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Michael Keller Ditka (born Michael Dyczko; October 18, 1939) is an American former football player, coach, and television commtator. During his playing career, he was UPI NFL Rookie of Year in 1961, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, and a six-time All-Pro tight d with the Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, and Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League (NFL); he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988.

He was an NFL champion with the 1963 Bears and is a three-time Super Bowl champion, playing on the Cowboys' Super Bowl VI team, winning as an assistant coach for the Cowboys in Super Bowl XII, and coaching the Bears to victory in Super Bowl XX. He was named to the NFL's 75th- and 100th-Anniversary All-Time Teams.

As a head coach for the Bears from 1982 to 1992, he was twice both the AP and UPI NFL Coach of Year (1985 and 1988). He also was the head coach of the New Orleans Saints from 1997 to 1999.

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Ditka and Tom Flores are the only people to win an NFL title as a player, an assistant coach, and a head coach. Ditka, Flores, Gary Kubiak, and Doug Pederson are also the only people in modern NFL history to win a championship as head coach of a team for which they played previously.

Ditka is the only person to participate in both of the last two Chicago Bears' league championships, as a player in 1963 and as head coach in 1985.

In 2020, Ditka became the owner of the X League, a wom's tackle football league that was originally the Lingerie Football League.

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He is known by the nickname Iron Mike, which he has said comes from his being born and raised in a steel town in Pnsylvania.

Ditka was born as Michael Dyczko in the Pittsburgh-area town of Carnegie, Pnsylvania on October 18, 1939. The oldest child of Charlotte (Keller) and Mike Ditka Sr.

Under head coach Press Maravich, Ditka was a three-sport star at Aliquippa High School. The team doctor, Dr. John L Miller, took Mike and other players to Pitt games and couraged them to play for Pitt. Ditka is quoted as saying, Doc Miller patched me up many times. Ditka hoped to escape his hometown's manufacturing jobs by attding college with a football scholarship. Planning to become a dtist,

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Ditka played for the University of Pittsburgh from 1958 until 1960, where he also became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. He was a three-sport athlete at Pitt, playing baseball (outfielder) and basketball (forward).

He started on the football team all three seasons, leading the team in receiving in each, while also serving as a linebacker, defsive d, and punter. As a sophomore, he led the team with 18 receptions for 252 yards and averaged 42.5 yards per punt. He had one touchdown reception (tied for second on the team).

As a junior, he led the team with 16 receptions for 249 yards and four receiving touchdowns. He also averaged 38.3 yards per punt.

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As a sior, he was named a team captain, while leading the team with 11 receptions for 229 yards and two receiving touchdowns. He was a unanimous first-team selection on the College Football All-America Team as a two-way d. He finished his college career with 45 passes for 730 yards and sev touchdowns.

In 1997, his 89 jersey number was retired by the University of Pittsburgh at halftime of the game against the University of Miami. In 2018, he was inducted into the inaugural 16-member class of the University of Pittsburgh Athletics Hall of Fame.

The 1961 Chicago Bears offsive line in action: Bears Workout at Soldier Field for Armed Forces game Friday; Ditka is far left

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Ditka was selected by the Chicago Bears fifth overall in the 1961 NFL Draft, while the Houston Oilers drafted him eighth overall in the first round of the 1961 AFL Draft. He signed with the Bears and his presce was immediately felt. In his first season, Ditka had 58 receptions, introducing a new dimsion to a tight d position that had previously be dedicated to blocking. He also scored 12 receiving touchdowns, which was the most by a Bears rookie.

His success earned him Rookie of the Year honors. He continued to play for the Bears for the next five years, earning a Pro Bowl trip each season.

He played on the 1963 NFL championship team. Many of the players from that team, including Ditka, were drafted by assistant coach George All, a future Hall of Famer, who was th in charge of the Bears' drafts. During the season, against the Los Angeles Rams, Ditka tied Harlon Hill's franchise record for the most receiving touchdowns in a game with four.

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Ditka ranks first among tight ds and fourth in Bears history with 4, 503 yards, fifth in both receptions (316) and touchdown catches (34).

In 1962, he started all 14 games, making 58 receptions (tied for the team lead) for 904 yards (led the team) and five receiving touchdowns (led the team). In 1963, he led the team with 59 catches for 794 yards and eight touchdowns.

In 1964, he was second on the team with 75 receptions for 897 yards and five touchdowns. The next year, he posted 36 receptions (second on the team), 454 receiving yards (third on the team), and two receiving touchdowns (tied for fourth on the team).

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In 1966, he registered 32 receptions (second on the team), 378 yards (third on the team) and two touchdowns (tied for second on the team). Ditka was also noted for decking football fan Felix Carbajal, who had run onto the playing field late in a Week 2 31–17 loss to the Rams at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 16.

He had played out his option that season after not being able to reach a contract agreemt with Bears' owner/head coach George Halas.

On February 8, 1967, The New York Times reported that just before the AFL–NFL merger, Ditka had signed a $300, 000 contract with a $50, 000 signing bonus with the Houston Oilers, the team that owned his AFL draft rights.

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On April 26, 1967, Ditka was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles along with a 1968 fourth-round pick (#106-Alan Bush), in exchange for quarterback Jack Concannon. The transaction was intded to fill roster vacancies created by the retiremts of Eagles' tight d Pete Retzlaff and Bears' quarterback Rudy Bukich.

His Oilers contract was transferred to the Eagles and Ditka was able to keep his $50, 000 bonus to avoid any legal conflicts.

His time as a Bears player bitterly came to an d with a parting shot in which he stated that Halas threw nickels around like manhole covers.

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He wore number 98 in his first season with the Eagles, while only playing in nine games with four starts because of injuries.

In 1968, he changed his jersey number back to his usual 89. He appeared in 11 games with six starts, and his statistics were below tight d Fred Hill. He posted 13 receptions for 111 yards and two touchdowns.

Pettis Norman ded up being named the starting tight d, but Ditka still was able to play in 12 games with four starts, while making 17 receptions for 268 yards and three touchdowns.

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In 1970, he remained a reserve player behind Norman. He appeared in 14 games, while tallying eight receptions for 98 yards and no touchdowns. The Cowboys reached their first Super Bowl, losing 13–16 against the Baltimore Colts, by way of a field goal scored with five seconds left in regulation time.

In 1971, he was a backup player behind Billy Truax, appearing in 14 games with four starts. He set the franchise record for tight ds with 30 receptions in a season, while also compiling 360 receiving yards, one touchdown, and three kickoff returns for 30 yards. His highlight was a touchdown reception in the Cowboys' 24–3 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI.

In 1972, he was named the starter at tight d, after Truax was limited by off-season knee surgery. He started all 14 games, posting 17 receptions for 198 yards and one touchdown, while alternating in some passing situations with rookie Jean Fugett.

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On March 1, 1973, Ditka announced his retiremt as a player, oping the door for him to be named the Cowboys wide receiver assistant coach under head coach Tom Landry.

His blocking and 427 career receptions for 5, 812 yards and 43 touchdowns earned him the honor of being the first tight d inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Ditka also scored two touchdowns on offsive fumble recoveries, tying sev other players for the most in NFL history. In 1999, he was ranked number 90 on The Sporting News's list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.

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Retiring after the 1972 season, Ditka was immediately hired as an assistant coach by Landry. Ditka spt nine seasons as an assistant coach with the Cowboys. During his ture, the Cowboys made the playoffs eight times, won six division titles, three NFC championships, and a Super Bowl