Mike Ditka
Michael Keller Ditka is an American former professional football player, coach, and television commentator. During his playing career, he was UPI NFL Rookie of Year in 1961, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, and a six-time All-Pro tight end with the Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, and Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League ; he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988. Ditka was the first tight end in NFL history to reach 1,000 yards receiving in his rookie season.
He was an NFL champion with the 1963 Bears and is a three-time Super Bowl champion, playing on the Cowboys' Super Bowl VI team, winning as an assistant coach for the Cowboys in Super Bowl XII, and coaching the Bears to victory in Super Bowl XX. He has been named to the NFL's 75th- and 100th-Anniversary All-Time Teams.
As a head coach for the Bears from 1982 to 1992, he was twice both the AP and UPI NFL Coach of Year. He also was the head coach of the New Orleans Saints from 1997 to 1999.
Ditka and Tom Flores are the only people to win a Super Bowl as a player, an assistant coach, and a head coach. Ditka, Flores, Gary Kubiak, and Doug Pederson are also the only people in modern NFL history to win a championship as head coach of a team for which they played previously. Ditka is the only person to participate in both of the last two Chicago Bears' league championships, as a player in 1963 and as head coach in 1985.
In 2020, Ditka became the owner of the X League, a women's tackle football league that was originally the Lingerie Football League.
He is known by the nickname "Iron Mike", which he has said comes from his being born and raised in a steel town in Pennsylvania.
Early life
Ditka was born Michael Dyczko, on October 18, 1939, in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, the oldest child of Charlotte and Mike Ditka Sr. He grew up in nearby Aliquippa with siblings Ashton, David, and Mary Ann. His father, a welder, was one of three brothers of a Polish and Ukrainian family in the coal-mining and steel-manufacturing area in Western Pennsylvania. His ancestry on his mother's side is Irish and German. Others in his hometown found it hard to pronounce the name Dyczko, so the family name was changed to "Ditka". Ditka attended St. Titus School.Ditka attended Aliquippa High School, where he was a three-sport star under head coach Press Maravich. While at Aliquippa High School, the team doctor, John L. Miller, took Mike and other players to Pitt football games and encouraged them to play for Pitt. Ditka is quoted as saying, "Doc Miller patched me up many times". Ditka hoped to escape his hometown's manufacturing jobs by attending college with a football scholarship. Initially planning to become a dentist, he was recruited by three NCAA Division I teams: Notre Dame, Penn State, and Pitt.
College career
Ditka played college football for Pitt from 1958 until 1960, and was a three-sport athlete, also playing baseball and basketball for the Pitt Panthers. He also was an intramural wrestling champion at Pitt, and a member of Sigma Chi fraternity.He started on the football team all three seasons, leading the team in receiving in each, while also serving as a linebacker, defensive end, and punter. As a sophomore, he led the team with 18 receptions for 252 yards and averaged 42.5 yards per punt. He had one touchdown reception.
As a junior, he led the team with 16 receptions for 249 yards and four receiving touchdowns. He also averaged 38.3 yards per punt.
As a senior, he was named a team captain, while leading the team with 11 receptions for 229 yards and two receiving touchdowns. He was a unanimous first-team selection on the College Football All-America Team as a two-way end. He finished his college career with 45 catches for 730 yards and seven touchdowns.
In 1986, Ditka was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. In 1997, his 89 jersey number was retired by the University of Pittsburgh at halftime of the game against the University of Miami. In 2018, he was inducted into the inaugural 16-member class of the University of Pittsburgh Athletics Hall of Fame.
Playing career
Chicago Bears
Ditka was selected by the Chicago Bears fifth overall in the 1961 NFL draft, while the Houston Oilers drafted him eighth overall in the first round of the 1961 AFL draft. He signed with the Bears and his presence was immediately felt. In his first season, Ditka had 58 receptions, introducing a new dimension to a tight end position that had previously been dedicated to blocking. He also scored 12 receiving touchdowns, which was the most by a Bears rookie. His success earned him Rookie of the Year honors. He continued to play for the Bears for the next five years, earning a Pro Bowl trip each season.He played on the 1963 NFL championship team. Many of the players from that team, including Ditka, were drafted by assistant coach George Allen, a future Hall of Famer, who was then in charge of the Bears' drafts. During the season, against the Los Angeles Rams, Ditka tied Harlon Hill's franchise record for the most receiving touchdowns in a game with four. Ditka ranks first among tight ends and fourth in Bears history with 4,503 yards, fifth in both receptions and touchdown catches.
In 1962, he started all 14 games, making 58 receptions for 904 yards and five receiving touchdowns. In 1963, he led the team with 59 catches for 794 yards and eight touchdowns.
In 1964, he was second on the team with 75 receptions for 897 yards and five touchdowns. The next year, he posted 36 receptions, 454 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns.
In 1966, he registered 32 receptions, 378 yards and two touchdowns. Ditka was also noted for decking football fan Felix Carbajal, who had run onto the playing field late in a week 2 31-17 loss to the Rams at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 16. He had played out his option that season after not being able to reach a contract agreement with Bears' owner/head coach George Halas.
On February 8, 1967, The New York Times reported that just before the AFL–NFL merger, Ditka had signed a $300,000 contract with a $50,000 signing bonus with the Houston Oilers, the team that owned his AFL draft rights.
Philadelphia Eagles
On April 26, 1967, Ditka was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles along with a 1968 fourth-round pick, in exchange for quarterback Jack Concannon. The transaction was intended to fill roster vacancies created by the retirements of Eagles' tight end Pete Retzlaff and Bears' quarterback Rudy Bukich. His Oilers contract was transferred to the Eagles and Ditka was able to keep his $50,000 bonus to avoid any legal conflicts. His time as a Bears player bitterly came to an end with a parting shot in which he stated that Halas "threw nickels around like manhole covers." He wore number 98 in his first season with the Eagles, while only playing in nine games with four starts because of injuries. Ditka was outplayed by tight end Jim Kelly, registering 26 receptions for 274 yards and two touchdowns.In 1968, he changed his jersey number back to his usual 89. He appeared in 11 games with six starts, and his statistics were below tight end Fred Hill. He posted 13 receptions for 111 yards and two touchdowns.
Dallas Cowboys
On January 28, 1969, he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for wide receiver Dave McDaniels. Pettis Norman ended up being named the starting tight end, but Ditka still was able to play in 12 games with four starts, while making 17 receptions for 268 yards and three touchdowns.In 1970, he remained a reserve player behind Norman. He appeared in 14 games, while tallying eight receptions for 98 yards and no touchdowns. The Cowboys reached their first Super Bowl, losing 13–16 against the Baltimore Colts, by way of a field goal scored with five seconds left in regulation time.
In 1971, he was a backup player behind Billy Truax, appearing in 14 games with four starts. He set the franchise record for tight ends with 30 receptions in a season, while also compiling 360 receiving yards, one touchdown, and three kickoff returns for 30 yards. His highlight was a touchdown reception in the Cowboys' 24–3 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI.
In 1972, he was named the starter at tight end, after Truax was limited by off-season knee surgery. He started all 14 games, posting 17 receptions for 198 yards and one touchdown, while alternating in some passing situations with rookie Jean Fugett.
On March 1, 1973, Ditka announced his retirement as a player, opening the door for him to be named the Cowboys wide receiver assistant coach under head coach Tom Landry. At the time, his 427 receptions were the most by a tight end in NFL history.
Hall of Fame
In 1988, his blocking and 427 career receptions for 5,812 yards and 43 touchdowns earned him the honor of being the first tight end inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Ditka also scored two touchdowns on offensive fumble recoveries, tying seven other players for the most in NFL history. In 1999, he was ranked number 90 on The Sporting News's list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.NFL career statistics
Regular season
Postseason
Coaching career
Retiring after the 1972 season, Ditka was immediately hired as an assistant coach by Landry. Ditka spent nine seasons as an assistant coach with the Cowboys. During his tenure, the Cowboys made the playoffs eight times, won six division titles, three NFC championships, and a Super Bowl victory in 1977.While working with the Cowboys, Ditka sent a letter to George Halas, his former head coach, who was still owner of the Bears. In the letter, Ditka expressed regret for the acrimonious manner in which his time with the Bears had come to an end and said that he would like to come back to Chicago and be the head coach of the Bears "when he was ready". Meanwhile, the Cowboys continued to win games, although they did not win another Super Bowl while Ditka was there. His last game with the Cowboys was the 1981 NFC Championship Game, where the team fell to the San Francisco 49ers.