David Haugh: Mike Ditka on pal Stan Mikita: 'I was lucky to be his friend'

They liked to carouse at the Cottage, a hangout on Clark Street in the 1960s that attracted the biggest names Chicago sports had to offer.

Mike Ditka and Stan Mikita, two of the city's toughest professional athletes ever, developed a soft spot for each other sharing stories and drinking beer. They were only seven months apart, meeting in 1961 when Ditka arrived as a Bears rookie and Mikita basked in the glory of a Stanley Cup title the Blackhawks won in his second NHL season. They loved that bar, on the North