The Chicago Blackhawks paused before Saturday’s home game against the Carolina Hurricanes to remember Mike Ditka, the longtime Bears coach and defining figure in the city’s sports history, following his death Friday at age 86.
United Center observed a moment of silence ahead of puck drop as the Blackhawks joined Chicago’s wider sporting community in mourning Ditka, whose influence reached well beyond football.
After the horn
Ditka coached the Bears from 1982 through 1992 and led the club to its lone Super Bowl championship after the 1985 season. His 1985 Bears remain one of the most celebrated teams in Chicago professional sports.
Before becoming the Bears’ head coach, Ditka built a Hall of Fame playing career at tight end. He played for Chicago from 1961-66, spent the next two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, then joined the Dallas Cowboys from 1969-72.
He won a Super Bowl ring with Dallas during the 1971 season and later became the first tight end inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, entering in 1988.
The Blackhawks’ tribute gave the building a quiet pregame moment for a Chicago icon whose name remains tied to the city’s championship history.
