Ditka Is Among Four Voted to Pro Hall of Fame : Fred Biletnikoff, Jack Ham, Alan Page Also Elected by Members of the Media

Mike Ditka said it really wasn’t fair to have had as much fun as he did playing football and still be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Chicago Bears coach was elected Tuesday along with Fred Biletnikoff, Jack Ham and Alan Page.

“It’s mind boggling,” said Ditka, who played 12 years in the NFL as a tight end.

Biletnikoff, a flanker with the Oakland Raiders, said: “I can’t tell you how excited I am. It’s a big, big thrill for me.”

Ham, a key performer in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ “Steel Curtain” during four Super Bowl victories in the 1970s, said, “I’m ecstatic. I’m going in with some pretty good company.”

Page, a cornerstone at defensive tackle on the Minnesota Vikings’ famed “Purple People Eaters” defense, said: “(My) whole career was a highlight.”

Ditka, 48, is the first pure tight end ever elected to the Hall. Biletnikoff, 44, is the fifth Raider to get the honor. Ham, 39, was the second player from the Steelers’ Super Bowl years to be honored, following “Mean Joe” Greene. Page, 42, became the second Viking to make the Hall, joining quarterback Fran Tarkenton.

Ditka, out of the University of Pittsburgh, was named NFL rookie of the year in 1961 after catching 56 passes for 1,076 yards and 12 touchdowns. Three years later, he had 75 catches, a record for tight ends that stood for 16 years.

The 6-foot-3, 225-pound native of Carnegie, Pa., did not miss a start in 84 games with the Bears and earned All-Pro honors his first four seasons. He had 427 receptions for 5,812 yards and 43 touchdowns in his career.

After being traded to Philadelphia in 1967, Ditka finished his career with four seasons at Dallas.

Biletnikoff spent 14 years with the Raiders. The 6-1, 190-pound flanker caught 589 passes--seventh best all-time--for 8,974 yards and 76 touchdowns.

The native of Erie, Pa., caught 40 or more passes for 10 straight seasons, and his 70 catches for 1,167 yards and 10 touchdowns in 19 postseason games were records at the time of his retirement. He played in three AFL and five AFC championship games, as well as in the 1968 and 1977 Super Bowls.

Biletnikoff was named the 1977 Super Bowl’s most valuable player.

Ham missed only four games in his first 10 seasons in the NFL. The outside linebacker from Penn State finished a 12-year career with 25 1/2 sacks, 21 fumble recoveries and 32 interceptions.

Ham played in the 1975, 1976 and 1979 Super Bowls, but had to sit out the 1980 game because of injuries.

Page became the first defensive player to be named NFL most valuable player in 1971. He was the NFC’s defensive player of the year four times and was an all-league choice nine years in a row.

A graduate of Notre Dame, Page was the Vikings’ second pick in the first round of the first combined AFL-NFL draft in 1967.

Page played 238 games, all but 3 as a starter, for the Vikings and Bears. He played in 16 playoff games and 4 Super Bowls.

The four who made it were selected from a list of seven finalists by a 29-member board made up of media representatives. Former Dolphin quarterback Bob Griese, Raider offensive lineman Art Shell, and Lou Rymkus of Washington and Cleveland, the candidate of an old-timers’ committee, did not receive the necessary votes for election.