attended Mass and Catholic school. He served as an altar boy throughout grade school and occasionally during college.
That faith accompanied him into professional football. Former Bears punter Maury Buford recalled in a 2013 account published by EWTN News that Ditka attended daily Mass. Former team chaplain Father Don McLaughlin also remembered recruiting him to read Scripture before Sunday home games.
For a man whose voice carried across football fields, his words about God were characteristically direct.
“Well, if you take God out of your daily life, that’s scary,” Ditka said in the OnePeterFive interview.
Prepared by Charisma Media Staff.
