Mike Ditka remembered in Aliquippa as a hometown hero who inspired generations

The football world is remembering Mike Ditka, the Chicago Bears icon, who has died at 86.

But before the championships and before the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Ditka was a kid from Aliquippa. Across western Pennsylvania, Ditka's loss hits close to home.

For a kid growing up in Aliquippa, Ditka's success meant something special.

Long before the rest of the country knew "Iron Mike," people in Aliquippa knew him as one of their own.

City administrator Samuel Gill grew up looking up to Ditka, a hometown hero that Gill says never forgot where he came from.

"He was from the Linmar housing project that the mill, Jennmar, developed and his mom never left here and him and his brother would come home. His brother lived here. He would come over and see about his mom, and he'd come to the local places to have a refreshment," Gill recalled.

Gill remembers a steel mill town filled with hard-working people. Watching Ditka succeed showed him how far a kid from Aliquippa could go.

"When we were growing up, we saw we could succeed; we can make it from the steel mills and do something else," Gill said. "Football was like everything to us, and we all had visions and fairy tales of going to the NFL because if Mike can do it, we can do it."

Ditka played football, basketball and baseball at Aliquippa High School before going to Pitt, and eventually, the NFL.

He became the first tight end inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and coached the Chicago Bears to a Super Bowl championship.

On Friday, the city of Aliquippa remembered the hometown boy behind those accomplishments.

"From the streets of Aliquippa to the heights of professional football, Mike Ditka put our hometown on the national stage," the city shared in a statement. "But to us, he was more than a football icon. He was one of our own."

A duffel bag reminds Gill of how Ditka gave back.

Gill says Ditka held an annual golf outing in Aliquippa, bringing in celebrities and other NFL players, with all the money raised going to the football team.

And those golf outings weren't his only connection to home. 

In Robinson, his name is on Ditka's restaurant. But in Aliquippa, his connection to football means the most.

"Football was definitely a staple here. As they say in New York, they have Broadway; L.A. has Hollywood. In Aliquippa, you have Friday night football. Mike epitomized Friday night football in Aliquippa."

The championships made him famous.

Here in Aliquippa, his journey gave people something just as lasting: a reason to believe they could make something of themselves, too.

Ditka's family described him as the heart of their family. He died just nine days shy of his 87th birthday.