Bears legend Steve McMichael in intensive care amid ALS battle
Former Bears great Steve McMichael was hospitalized Thursday night in intensive care. His family asked for prayers as he continues to battle ALS.
Chicago’s WGN reported that McMichael was unconscious when he was admitted to the hospital. But the family said Friday he’s now awake “like the tough warrior he is.” Doctors told the family he has sepsis.
With McMichael’s health declining, his family is pushing for his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. McMichael is bed-ridden and can no longer speak. But his wife, Misty, said selection to the Hall would mean “everything to us. Everybody knows, especially in the NFL world, that he deserves it, that his stats have always been there.”
The Hall of Fame is readying to induct its most recent class of players and coaches. The group was selected in early February before the Super Bowl. And on Thursday night, the ex NFL players or their family members appeared at the Hall of Fame game between the Browns and Jets in Canton, Ohio. Induction ceremonies are set for Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Hall of Fame process is moving to select the class of 2024. Steve McMichael made the cut to 12 in the Seniors category during the most recent round of voting. The committee selecting the Seniors class meets again, Aug. 22. The committee can approve up to three players for final approval.
Steve McMichael already a member of College Hall of Fame
Steve McMichael already is a member of the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame for his play with the Texas Longhorns. The Patriots drafted him in the third round of the 1980 draft. But New England cut McMichael after a season. However, he found new life (and legend) with the Bears. From that point, the outgoing McMichael, who went by the nicknames of Bam Bam and Mongo, started 101 straight games. Overall, he played 14 seasons in the NFL. He could emphatically shut down the run and rush the passer like a defensive end.
He was most known for being a starting tackle for the 1985 Bears, the Super Bowl champions that fielded one of the best defenses in NFL history.
Steve McMichael, a two-time, first-team All Pro, retired in 1994. But he didn’t leave the limelight. Instead, he began a career as a pro wrestler and color analyst. He continued life in sports, working with the media and as a head coach of a minor league football team.
Now 65, McMichael announced he had ALS in April, 2021. The condition has worsened and he no longer can breathe on his own. But Misty McMichael told WGN her husband still finds way to communicate with her.
She says he still has “a lot of personality in there.”
“He flirts with me, he does with his eyebrows,” she said. “He can be mad, too. Sometimes we’ll give him too much drugs and he’ll give us the ‘bulldog’ to let us know he’s had too much.”
As for the upcoming vote, Misty said: “He needs to see himself enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Please pray for him to get through this.”