Corporate Speakers - Inspirational speaker Mike Ditka

Football great Mike Ditka is available to inspire your next event or conference!

There were too many years when the Chicago Bears were polite losers, always offering a helping hand to the people who were making their lives miserable. Under Head Coach Mike Ditka the hand has become a fist. In 1985 the fist packed a powerful wallop to the tune of an 18-1 record including a resounding 46-10 win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX. The Bears' accomplishments earned Ditka The Sporting News and Associated Press Coach of the Year honors and the Pro Football Writers Association NFC Coach of the Year honors.

In just four years under Mike Ditka the Bears had transcended from a mediocre bunch of individuals to one of the most respected teams in the National Football League. Ditka's teams have shown gradual progression in each of his four years as head coach. In his initial season the Bears were 3-6 in a strike-shortened year (1982) followed by an 8-8 team in 1983 then a 10-6 club in 1984 that included a playoff win over the Washington Redskins and an appearance in the NFC Title Game. In 1985 while being the youngest club in the NFL (25.1 avg.), the Bears were the dominant team in the league during a season in which only the Miami Dolphins were able to blemish the Bears near perfect record. Thus, the Chicagoans became only the second team in the NFL history to win as many games in a year matching the San Francisco 49ers World championship record in 1984.

The 46-year old Ditka, the Bears' 10th head coach owns a 37-22 regular season record, a 4-1 playoff mark and a Super Bowl win. Not bad for a man who critics questioned following his being hired by George "Papa Bear" Halas back on January 20, 1982. Perhaps the mark that serves as an equal barometer of the team's achievements and the direction the NFL's charter franchise has taken in the last three years is his winning 31 of the last 40 regular season games. In addition, the Bears have captured 19 of their last 21 home games including back-to-back shutout wins over the New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs last January. The Bears recorded a perfect 10-0 mark at Soldier Field in 1985-86 to become the first Bear team to go undefeated at home since 1963, the year of their last championship and a team in which Ditka was the starting tight end.

Ditka is a 25-year veteran of the NFL as both a player and coach. He has been in the league playoffs in 15 of those seasons and been a member of teams that have been NFC Champions six times and NFL Champions four times. While serving nine years as an offensive coach under Tom Landry at Dallas the Cowboys were in the playoffs in all but one season and won NFC Championships in 1975, 1977, and 1978 with the NFL crown following the 1977 season.

Born October 18, 1939, in Carnegie Pennsylvania, Ditka enjoyed a 12-year NFL playing career with the Chicago Bears (1961-66). the Philadelphia Eagles (1967-68), and the Dallas Cowboys (1969-72) as a tight end. Ditka's versatility brought him college all-American honors in 1960 at Pittsburgh where he was a solid two-way performer, defensively at end and middle linebacker, offensively as a receiver and blocker. He was also one of the Nation’s leading collegiate punters with a three-year average of 40 yards per boot. He starred in the East-West game and was voted the outstanding lineman of the Hula Bowl. The Bears first round draft choice in 1961 (5th pick), Ditka was the NFL rookie of the Year all-NFL 1961-64, and played in five Pro Bowls (1962-66). In 1964, he set an NFL record for tight ends by catching 75 passes in a Bear uniform. The mark was broken in 1980 by San Diego's Kellen Winslow.

Mike is actively involved in Misericordia, the Little City Foundation, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Sports Teams Organized for the Prevention of Drug Abuse. He and his wife Diana have four children: Mike , Mark, Megan and Matthew.

Mike Ditka can be available to inspire your next seminar or corporate conference! Contact us today to get started.