By admin 
Following the death of Mike Ditka, a three-time Super Bowl champion and two-time NFL Coach of the Year, Pittsburgh friends and colleagues shared tributes honoring the football coach who got his start in the Steel City.
Read more California Capital Airshow returns to Mather this weekend. What to know
Ditka died on Friday, Oct. 9 at age 86, his family announced in a social media post shared by Jarrett Payton, son of Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton, who played for Ditka in Chicago.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend, Mike Ditka,” the family said in a statement shared by Payton. “While the world knew Mike as a Hall of Fame football player, legendary coach, and leader of the Chicago Bears’ Super Bowl XX championship team, we knew him as the heart of our family. Mike will be missed beyond measure and remembered forever.”
Ditka was known best as coach of the 1985 champion Chicago Bears. But he got his start in Western Pennsylvania as a high schooler and was later drafted out of the University of Pittsburgh in 1961.
Pittsburghers, football and sports legends react to Mike Ditka’s death
Following the news of Ditka’s passing, colleagues, players and fans shared tributes on social media.
Mike Ditka headed to NFL after University of Pittsburgh career
While Ditka was best known as coach of the 1985 champion Chicago Bears, he also revolutionized the tight end position after being drafted out of the University of Pittsburgh in 1961.
Ditka was recruited by Notre Dame, Penn State and Pittsburgh for college, where he hoped to “escape his hometown’s manufacturing jobs by attending college.” He hoped to become a dentist.
Read more Placer High football is subject of book ‘The Hillmen.’ Is Hollywood next?
Where did Mike Ditka attend high school?
Ditka attended Aliquippa High School in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, where he was a three-sport athlete.
While starring as the tight end, linebacker and punter under high school football head coach Press Maravich, Ditka also stood out as a basketball and baseball player for the Quips.
When Ditka was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989, he became the first of three players from Aliquippa High School to earn that honor. Ty Law and Darrelle Revis joined him later.
Finch Walker is the Pittsburgh Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Contact Walker at [email protected]. Instagram: @finchwalker_. X: @_finchwalker.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mike Ditka dies and Pittsburgh colleagues share tributes of NFL icon
Reporting by Finch Walker, Chris Bumbaca and Ehsan Kassim, USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY
Read more Sacramento County agriculture adds $1.2B to local economy, inaugural report shows
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect
This story was originally published October 9, 2026 at 11:21 AM.