Steve McMichael was known for his loud and outspoken personality, so it’s easy to imagine that his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speech would have been unforgettable.
“He would cut a scorcher,” his wife Misty McMichael said. “He would have been amazing.” McMichael, who is now in the later stages of ALS, won’t be able to travel from Homer Glen, Illinois, to Canton, Ohio, for the induction ceremony on Saturday.
He has lost the ability to move and speak but will share a short, heartfelt message through an eye-gaze device: “Hello Chicago. Thank you, Chicago.”
At 66 years old, McMichael is part of a seven-member Hall of Fame class that includes former Bears Devin Hester and Julius Peppers.
McMichael was an All-Pro defensive tackle in 1985 and 1987. He played in a record 191 consecutive games for the Bears from 1981 to 1993 and has 92 1/2 career sacks, second only to Richard Dent on the Bears’ all-time list.
His last NFL season was with Green Bay in 1994.
Known as “Ming The Merciless” and “Mongo” after a character from “Blazing Saddles,” McMichael remained a prominent figure in Chicago even after his football career ended. He also spent five years in professional wrestling in the late 1990s.
His bold personality made him a natural fit for wrestling and also got him ejected from a Cubs game in 2001 for calling out umpire Angel Hernandez during the seventh-inning stretch.
McMichael joined World Championship Wrestling during the “Monday Night Wars” and started as a color commentator before joining Ric Flair’s “Four Horsemen” group.
In April 2021, McMichael revealed to the Chicago Tribune that he was fighting ALS, a disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, leading to muscle control loss.
