Ditka Football
FILE - Former Chicago Bears player and football coach Mike Ditka waits for the halftime ceremony where his No. 89 was to be retired by the Bears during an NFL football game between the Bears and the Dallas Cowboys, Monday, Dec. 9, 2013, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File) ORG XMIT: NYDD205
The funeral mass for former Bears coach Mike Ditka will be private, a representative for the family said. He died Friday morning at 86.
The service is expected to be in Chicago, where Ditka lived at the end of his life, and as of Monday it would be limited it to family only and no details would be released. Some former players have asked to attend, but so far haven’t gotten an answer.
The family has discussed holding a celebration of life ceremony for Ditka, which would be much more open, down the road, but nothing has been scheduled. The Bears certainly will want to honor him as well and likely will do a tribute at their next home game, Oct. 22 against the Patriots.
Ditka was a Hall of Fame tight end for the franchise from 1961 through ’66 and returned as head coach in 1982. He led the team to its best run in modern history, including its only Super Bowl win in the 1985 season. Incidentally, the Bears blew out the Patriots in Super Bowl XX.
He coached the Bears until they fired him after the 1992 season, then went on to coach the Saints. He had a successful broadcasting and acting career as well.
“He drove us hard,” said former cornerback Leslie Frazier, now an assistant coach for the Seahawks. “He was tough. He was hardnosed. He had in his mind what it would take for us to win a championship in Chicago and also what a Chicago Bears player should look like. He was driven.
“But at the same time, he had a big heart. I can think of so many occasions after I got done playing where I would call him up and we would just talk about different things.”