Steve Michael, Chicago Bears legend, AKA “Mongo,” is fighting hard to make it to his August 3 Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement, as he battles late-stage ALS.
The sober reality set in long ago that the defensive tackle would eventually lose his battle with the terminal neurodegenerative disease. But his induction into the Hall of Fame brought added urgency to the fight to extend his life.
“We had a do not resuscitate, but when I knew he was getting in, I ripped it up and I told him, ‘You’re sticking it out, babe. Until you get in, sorry, you’re not going anywhere’,” McMichael’s wife Misty told NBC Chicago. “And he doesn’t want to go anywhere. He wants to live.”
The 66-year-old was diagnosed with ALS back in 2021 and his decline has been chronicled in the media, with several trips to the hospital needed in recent months to provide care unable to be given at home. The outpouring of love and support from fans and Bears colleagues has been immense. His Hall of Fame entrance, however, has been life-extending.
“It’s been amazing. It’s been amazing,” Misty said. “It’s been a blessing. It’s helped me get through this ALS battle. It’s helped me take my mind off his death, give him something to live for, give me something to live for, give the whole community something to hang on to. And to get something good out of this. ALS might take him, but not before we get in the Hall, baby.”×
Steve McMichael: A Life Worth Celebrating
McMichael played 15 years in the NFL and 13 of them were with Chicago, where he earned a reputation as a fierce defensive force on what many say was the best defensive squad of all-time– the brutal 1985 Super Bowl champion Bears.
The two-time Pro-Bowler still holds the Bears record for most consecutive games played with 191 and is second all-time in career sacks (92.5) with Chicago, behind Super Bowl teammate Richard Dent.
After retiring, the colorful and charismatic McMichael embarked on a career in professional wrestling, becoming a member of the legendary Four Horsemen faction, alongside Ric Flair. After wrestling, he did some radio work on ESPN 1000 and also served as head coach of the Chicago Slaughter in the Continental Indoor Football League from 2007 to 2013.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame induction will cap off a career constructed around McMichael’s indomitable will to push forward and succeed, as well as his colorful no-nonsense character. The self-described rattlesnake hunter was as likable as he was accomplished.
“It’s bittersweet, because I wish he could enjoy it more,” Misty added. “But you know, I talk about it with his close friends, and we say if he was healthy, we might have partied ourselves to death.”
“So maybe this is a blessing. It is a blessing… [we’re] just happy he’s still here.”
Mongo’s Stunning Revelation
Back in 2021, McMichael came forward to the media with his diagnosis. He wanted to end his public life on his own terms before the incurable disease took his ability to speak. The then-63-year-old had gained some perspective on life, but retained the dogged character he had demonstrated throughout his life.
“I’d do it all over again. Even if it means that you’re going to get ALS at 63 years old,” he told The Chicago Tribune. “The journey is the reward – not the destination…Every man lives but not every man really lives. And I’ve lived 10 lives.”
And, true to form, McMichael wasn’t planning on going away without a fight.
“You don’t have to try to be courageous, you are. That’s just inherently part of who I am, you know,” McMichael said. “I’m not going to go gently into that good night. Rage against the dying of the light. That’s courage.”
On August 3, the Hall of Fame broadcast will go live from inside McMichael’s house in Homer Glen, Illinois where McMichael’s Hall of Fame bust and gold jacket will be presented. Outside the home, neighbors have organized a block party to celebrate the event.
As for McMichael’s Hall of Fame induction message?
