Mike Ditka, Chicago Bears Legend, Dies at 86

Mike Ditka, the former head coach and tight end for the Chicago Bears, has died at the age of 86.

In 1961, the Chicago Bears drafted Ditka out of the University of Pittsburgh with the fifth overall pick. He played six seasons with the Bears before playing for the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys.

After retiring in 1972, Tom Landry hired Ditka as an assistant for the Cowboys. In 1982, he was hired as the head coach of the Chicago Bears, where his signature look took shape. A pressed white shirt and tie, a blue Bears sweater vest, and, oftentimes, a cigar in his mouth. In 1985, the Bears won Super Bowl XX.

Ditka would go on to coach the New Orleans Saints and also work on television for both NBC and CBS.

In 1988, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He had three Super Bowl rings—one as a player, one as an assistant, and the 1985 Bears win as head coach—was named an All-Pro team five times, including the first team twice, and was named a member of the NFL 75 and 100th Anniversary All-Time Teams.

He was also a prolific cigar smoker, once appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated holding a cigar with the headline “holy smoke!” His longtime eponymous Chicago steakhouse had a cigar bar and Ditka had partnerships with Graycliff and Davidoff, through its Camacho brand, for licensed Mike Ditka cigars.

In the early 2010s, as Davidoff was rebranding Camacho, Ditka was a regular presence at events for his various Camacho cigars. Even after that partnership ended, he was still a regular cigar smoker up until very recently.

Image via the Department of the Interior

Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. Previously, I started TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors blogs of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry since 2010, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. Beyond writing, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff from weighing cigars to coordinating the tech. Outside of work, I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.