# Mike Ditka, NFL legend, dies at 86 > The Hall of Famer who coached the Chicago Bears to Super Bowl XX victory has died, his family announced. - Title: Mike Ditka, NFL legend, dies at 86 · ABC News | Shortify - Summary: The Hall of Famer who coached the Chicago Bears to Super Bowl XX victory has died, his family announced. Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame player and coach who… - Keywords: mike ditka, chicago bears, super bowl xx, nfl, hall of fame, death, news, Mike, Ditka, legend, dies, ABC News - Source: ABC News — https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/mike-ditka-legendary-nfl-player-coach-dies-86/story?id=116247659 - Author: ABC News - Read time: 3 min - Topics: mike ditka, chicago bears, super bowl xx, nfl, hall of fame, death, news ## Hall of Famer Mike Ditka dies Mike Ditka, the NFL Hall of Famer who coached the Chicago Bears to a Super Bowl title, has died at the age of eighty six, his family announced. ## Family remembers Ditka's legacy His family said Mike will be missed beyond measure and remembered forever, calling him the heart of their family beyond his football fame. > Mike will be missed beyond measure and remembered forever. ## Goodell praises Ditka's impact NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell praised Ditka as an ambassador for the game and highlighted his work with the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund, a nonprofit providing assistance to retired players. > Mike Ditka epitomized football over so many years. ## Ditka won Super Bowls three ways Iron Mike Ditka held the rare distinction of winning a Super Bowl as a player with Dallas, as an assistant coach for Dallas, and as head coach of the Chicago Bears. ## The 1985 Bears dominated In the nineteen eighty five season, Ditka coached the Chicago Bears to a fifteen one regular season record, culminating with their forty six ten victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl twenty. ## A legendary roster The Bears team featured quarterback Jim McMahon, running back Walter Payton and defensive lineman William The Refrigerator Perry, and is generally considered one of the greatest in N F L history. ## From Pennsylvania to football Born Michael Keller Dyczko on October eighteenth, nineteen thirty nine, in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, his family changed their Ukrainian surname to Ditka to assimilate in their hometown. ## Ditka revolutionized tight end play Selected fifth overall in the nineteen sixty one N F L draft as a tight end, Ditka earned Rookie of the Year honors and became the first N F L tight end to reach one… ## First tight end in Hall of Fame Ditka was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in nineteen eighty eight as a player, the first tight end ever elected, capping twelve years as a player with four hundred twenty seven receptions… > Excellence in football and excellence in life is bred when men recognize their opportunities and then pursue them with a passion. ## Ditka's coaching career begins After retiring as a player at age thirty three, Ditka took a job on Cowboys coach Tom Landry's coaching staff and remained there for nine seasons as an assistant coach on the team's Super Bowl… ## Ditka returns to Chicago as coach Ditka returned to the Bears to fill the head coach vacancy when Neill Armstrong was fired in January nineteen eighty two following the Bears' six ten season finish. ## Coach of the Year honors Ditka was named the Associated Press N F L Coach of the Year following the nineteen eighty five season. ## Later coaching and health struggles Ditka continued coaching the Bears for eight years after their Super Bowl win, earning a second Coach of the Year honor in nineteen eighty eight despite suffering a heart attack that season. ## Final coaching stint and legacy Ditka returned to the N F L in nineteen ninety seven, coaching the New Orleans Saints for three seasons before being fired following a three thirteen finish to the nineteen ninety nine season. ## Key takeaway Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame player and coach who led the Chicago Bears to a Super Bowl XX championship, has died at age eighty six.