Former Bears Lineman and NFL Hall of Famer Steve McMichael Dies at 67
April 23, 2025
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J.P. Hoornstra writes and edits Major League Baseball content. A veteran of 20 years of sports coverage for daily newspapers in California, J.P. covered MLB, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Los Angeles Angels (occasionally of Anaheim) from 2012-23 for the Southern California News Group. His first book, The 50 Greatest Dodgers Games of All-Time, published in 2015. In 2016, he won an Associated Press Sports Editors award for breaking news coverage. He once recorded a keyboard solo on the same album as two of the original Doors.
Jon Paul Hoornstra
Contributing Sports Writer
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Former Chicago Bears defensive tackle and Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve “Mongo” McMichael has died. He was 67.
McMichael was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the progressive neurological disease commonly known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” in 2021. He was reported earlier Wednesday to have entered hospice care.
(L-R) Defensive lineman Dan Hampton #99, William Perry #72, Richard Dent #95, linebacker Wilber Marshall #58 and left tackle Steve McMichael #76 of the Chicago Bears wait to line up at the line of scrimmage… (L-R) Defensive lineman Dan Hampton #99, William Perry #72, Richard Dent #95, linebacker Wilber Marshall #58 and left tackle Steve McMichael #76 of the Chicago Bears wait to line up at the line of scrimmage prior to a play during a game in the 1985 season at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois.
Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
McMichael was a key part of the Chicago Bears team that won the Super Bowl in 1986. He made two Pro Bowls, and was a two-time All-Pro, during a 15-year NFL career with the Bears (1980-93) and Green Bay Packers (1994).
In 2024, McMichael was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and inducted remotely during the ceremony that was held in Canton, Ohio. McMichael’s family and members of the 1985 Bears, including Mike Singletary and Richard Dent, surrounded McMichael at his home as his bronze Hall of Fame bust was unveiled bedside.
A native of Houston, McMichael was a star defensive lineman for the Texas Longhorns from 1976-79. In Austin, he was a two-time All-Southwest Conference selection and a consensus All-American.
McMichael’s toughness and consistency earned him the respect of his coaches and teammates, with Bears coach Mike Ditka calling him the toughest player he had ever coached. Bears defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan said he was “one of the toughest son of a guns ever to play the game.”
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