Recalling Chicago icon Mike Ditka’s legendary 7th-inning stretch rendition
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Mike Ditka, who passed away on Friday at 86 years old, was known for a lot of things. He was the first-ever tight end inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Ditka also helped the Bears to their first and only Super Bowl victory as their head coach in the 1985 season.
And for those lucky enough to be at Wrigley Field on July 5, 1998, they might know Ditka for his fiery, off-tune rendition of “Take Me Out To The Ball Game.” Ditka’s dramatics included a last-second entrance, his booming voice, and a pace so quick the stadium organist could barely keep up.
As is tradition at Wrigley Field, a special guest helps lead the seventh-inning stretch. Everyone from Pearl Jam star Eddie Vedder to the Cookie Monster and everyone in between has attempted to fill the shoes of the legendary Harry Caray, who popularized the tradition.
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Caray died in February 1998, and the Cubs added a star-studded lineup of guest conductors including Vedder, Ernie Banks, Jay Leno, Jimmy Buffett and more.
On that summer day in 1998, Ditka joined Cubs TV broadcasters Chip Caray and Steve Stone to sing the tune. Eventually, that is.
Fans at the Friendly Confines began to boo with Ditka initially absent from the broadcast booth. Just as the organist played the first note, Ditka filed into the booth and grabbed the microphone. Ditka, just two months before his second year as the Saints’ head coach, sped through the song.
After he shrieked through the final line, Ditka took a deep breath as fans around Wrigley Field laughed and cheered, making for an all-time moment for a true Windy City legend.