Chicago Bears Hall of Fame defensive tackle Steve McMichael has died after a battle with the progressive neurodegenerative disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.
McMichael was 67 years old.
Known as “Mongo” and “Ming The Merciless,” McMichael had a “massive frame and larger-than-life persona,” The Associated Press said.
He was a member of the Bears’ 1985 Super Bowl champion team along with players such as Walter Payton, Jim McMahon, William “The Refrigerator” Perry and led by the legendary head coach Mike Ditka.
The team posted a tribute to McMichael, saying, “The Bears lost a legend Wednesday who was unlike any other human on earth.”
"At 6-2 and 270 pounds, McMichael was a behemoth in stature with an equally huge personality that made him larger than life. Even on Bears teams with more characters than a Disneyland parade, the gregarious Texas native was unique," the team went on to say.
He was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, in 2021, which affects the nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain, causing loss of muscle control. It can start with twitching and weakness in the arms and legs, as well as trouble swallowing or slurring. Eventually, it attacks the muscles that control movement, speech, eating and breathing and becomes fatal. There is no cure.
He said he had first felt tingling in his arms for a long time but figured it was injuries to his neck or spine from his football or wrestling career that caused it. But after a neurosurgeon at the Mayo Clinic suggested it could be ALS, he had second opinions that confirmed it was the disease, the AP reported.
He told the Chicago Tribune after the diagnosis, “I promise you, this epitaph that I’m going to have on me now? This ain’t ever how I envisioned this was going to end.”
His publicist said McMichael died at Lightways Hospice near Joliet, Illinois, the AP reported.
“It’s a cruel irony that the Bears’ Ironman succumbed to this dreaded disease,” Bears chairman George H. McCaskey said. “Yet Steve showed us throughout his struggle that his real strength was internal, and he demonstrated on a daily basis his class, his dignity and his humanity. He is at peace now. We offer our condolences to Misty, Macy, the rest of Steve’s family, his teammates, and countless friends and fans of a great Bear.”
McMichael was with the Bears for 13 seasons, from 1981 to 1993, appearing in a record 191 consecutive games. He is only second in the team’s history to have 92.5 sacks, as the Bears won six division titles along with the 1985 Super Bowl.
He was a two-time first-team All-Pro. He was also a three-time second-team All-Pro and was selected twice for the Pro Bowl.
McMichael was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last year, but was unable to attend due to his condition. A delegation went to his home to give him his gold jacket as the rest of the Class of 2024 received theirs.
McMichael was born in 1957 in Houston and was an All-American, and team MVP, and defensive MVP of the Hula Bowl among his many accolades that had him inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
He was drafted by the Patriots in the third round in 1980, but was released by New England before his second season, picked up by the Bears as a free agent.
He played for the Green Bay Packers in 1994 before leaving the game.
After he retired from the NFL, he had a second career in pro wrestling as part of the Four Horsemen in World Championship Wrestling, wrestling alongside Ric Flair, the AP reported. McMichael had started with wrestling as a color commentator.
He hosted a Bears pregame show and was the head coach of the Chicago Slaughter of the Indoor Football League.
McMichael leaves behind his wife Misty, his daughter Macy, his sisters, his brother, a niece and a nephew.