{"id":14992,"date":"2025-07-06T03:20:46","date_gmt":"2025-07-06T07:20:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/sin-categoria\/steve-mcmichael-bears-legend-and-hall-of-famer-dies-at-67\/"},"modified":"2025-07-06T03:20:46","modified_gmt":"2025-07-06T07:20:46","slug":"steve-mcmichael-bears-legend-and-hall-of-famer-dies-at-67","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wwe\/steve-mcmichael-bears-legend-and-hall-of-famer-dies-at-67\/","title":{"rendered":"Steve McMichael, Bears Legend and Hall of Famer, Dies at 67"},"content":{"rendered":"

Steve “Mongo” McMichael, Chicago Bears Legend, Passes Away<\/h2>\n\nThe NFL announced on Wednesday the passing of Steve “Mongo” McMichael, a prominent member of the “46” defense of the Chicago Bears in the 1980s and who ranks second in franchise history with 92.5 sacks. McMichael, a Hall of Famer, was 67 years old.\n\nIn 2021, McMichael was diagnosed with ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.\n\nAlthough he played one season with the New England Patriots and another with the Green Bay Packers, his mark was left on the Bears, where he played for 13 seasons. In total, McMichael participated in 207 games between 1981 and 1994, including a team record of 191 consecutive games.\n\n\n
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The National Football League is saddened to learn of the passing of Chicago Bears legend Steve McMichael.

Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones. pic.twitter.com\/v349bXmP4t<\/a><\/p>\u2014 NFL (@NFL) May 20, 2024<\/a>\n <\/blockquote>\n <\/div><\/figure>\n\n\nThe defensive tackle was a Super Bowl champion (1985) and was twice selected to the All-Pro first team and the Pro Bowl. He had at least seven sacks in seven consecutive seasons (1983 to 1989), surpassed among Bears players only by Richard Dent’s 10-year streak.\n\n\n

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“It’s a cruel irony that the Bears’ ‘Ironman’ succumbed to this dreaded disease,” said Bears chairman George H. McCaskey. “However, Steve showed us throughout his fight that his true strength was internal, and he demonstrated daily his class, his dignity, and his humanity. He is now at peace. We offer our condolences to Misty, Macy, the rest of Steve’s family, his teammates, and countless friends and fans of a great Bear.”<\/p>\n\nGeorge H. McCaskey<\/cite>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\nOn August 3, 2024, McMichael was officially inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.\n\nSurrounded by his wife, daughter, and members of the famous 1985 Bears defense, McMichael’s bust in the Hall of Fame was presented at his home in Homer Glen, Illinois. McMichael lay in his bed wearing his gold jacket while his sister, Kathy, delivered the defensive tackle’s induction speech in a prerecorded video.\n\nAmong those present to celebrate McMichael’s induction were his former teammates Richard Dent, Ron Rivera, Mike Singletary, Jimbo Covert, Gary Fencik, Jim Osborne, and Marcus Keyes.\n\n\n

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“Steve, we are here with all your world champion brothers,” Dent said. “In Canton, we have 378 brothers looking for you. You’re on a team you can never be cut from, never be released from. When you die on this team, you’ll still be on it.”<\/p>\n\nRichard Dent<\/cite>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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The Chicago Bears organization is saddened to learn of the passing of Steve McMichael. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones. pic.twitter.com\/L5P99h0U6K<\/a><\/p>\u2014 Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) May 20, 2024<\/a>\n <\/blockquote>\n <\/div><\/figure>\n\n\nA live video from McMichael’s bed was broadcast to the crowd in Canton, while ESPN’s Chris Berman, who served as the Hall of Fame’s master of ceremonies, relayed the message he received from the defensive tackle about his impact on his career.\n\n\n

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“I don’t want ALS to be my legacy,” the message said. “What I did on the field, that’s my legacy. Pushing myself to the limit… beyond what anyone else could”.<\/p>\n\nSteve McMichael<\/cite>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\nMcMichael, selected by the Hall of Fame veterans committee, had been previously nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014 and 2015 and surpassed the first cut of candidates on two occasions before falling short in the selection.\n\nMisty, McMichael’s wife, actively campaigned for her husband’s consecration, as ALS took away his ability to move or speak, leaving him bedridden during the last years of his life.\n\nMcMichael had signed a “do not resuscitate” form in 2023 before his condition began to worsen. Upon learning that he was one of the top semifinalists last August, McMichael informed his wife that he wanted to break the DNR while awaiting news about his selection.\n\n\n

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“We will never know a stronger fighter. He was also the sweetest man I have ever known,” said Betsy Shepherd, McMichael’s longtime publicist. “I am proud of everything we achieved together, especially the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It was the last thing he could tell me before he lost the ability to speak. I asked him what else I could do for him and he whispered: ‘Hall of Fame.’ Thanks to the fans, we did it. He loved them endlessly.”<\/p>\n\nBetsy Shepherd<\/cite>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"Steve<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McMichael had eight sacks during the 1985 regular season, and added another in the Super Bowl XX victory over the Patriots, and was selected to the first team All-Pro after starting every game that season. He controlled the interior of the line for a defense that ranked No. 1 that season in the fewest points allowed, the fewest yards allowed, and takeaways, in addition to conceding only 10 points in three playoff victories, and many consider it the best of all time after leading Chicago to an 18-1 record.<\/p>\n\n\nMcMichael, who finished with 95 sacks in his career, also had 847 tackles in his career, 13 forced fumbles, 17 fumble recoveries, 2 interceptions and 3 safeties recorded in 213 career games. His 92.5 sacks with the Bears place him only behind Dent in team history.\n\n\n

Although McMichael was often overshadowed by Hall of Fame members Singletary and Dent, he was fundamental to the Bears’ success. Coach Mike Ditka said McMichael was the toughest player he coached.<\/p>\n\n\nMcMichael ended his career with the Packers in 1994, but he liked to tell people in his retirement that the only reason he signed with the Bears’ bitter rival was to “steal their money and beat them again.”\n\nMcMichael was selected by the Patriots in the third round of the 1980 NFL draft, but he didn’t last long in New England, appearing in six games as a rookie before being released before his second season. He played in college at Texas, where the Houston native was a unanimous first-team All-America selection for a notoriously stingy defense and left as the Longhorns’ all-time leader in tackles (369) and sacks (30).\n\nHe received football recruiting letters from about 75 schools. Bear Bryant wanted to use him as a tight end at Alabama, and Darrell Royal recruited him for Texas as a defensive end.\n\nHe was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010.\n\n\n

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We are saddened to learn of the passing of Steve McMichael.

The former Longhorn standout was a 2010 College Football Hall of Fame Inductee. pic.twitter.com\/3Yl5l1g3Wd<\/a><\/p>\u2014 Texas Longhorns (@TexasLonghorns) May 20, 2024<\/a>\n <\/blockquote>\n <\/div><\/figure>\n\n\nAfter his career in American football, “Mongo” had a resurgence as a professional wrestler with World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he won the United States Heavyweight Championship as a member of the famous “Four Horsemen” group led by Ric Flair.\n\nIn April 1995, he was in Lawrence Taylor’s corner at WrestleMania. Later that year, he started with WCW as a commentator. He began his in-ring career in 1996, feuding with Flair over then-wife Debra McMichael, who was a wrestling valet. He stayed with the company until 1999.\n\nWhether terrorizing opponents or discussing the Bears on sports radio, the man known as “Ming The Merciless” and “Mongo”, like the character from “Blazing Saddles” who knocked out a horse, remained a prominent presence in Chicago long after his playing days.\n\nBorn in Houston, McMichael’s parents divorced when he was about 2 years old. His mother, Betty, married an oil company executive named E.V. McMichael, and young McMichael considered him his father and adopted his surname.\n\nThe family moved to Freer, Texas, and McMichael became a flag bearer in football, basketball, baseball, track and field, tennis, and golf as a senior. As a high school catcher, he preferred baseball. The Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals showed interest, but his parents wanted him to go to college.\n\nMcMichael and Debra divorced in 1998. He married Misty Davenport in 2001, and their daughter, Macy, was born in 2008.\n\n\n

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“Steve McMichael told everyone that he would fight ALS with the same tenacity he showed during 15 seasons in the National Football League. And he did,” said Jim Porter, president and CEO of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, in a statement.<\/p>\n\nJim Porter<\/cite>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n“Everyone who played with or against Steve shares the same opinion: nobody fought longer or harder from the start to the whistle than Steve the player. … And the love that his teammates showed him throughout this difficult journey says it all about Steve the man.”","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Steve “Mongo” McMichael, Chicago Bears Legend, Passes Away The NFL announced on Wednesday the passing of Steve “Mongo” McMichael, a prominent member of the “46” defense of the Chicago Bears in the 1980s and who ranks second in franchise history with 92.5 sacks. McMichael, a Hall of Famer, was 67 years old. In 2021, McMichael […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14993,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[880,881,477,882],"class_list":{"0":"post-14992","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wwe","8":"tag-als","9":"tag-chicago-bears","10":"tag-hall-of-fame","11":"tag-steve-mcmichael"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14992"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14992\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}