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San Jose
Serving San Jose, California (Santa Clara County)Vol. 1, No. 8
Obituaries

Mike Ditka (NFL Coach and Hall of Fame Player), who led the Bears to a Super Bowl title, dies at 86

Obituaries desk
Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026In the Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026 edition
Color portrait of a young Mike Ditka in a navy Chicago Bears jersey, number 89.
Mike Ditka as a Chicago Bears tight end on his 1963 Topps football card. — Photo:  Topps / Wikimedia Commons, public domain, Public domain

Mike Ditka was a Hall of Fame tight end for the Chicago Bears who later coached the team to its only Super Bowl title.  He died Oct. 9 at age 86, his family announced.  He died at his home in Chicago, news reports said, and no cause was given.

Born in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, Ditka joined the Bears as the fifth pick of the 1961 NFL draft and helped them win the 1963 NFL championship.  He later played for the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, winning Super Bowl VI with Dallas.

Bears founder George Halas hired him as head coach in 1982.  The 1985 team went 15-1 and beat the New England Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX.  He coached the Bears through 1992 and later led the New Orleans Saints for three seasons.  In 1988 he became the first tight end in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  The Bears retired his No. 89 in 2013.

Ditka is survived by his wife, Diana Ditka; his children, Michael, Mark, Megan Maharry and Matt; and his siblings, Ashton and Mary Ann Stowe.

Drafted by AI from the linked public source. Approved by a Daily News Editor.

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