Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame tight end and coach of the 1985 Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears, has died at 86, his family announced Friday. Ditka is remembered as a Chicago icon, but his career also ran straight through Baltimore: he chased Johnny Unitas’ Colts for a title at Memorial Stadium, sat on the losing side of the Colts’ only Super Bowl win in Baltimore and later brought teams to town as a head coach.
Here is a look at Ditka’s life, his record and the games that tied him to Baltimore football history.
What happened to Mike Ditka?
Ditka’s family confirmed his death in a statement Friday morning, NBC Chicago reported. The family has not publicly released a cause of death. ABC News noted that Ditka had heart attacks in 1988 and 2016 and a minor stroke in 2012 and recovered from each.
“Mike will be missed beyond measure and remembered forever.”
Ditka family statement, via ABC News
Who was Mike Ditka?
Born Michael Dyczko on Oct. 18, 1939, in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, Ditka starred at the University of Pittsburgh and was drafted fifth overall by the Bears in 1961. He was named Rookie of the Year and became the first NFL tight end to reach 1,000 receiving yards in a season.
He played six seasons in Chicago, then for the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, finishing with 427 catches, 5,812 yards and 43 touchdowns over 12 seasons, according to ABC News. In 1988 he became the first tight end elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
As a coach, Ditka spent nine seasons on Tom Landry’s staff in Dallas before George Halas hired him to lead the Bears in 1982. His 1985 team went 15-1 and beat New England 46-10 in Super Bowl XX. He won 106 regular-season games in Chicago, went 15-33 in three seasons with the New Orleans Saints and finished with a 121-95 career record.
How was Ditka connected to Baltimore?
Ditka entered the NFL when the Bears and the Baltimore Colts shared the league’s Western Conference, which meant two meetings a year with Unitas, Raymond Berry and the rest of a Colts team that had won back-to-back titles in 1958 and 1959.
The 1963 season stands out. Chicago beat Baltimore 10-3 at Wrigley Field on Oct. 6 and 17-7 at Memorial Stadium on Nov. 3 before a crowd of 60,065, according to Pro Football Reference. The Bears finished 11-1-2 and won the NFL championship, Ditka’s first title.
| Date | Game | Ditka’s role | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 6, 1963 | Colts at Bears, Wrigley Field | Bears tight end | Bears 10, Colts 3 |
| Nov. 3, 1963 | Bears at Colts, Memorial Stadium | Bears tight end | Bears 17, Colts 7 |
| Jan. 17, 1971 | Super Bowl V, Orange Bowl, Miami | Cowboys tight end | Colts 16, Cowboys 13 |
| Sept. 25, 1983 | Bears at Colts, Memorial Stadium | Bears head coach | Colts 22, Bears 19 (OT) |
| Dec. 19, 1999 | Saints at Ravens, Baltimore | Saints head coach | Ravens 31, Saints 8 |
What happened in Super Bowl V?
Ditka’s most painful Baltimore moment came in Miami in January 1971. Playing for Dallas, he was on the Cowboys roster as the Colts erased a 13-6 deficit and won 16-13 on Jim O’Brien’s 32-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, according to the game record. Ditka did not catch a pass that day. It remains the only Super Bowl title the Colts won while based in Baltimore.
Ditka got his ring a year later, catching a touchdown pass in Dallas’ 24-3 win over Miami in Super Bowl VI.
Did Ditka coach against Baltimore teams?
Yes, twice. In his second season with the Bears, Chicago lost 22-19 in overtime at Memorial Stadium on Sept. 25, 1983, according to Pro Football Reference. The Colts left for Indianapolis the following spring.
Sixteen years later, Ditka brought the Saints to Baltimore and lost 31-8 to the Ravens on Dec. 19, 1999, in what turned out to be his final season as an NFL head coach, records show.
How will Ditka be remembered?
For a generation of fans, Ditka was the sideline face of the 1985 Bears and later a familiar voice as an ESPN analyst. He also pushed for better health care for retired players, including through the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund, NBC Chicago reported. The Bears retired his No. 89 in 2013.
His death follows that of another figure from those 1960s rivalry games. Read our look back at Colts Hall of Famer Raymond Berry, who spent his entire career catching passes from Unitas in Baltimore.
Featured image: Mike Ditka at the NFL Experience in 2008. Photo: Tami Heilemann / U.S. Department of the Interior, public domain.