Close dialogue 1/22 Next image Previous image Toggle caption Mike Ditka, the fiery former NFL player and coach who led the Chicago Bears to their lone Super Bowl title and became one of the most recognizable figures in American sports, has died aged 86 Chicago Bears head coach Mike Ditka on the field before an NFL game at Soldier Field in Chicago during the 1980s. Ditka coached the Bears from 1982 to 1992, leading them to victory in Super Bowl XX. niversity of Pittsburgh, studies film of Notre Dame with Pitt head coach Johnny Michelosen on 2 November 1960. Ditka went on to become one of the NFL’s leading tight ends before finding fame as a coach.
Ditka during his playing days with the Chicago Bears, where he spent six seasons from 1961 to 1966. Ditka catches a touchdown pass from quarterback Bill Wade as Detroit Lions defender Gary Lowe closes in during the second quarter of a game in Detroit on 29 September 1963. The Bears won 37-21. ka (89) is tackled after making a catch during a game against the Green Bay Packers at Wrigley Field in Chicago on 16 October 1966.
He was later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988 for his achievements as a tight end, rather than as a coach, becoming the first player at his position to receive the honor. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Craig Morton (far right) looks over his receiving corps, including Ditka (second from right), alongside Reggie Rucker, Dennis Homan, Bob Hayes and Pettis Norman, ahead of a playoff game against the Detroit Lions on 26 December 1970. ka looks on from the sideline during a game. He coached the Bears from 1982 to 1992, leading them to their only Super Bowl victory in January 1986. ka poses for a portrait. ka speaks at a press conference in New Orleans on 24 January 1986, two days before his team faced the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX at the Louisiana Superdome.
Ditka (right) talks with NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle before Super Bowl XX against the Patriots at the Superdome in New Orleans on 26 January 1986. Ditka is carried off the field after his team defeated the Patriots 46-10 at the Superdome. It remains the Bears’ only Super Bowl victory. ks with quarterback Mike Hohensee during an NFL practice session in Lake Forest, Illinois, on 25 September 1987.
Comedian and television host Tom Dreesen interviews Ditka during a taping of Night Time Starring Tom Dreesen at ABC’s television studios in Chicago on 22 March 1988. Ditka (sixth from left) poses alongside NFL stars including Boomer Esiason, Lawrence Taylor, Phil Simms, Eric Dickerson and John Elway on the set of a Doritos Super Bowl commercial in Los Angeles in 1993. Soldier Field is reflected in the sunglasses of New Orleans Saints head coach Mike Ditka as he smokes a cigar before a pre-season game against his former team, the Chicago Bears, on 22 August 1997.
It was Ditka’s first appearance at the stadium since leaving the Bears in 1992. Ditka argues a call during a game against the Miami Dolphins in Miami on 29 November 1998. He finished his coaching career with New Orleans, spending three largely unsuccessful seasons in charge from 1997 to 1999 after his celebrated tenure with Chicago.
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