 Ditka in August 2006 | |||||||||
| No. 89, 98 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Tight end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | October 18, 1939 Carnegie, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died: | October 9, 2026 (aged 86) Streeterville, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 228 lb (103 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Aliquippa (PA) | ||||||||
| College: | Pittsburgh | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1961 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5 | ||||||||
| AFL draft: | 1961 / Round: 1 / Pick: 8 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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Michael Keller Ditka Jr. (October 18, 1939 – October 9, 2026) was an NFL player, television commentator, and coach. Ditka coached the Chicago Bears for 11 years and New Orleans Saints for 3 years. Ditka and Tom Flores are the only two people to win Super Bowls as a player, an assistant coach and a head coach. Ditka was the only person to take part in the last two Chicago Bears' championships, as a player in 1963 and as head coach in 1985. He was born in Carnegie, Pennsylvania.
On November 23, 2018, Ditka was hospitalized in Naples, Florida after suffering a heart attack while playing golf.
Ditka died on October 9, 2026 at his condominium in Streeterville, Chicago from heart disease at the age of 86.
