Former NFL player and coach Mike Ditka and his wife Diana Ditka recently addressed the rumors about him being in hospice care. The couple plans to sell their Florida home and move back to Chicago.
Mike Ditka, 85, showed his athletic skills from a young age.
He was a three-sport athlete at the University of Pittsburgh. He started on the football team all three seasons, leading the team in receiving.
In 1961, the Chicago Bears drafted Ditka as the fifth overall pick. Two years later, with the Bears, Mike Ditka played on the 1963 NFL Championship team.
Ditka joined the Eagles in 1967 and played for the side for two seasons. The Dallas Cowboys traded for Ditka in exchange for Dave McDaniels in 1969.
With the Cowboys, Ditka won his first Super Bowl Championship in 1972, and a year later, he announced his retirement from the sport.
After the 1972 season, Ditka started a new phase of his career. He was hired as the Cowboys’ assistant coach, a position he served until 1981.
He became head coach of the Bears in 1982 and won a Super Bowl title with them. His last stint as a coach was with the New Orleans Saints in 1999.
Only a handful of athletes in the sporting world can say they had similar success as a coach and player; Mike Ditka is one of them.
Diana Ditka Provided Health Update About The Former NFL Coach Amid Hospice Speculations!
In an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times in November 2024, Diana Ditka assured Mike Ditka’s fans the coach was not in hospice.
The rumors about his health started swirling around after the NFL coach returned to Chicago after having lived for several years in Florida.
In 2012, Ditka suffered from a minor stroke and was hospitalized.
The coach was playing cards with his friends when suddenly his hands stopped working, and he had trouble speaking.
Six years after that incident, Ditka was hospitalized again, and this time, he suffered a heart attack.
His longtime agent, Steve Mandell, said Ditka had mild health issues, and the doctor had inserted a pacemaker.
Amid the prevailing rumors, during the Chicago Sun-Times interview, Diana said though her husband’s health might not be like before, he is currently not in hospice.
Diana also said she frequently finishes Mike’s sentences when his memory stumbles.
Just so you know, Diana is Mike’s second wife, and the couple tied the knot in 1977.
Mike was previously married to his high school sweetheart, Marge Ditka.
Mike and His First Wife, Marge Ditka, Divorced in 1973!
While in high school, Mike worked up the courage to ask Marge for a date.
In a Chicago Turbine article, a few of their friends described them as peanut butter and jelly.
But their love didn’t stand the test of time. Marge said that after their move to Chicago and the media’s craziness over Mike ruined their relationship.
During his prime years, Mike was barely ever home. If he had no practice, Mike would spend his free time bowling, playing poker and golf, or having gin with his friends.
This led to Marge divorcing Mike in 1973, a year after he retired as a player from the NFL.
During his Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction in 1988, his former teammate Johnny Morris asked him if “personal sacrifices” to win had been costly. Dikta replied:
I think I’ve done some thangs that haven’t been too smart. I wish I could have spent more time with my kids when I was younger and they were younger, but I didn’t.
via: Chicago Tribune
Several of Mike’s Bears teammates gave anecdotes about the couple in the Chicago Tribune interview.
After the Sunday home game, the Bears players and their wives would meet, dine, and relax at Riccardo’s, an Italian restaurant.
But for Marge and Mike, those nights would be fight nights. Marge and Mike would mostly argue about Mike not being around or being too drunk to walk.
Marge would never drink as she would have to drive and only have fun occasionally.
The couple never got along and ultimately decided it was better to separate.
The Former Couple, Mike and Diana, Have Four Kids!
Mike and Marge have four kids, i.e., three boys, Michael Ditka III, Mark Ditka, and Matt Ditka, and a daughter named Megan Ditka.
In May 2011, ESPN reported that Michael Ditka III was charged with drunken driving. The charge was upgraded to a felony because of two previous drunken-driving charges.
In February 2012, CBS News shared an update on Michael Ditka III’s case. Meanwhile, the charges against the eldest son of the legendary coach had been dropped.
However, in 2015, Michael Ditka again had to present himself before the judge.
Authorities charged Michael with misdemeanor battery at Rivers Casino in Des Plaines. So, it looks like he never learned from his mistake.
But Michael Ditka III isn’t the only son of the former who had a run-in with the law.
On January 30, 2013, the Daily Herald reported Mark Ditka pleaded guilty to drug and alcohol charges and spent 24 months on probation.
Mark pleaded guilty to single counts of driving under the influence of alcohol and possession of a controlled substance in front of Lake County Judge Mark Levitt. But Mark hasn’t let that mistake affect his professional life.
He is an Independent Insurance Broker for Symmetry Financial Group and previously worked as a Senior Mortgage Advisor for Preferred Rate.
In June 2024, Mark shared on LinkedIn that he had received an Insurance License from the Illinois Department of Insurance.
Megan, the only daughter of Mike Ditka, graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas in 1987.
She currently works as an Event Manager for Hilton Dallas/Plano Granite Park. Previously, Megan worked as a Realtor at Dorsey Alson Realtors.
Mike’s son, Matt Ditka, works as a Spirit Sales Consultant at Heritage Wine Cellars and was previously a Business Development Representative at Transportation One.
The four kids of Ditka children aren’t too active on social media, but Mark’s wife, Stacy Ditka, is seen sharing family photos on her Facebook handle.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- In 1985, the authorities convicted Mike Ditka of driving under the influence of alcohol.
- Mike Ditka and Tom Flores are the only people to win a Super Bowl title as a player, an assistant coach, and a head coach.
