Report: NFL legend Mike Ditka released from hospital after heart attack

NAPLES, Fla. — Update 6:50 a.m. EST Nov. 26: The Chicago Sun-Times reported that former NFL coach Mike Ditka has been released from a Naples, Florida, hospital after a reported heart attack.

“Mike is doing really well,” an unnamed source, identified by the Sun-Times as a close friend of the Ditka family, told the publication. “It’s a great outcome considering he had a heart attack which required a pacemaker.”

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Steve Madell, Ditka's agent, would not confirm to the Sun-Times if Ditka was released from the hospital.

“I’m not saying no comment — I just don’t talk about my clients one way or the other,” he said.

Original report:

“Da Coach” is apparently on da mend.

Legendary National Football League coach and player Mike Ditka was hospitalized in Florida earlier this week, according to several sources.

Ditka, 79, was playing golf in Naples, Florida, on Wednesday when he complained he was not feeling well, the Chicago Sun-Times and WGN reported, citing unnamed sources.

WGN reported that Ditka had suffered a heart attack, while the Sun-Times reported the former Chicago Bears coach was treated at the hospital for "a heart-related ailment."

Ditka has had heart troubles in the past, famously returning to coach the Bears 11 days after suffering a heart attack in 1988, WGN reported.

Ditka suffered a stroke while playing golf at an Illinois course in 2012, the Sun-Times reported.

A native of Pennsylvania, Ditka is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame. He starred collegiately at the University of Pittsburgh and played in the NFL for 12 seasons for the Bears, Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. He starred at tight end when the Bears won the NFL title in 1963, and coached Chicago to a 46-10 victory in Super Bowl XX.

Cox Media Group