Alice Schnelligkeit

Mike Ditka

Coach George Halas directs Chicago Bears players during a 1963 practice — the championship year that first defined Ditka's legacy with the franchise.

Ditka alongside Rams coach John Robinson before the NFC Championship game on January 12, 1986 — the Bears' last stop before Super Bowl XX.

Bears players carry Ditka off the field following the 46–10 dismantling of the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX, January 26, 1986.

Da Coach on the sideline during the 1985 season — one of the most dominant single-year runs in NFL history.

Michael Keller Ditka — born Michael Dyczko on October 18, 1939, in Carnegie, Pennsylvania — was one of the most commanding and beloved figures in the history of American football. Raised in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, the son of Mike Ditka Sr., a welder of Polish and Ukrainian descent, and Charlotte Keller, he grew up in the heart of Western Pennsylvania's steel country. That working-class grit never left him, earning him the nickname "Iron Mike" that would follow him for the rest of his life.

A gifted three-sport athlete at Aliquippa High School, Ditka went on to the University of Pittsburgh, where he became team captain and a unanimous All-American in 1960, finishing sixth in Heisman Trophy voting. At 6-foot-3 and built like a linebacker, he transformed what it meant to play tight end. When the Chicago Bears selected him in the first round of the 1961 NFL Draft, he announced himself to the world with 56 catches for 1,076 yards and 12 touchdowns — the first tight end in NFL history to surpass 1,000 receiving yards in a single season — and was named UPI NFL Rookie of the Year. Over the next twelve seasons with the Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, and Dallas Cowboys, he earned five Pro Bowl selections and four first-team All-Pro honors, leaving the game with 427 receptions, 5,812 yards, and 43 touchdowns.

Ditka's second act was as remarkable as his first. After nine seasons as an assistant coach under Tom Landry in Dallas — including a Super Bowl XII ring in 1978 — he was hired as head coach of the Chicago Bears in 1982 by the legendary George Halas. What followed was a dynasty. His Bears won six NFC Central titles and, in 1985, posted a 15–1 regular season record before dismantling the New England Patriots 46–10 in Super Bowl XX — one of the most dominant championship runs in NFL history. He was named AP NFL Coach of the Year in both 1985 and 1988.

Off the field, Ditka was larger than life — known for his handlebar mustache, his clipboard-throwing sideline passion, and the ACE philosophy he preached to everyone around him: Attitude, Character, and Enthusiasm. Chicago claimed him as its own and called him "Da Coach." He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988, the first tight end ever enshrined in Canton.

Mike Ditka passed away peacefully on October 9, 2026, at age 86, surrounded by his family. He is survived by his wife Diana, his four children, and a city — and a sport — he transformed forever.

Page Settings

Enter location name

Full name

We use cookies to improve your browsing experience and analyse site traffic. 
See our <privacyLink>Privacy Policy</privacyLink>.

<firstParagraph>We also use third-party cookies that help us analyse how you use this website, store your preferences, and provide content and advertisements that are relevant to you. These cookies will only be stored on your browser with your prior consent.</firstParagraph><secondParagraph>You can choose to enable or disable some or all of these cookies, but disabling some of them may affect your browsing experience.</secondParagraph>

<firstParagraph>We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.</firstParagraph><secondParagraph>The cookies that are categorised as 'Necessary' are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionality of the site.</secondParagraph>

Advertising cookies are used to provide visitors with personalised adverts based on the pages you previously visited, and to analyse the effectiveness of ad campaigns.

Advertising

Analytics cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

Analytics

Functional cookies help perform certain functions, such as sharing the website’s content on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

Functional

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

Necessary

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyse the key performance indicators of the website, which helps deliver a better user experience for visitors.

Performance

Customise Cookie Preferences

Black Friday Offer

Honour Their Memory

- Including QR Memorial Plaques, Memorial Trees and our Keeper Plus and Concierge Memorial Plans

Now offering KeeperQR plaques

New Message

The following files could not be uploaded

Ways you can honour {memorialName}'s memory:

Donation Link

Upcoming Event

Featured Mementos

Title

A message title is required. Please update.

Welcome message

Select an item to highlight

Add a highlighted item

Customise which items you’d like to highlight on the memorial

Create Account

Become a Keeper

As a free {brandName} user, you will only be able to make 5 photos and videos public.

As a free {brandName} user, only the first five (5) Mementos are visible to page visitors. You can change which Mementos are public by dragging and dropping a photo or video into one of the first five positions. Upgrading to {brandName} Plus will make all 10 selected Mementos visible to the public.

All Mementos

This option is only available to Keeper Plus users.

To allow yourself and the wider community to view all images and videos, and to enable everyone to download their own copy of these mementos, upgrade your account to Keeper Plus.

This memento is not visible to visitors

Your community has posted {itemCount} more pictures and videos that honour {firstName}'s memory. To view them all, and to enable everyone to download their own copy of each, this account will need to upgrade to Keeper Plus.

View all images and videos with Keeper Plus

Our Obituary Assistant helps you craft a meaningful life story in minutes. Review and edit every detail, and unlock more features with Keeper Plus.

Obituary Assistant

Spend as much time as you need working on your Memorial page before it is visible to the public, and much more, when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Save Page as Draft

Create unlimited event pages and unlock a suite of powerful features to help you seamlessly coordinate event details, invitations, and more when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Event

Create a complete picture of your loved one’s community and add unlimited family and friends to Loved Ones when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Loved One

Create unlimited Memorials — and unlock unlimited images and videos, event pages, and advanced privacy settings — to help you keep memories alive when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Memorial Page

Add unlimited Stories to highlight all the things that made your loved one unique, from milestones, images, albums, documents, locations and much more.

Highlight Stories

Upgrading to Keeper Plus means you can add additional Keepers to help you gather Mementos and tributes, approve content, build a family tree, and tell {firstName}'s story on Keeper.

Invite Keepers with Keeper Plus

Upload and display unlimited photos and videos, use unlimited Story templates to highlight key moments, and allow friends and family to download their own copies when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Better Mementos with Keeper Plus

To access memorial-related configurations that control the display of the banner, upgrade to Keeper Plus.

This configuration is not available on your current plan

Create a meaningful link path to add a personal touch to {firstName}'s memorial.

Custom memorial link

Gift Messages

SENDING AS A GIFT?

Basket

MEMORIAL TREE PLANTED

BEES PROTECTED

PLASTIC RECYCLED

CLEAN WATER

This will permanently delete your account. The business account and business page will not be deleted. To deactivate your account, another admin user must be assigned to your organisation.

Are you sure you want to deactivate this account?

Organisation name

Your name

To permanently remove this item, select Remove. To keep this item, select Cancel.

You have selected to delete {count} items from the Mementos Library. In doing so, these items will be permanently deleted from your library. Do you wish to continue?

Thank you for your submission. All submissions are reviewed and must be approved before they appear on the page.

Thank you for your submission.

Web URL

Create a fuller picture of your community by creating individual Memorial pages for your family members, friends, and more.

Highlight the important people in {name}'s life by adding them as a Loved One. You can add someone via their {brandName} Memorial or Living Memorial page, or add their information manually.

Enter this Loved One’s email to let them know you have added them.

Add Loved One

You can only add an image for your loved one by upgrading to Keeper Plus or creating a Memorial page for a loved one who has passed away.

This is where the description will appear.

Add up to 50 photos and/or videos to create an album of a specific moment in {firstName}’s life. You’ll be able to reorder files and add captions to each file after you save.

Enter an album title

This is the album title

What would you like to name this album?

Album title

Enter album title

Group title (optional)

Choose how this date is displayed publicly.

Used to refer to your loved one throughout the memorial.

To avoid losing the previously generated text, we recommend copying and pasting it to a secure location. If you wish to save the text, close this window and copy the text to a secure location. If you are ready to generate a new version of your text, select the ‘Generate Story’ button.

Your current text will be removed

With just a few details from you, our AI-powered writing tool can draft a personalised and meaningful life story in a click.

The Obituary Assistant will use all the content you add to craft the perfect obituary. For the best possible results, please make sure all sections are fully completed before generating.

Not displayed — used for your notifications only.

Used to display your relationship to {firstName}

Name

Who is this memorial for?

Use our Story templates to highlight a memory or event by adding unique details and a special layout.

New Offering

Create a video slideshow in minutes

Introducing Tribute Videos

Transform your profile page into a Living Memorial to start preserving your own legacy with photos, videos and more. You can choose to keep your Living Memorial hidden until you’re ready to publish. Have more questions?

Create a Document Story

Enter a document title

Edit a Document Story

Upload an important document that signifies a moment in {firstName}’s life. This will appear on your Memorial, so please don’t upload a death certificate, National Insurance number, or anything containing sensitive information.

Document Story

What does this document represent?

We’re getting your Mementos ready for download in a secure .zip folder, but it may take some time depending on your internet speed and file sizes. You’ll need to stay on the site while this happens, so please don’t leave mykeeper.com! (You’re welcome to navigate away from this page and do other things on the site, as long as it’s on mykeeper.com.)

We’re getting your Mementos ready for download in a secure .zip folder, but it may take some time depending on your internet speed and file sizes. You’ll need to stay on the site while this happens, so please don’t leave our website.

Preparing your download

Change the name of this album in the field below

Edit the album title

You are creating and/or updating an event in the past. If this was done in error, cancel and review your changes.

Event is in the past

Create an event page to coordinate a gathering in honour of {username}

To permanently remove this event and all corresponding data, select Delete. This cannot be undone.

Do you want to remove this event?

Share a link for guests to access a Virtual Memorial or live streamed event

Share the event location to provide guests with directions

Choose whether anyone on the internet can view the event settings and RSVP options.

Only those with this password can access the event

Event privacy

Event RSVP

Choose whether anyone on the internet can see who has RSVP’d to the event.

Guest list privacy

Describe the event, including dress code, requests, or other important details

Enter important personal and family events such as the birth of a child, a marriage, and more.

Select the <star>star icon</star> on a photo or video to display it in the Featured Mementos section on the Memorial page. You can feature between 3 and 10 items.

Why are you reporting this?

By clicking subscribe below, you will receive emails containing information about any updates or additions made to this memorial page.

By clicking unsubscribe below, you will no longer receive emails with information about any updates or additions made to this memorial page.

By clicking subscribe below, you will receive email reminders for upcoming events containing the event details – 72 hrs before the event takes place for {username}’s Memorial.

By clicking unsubscribe below, you will no longer receive email reminders for upcoming events containing the event details – 72 hours before the event takes place for {username}’s Memorial.

By clicking subscribe below, you will receive emails containing information about the most recent memorials added to {brandName}.

By clicking unsubscribe below, you will no longer receive emails containing information about the most recent memorials added to {brandName}.

Welcome back, {name}

Welcome to {name}

Add a special touch to a memorial by including a beautiful emblem.

Story Title

Your text will be displayed here as you type

What would you like to call this story?

Need examples? Try "{firstName}'s Life at University" or "A Lifelong Learner."

Add Interests or Milestones

Tell us about {name}'s life

Highlight the important people in {firstName}’s life by adding family members, friends, and more as Loved Ones. To get started, simply add existing {brandName} users and Memorial pages as Loved Ones, or add them manually by entering some basic information.

Section title

Add a map

Add markers to meaningful places, landmarks, cities, and other locations to create a personalised map that tells part of {firstName}’s life story.

Add a Map Story

What would you like to call this map?

Map Story

Story title

Enter a map title

Need ideas? Try something like “Places {firstName} Called Home” or “Favourite Holiday Spots”

Add a memento story

Add up to 100 photos and videos at once to your Memorial. You’ll be able to add details, or feature them as Stories later, if you like.

Add Mementos

Add Title or Text Story

Mementos are uploaded photos and videos that other users can like and comment on. If you’d like to highlight one of these and tell its story, you can transform it into a Story.

Updating your biography

A consolidated view of all the ways someone can honour the memory of your loved one (send flowers, donations, etc.).

Banner

This option allows users to customise the visual appearance of the memorial page by removing the existing Keeper logo from the memorial page. This is particularly useful for those who prefer a more personalised look for the page.

Remove Keeper Logo

Memorial Page Configurations

Allows visitors to the memorial page to plant a tree in honour of your loved one’s memory.

Purchase a Tree

Allows you to show or hide the “Send Gift Hamper” button in the memorial page banner, letting you choose how others can honour your loved one’s memory

Send Gift Hamper

Allows visitors to the memorial page to send flowers or make donations in honour of your loved one’s memory.

Send Flowers

Sympathy Gifts

This option allows admins/editors to customise the visual appearance of the memorial page by showing or hiding “Sympathy Gift Ideas” on the memorial page. This is particularly useful for supporting families who prefer a more personalised look for the page.

Memorial Configurations

Only you can see this page and all its content.

Replace the current background with one that feels right for the memorial.

We couldn’t use this photo. Try a different one.

Memorial Settings

Enhance portrait

Memorial Keepers

This page and all its content are now visible according to your privacy settings.

If added as a Keeper, you’ll be able to manage and edit {keeped}’s profile

Request Keeper Access

Send a message to {name}

Check your inbox

The information you have entered will be lost if you close this window.

Are you sure you want to close this window?

Select ‘Submit Obituary’ to complete and publish this obituary, or select ‘Keep Editing’ to add more information to the obituary.

Mike Ditka

Tell us about Mike Ditka's life

Add Mementos

Tell us about Mike Ditka's life

Add Mementos