Hall of Fame player and Bears coach Mike Ditka dies at 86
publishers 80articles 84first reported 9 Oct, 15:03 UTCdeveloping since 9 Oct · 10 editionstop 25 #14
Mike Ditka, the Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end who coached the Chicago Bears to their only Super Bowl championship, has died at 86, his family announced Friday. No cause of death was given.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend,” the family said in a statement. The Bears said Ditka’s decades-long impact on the organization as a player, coach and ambassador was “immeasurable.”
The Bears selected Ditka fifth overall in the 1961 NFL Draft. He earned Rookie of the Year honors after becoming the first tight end in league history to record 1,000 receiving yards in a season, helping expand a position previously known primarily for blocking. He made five Pro Bowls and was part of Chicago’s 1963 NFL championship team.
Ditka later played for the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, winning Super Bowl VI with Dallas before retiring after the 1972 season. He joined Cowboys coach Tom Landry’s staff and won another Super Bowl as an assistant.
Returning to Chicago as head coach in 1982, Ditka led the Bears to seven playoff appearances in 11 seasons. His dominant 1985 team defeated the New England Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX. He later coached the New Orleans Saints and worked as a television analyst for NBC and ESPN.
Known to fans as “Da Coach” and “Iron Mike,” Ditka became the first tight end inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988. He is the only person in the NFL’s modern era to win a league championship with the same team as both a player and head coach.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 8 articles, 3 with the publisher's own text; 8 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 6 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
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- Source articles
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- Given to the writer
- 8, 3 with the article's own text
- Independent newsrooms
- 8
- This version written
- 6 h after the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
- kept as written
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- Human review
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WHAT THE EDITOR DID
The second model checked the writer's draft against the same sources and published it as written.
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