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Friday, October 09, 2026

Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame tight end who played on the Bears' 1963 NFL championship team and coached the team to its only Super Bowl championship after the 1985 season, has died. He was 86. He died about 9 a.m. Friday surrounded by family and friends, a family spokesperson said. A statement issued by the family said that "while the world knew Mike as a Hall of Fame football player, legendary coach and leader of the Chicago Bears' Super Bowl XX championship team, we knew him as the heart of our family. Mike will be missed beyond measure and remembered forever." As a player, a coach and a larger-than-life personality who invigorated a generation of Bears fans, Ditka left an indelible mark on the Chicago sporting landscape " from the playing field to sports talk to pop culture " that few can match.

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"Da Bears!"

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RIP

#1 | Posted by Corky at 2026-10-09 12:37 PM | Reply

I was at that Super Bowl in '86. Crazy exciting to be there, until the game sucked.

I remember seeing Mayor Harold Washington walking into the game ahead of me. Big smiles all around.

RIP

#2 | Posted by Dbt2 at 2026-10-09 02:10 PM | Reply

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