Mike Ditka, the legendary former Chicago Bears coach and first tight end ever inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, has died at the age of 86, his family announced Friday. The Aliquippa native was a three-sport athlete at Pitt.
As a tight end, Ditka led Pitt in receiving in each of his three seasons and was a unanimous All-America selection in 1960. ‘Iron Mike’ led the Panthers in receiving all three of his seasons as a tight end. He also was an outfielder on the baseball team and a forward on the Pitt basketball team. According to his bio for the Pitt Hall of Fame, he was also the intramural wrestling champion.
“You’d see him in the huddle, or on the sidelines waiting to get back onto the field, and you knew just by looking at him he was ready,’’ Foge Fazio told pittsburghpanthers.com. “He was always ready. He was like a prize fighter in the ring. He just couldn’t wait for that bell to ring and get back out there.’’
Ditka’s number 89 is retired by the Pitt and the NFL, he was Rookie of the Year, and coached the Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears and was the first tight end in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“‘Iron Mike’ brought an unrivaled level of toughness to an era already defined by physicality,” said Jim Porter, the Hall of Fame’s president & CEO, “but he also was much more gifted as a pass catcher than many realized and became the ideal player for Coach George Halas to reimagine the tight end position. Mike brought competitiveness and a hard-nosed play style as he developed into both a fantastic blocker and someone who could punish would-be tacklers on his receptions."
“He brought that same philosophy to his coaching,” continued Porter, “leading the famous 1985 team that paired with one of the most vaunted and dominant defenses in NFL history with a top-ranked offense. Mike’s captivating personality and leadership qualities will be preserved and celebrated forever in Canton.”
