Mike Ditka has died at age 86, according to a family announcement reported Friday.
The Story
Mike Ditka, a Hall of Fame tight end and the head coach of the Chicago Bears during one of the franchise’s most celebrated eras, has died at age 86, his family announced Friday.
Ditka coached the Bears from 1982 to 1992, a run highlighted by Chicago’s Super Bowl win for the 1985 season.
His 1985 Bears finished the regular season 15–1 and defeated the New England Patriots 46–10 in the Super Bowl, with Walter Payton, William (the Refrigerator) Perry, Mike Singletary and Richard Dent among the key names cited.
Before coaching, Ditka played tight end for the Bears, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys, and was described as the first tight end inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, with the honour coming in 1988.
Ditka later coached the New Orleans Saints from 1997 to 1999.
The evidence also notes that the Bears produced “The Super Bowl Shuffle,” which made it into the US Billboard Hot 100.
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