Steve “Mongo” McMichael, a star defensive tackle on the Bears’ 1985 Super Bowl championship team who remained a fixture in the Windy City for decades, died on Wednesday after being diagnosed with ALS. He was 67.
An All-Pro in 1985 and 1987, McMichael was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2024. He played in a franchise-record 191 consecutive games from 1981 to 1993 and ranks second to Richard Dent on the Bears’ career sacks list with 92.5. His finalNFLseason was with Green Bay in 1994.
McMichael’s brash personality and willingness to say whatever was on his mind made him a perfect fit for pro wrestling. He began working for World ChampionshipWrestlingin the 1990s at the height of the “Monday Night Wars” with the World Wrestling Federation, starting as a color commentator and later joining Ric Flair in the “Four Horsemen” group.McMichael revealed in April 2021 that he had been diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease or motor neurone disease, which affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing loss of muscle control.
“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,” McMichael told theChicagoTribune.McMichael had been experiencing tingling in his arms for some time that he thought was a neck or spine issue stemming from his playing days or his work as a wrestler.
“He’s scared to die and he shouldn’t be because he’s the most badass man I’ve ever known inside and out,” his wife, Misty McMichael, said his Hall of Fame induction in 2024. “He’s a good man. He’s gonna be in heaven before any of us, so I don’t know what he’s afraid of. But I’ve told him to please hang on ’til the [induction] and then, you know, I don’t want to see him suffer anymore. He’s been suffering.”
McMichael was born in Houston and went on to a successful college career at Texas. The New England Patriots drafted McMichael in the third round in 1980. He didn’t last long, appearing in six games as a rookie before getting released prior to his second season. McMichael would play hard on and off the field, getting in fights in practice and taking in Boston’s nightlife afterward.
“They looked at me and said, ‘Steve, we think you’re the criminal element in the league. Get out,’” McMichael said in 2019.
The same traits that apparently led to a ticket out of New England were welcomed in Chicago. McMichael recalled walking into founder George Halas’ office – “It was like I was walking into a 1920 gangster movie and he was James Cagney” – when he signed with Chicago.
“Papa Bear” made it clear. “You know what he said to me, guys?” McMichael said. “I’ve heard what kind of dirty rat you are in practice. Don’t change, Steve.”His nasty demeanor and oversized personality made McMichael one of the most feared players on arguably the greatest defense ever assembled. But longtime friend Dave Siden remembered him as master storyteller and a generous man who would sign over his preseason paychecks to the team trainers as a token of appreciation and buy baskets of toys for children. Through McMichael, Siden met golfer Ben Crenshaw and went backstage at wrestling events.
“I knew him as one of the nicest, most giving friends you could have,” Siden said.
McMichael played alongside Hall of Famers Dent, Mike Singletary and Dan Hampton, and the 1985 Bears, led by their dominant defense, made their way to the franchise’s lone Super Bowl championship. McMichael was an All-Pro that season with eight sacks.
He played 15 years in the NFL – 13 with Chicago before his final season with the rival Packers.
“Steve ‘Mongo’ McMichael was a Bears legend, and his courageous battle against ALS inspired us all,” the Bears posted on X. “Our hearts go out to his family, friends and teammates.”Pro Football Hall of Fame president and CEO Jim Porter said in a statement: “Steve McMichael told everyone he would fight ALS with the same tenacity he showed for 15 seasons in the National Football League. And he did just that. Everyone who played with or against Steve shares the same opinion: No one battled longer or harder from the snap until the whistle than Steve the player.”
He and his first wife, Debra, divorced in 1998. He married the former Misty Davenport in 2001, and their daughter, Macy, was born in 2008.