Legendary Bears lineman Steve “Mongo” McMichael has died, Walter Payton’s son, Jarrett, shared on Wednesday.
He was 67.
Payton said McMichael was surrounded by his loved ones at the time of his death.
McMichael was diagnosed with ALS in 2021 and the disease moved into the advanced stages, with the Bears great’s health taking a turn for the worse in the past few weeks, his wife, Misty, told Fox 32 in Chicago.
She said he had been “unresponsive for last two weeks and in and out of the hospital.”
McMichael was moving into hospice care on Wednesday, his family revealed earlier in the day.
“With deep sorrow, I share that Steve McMichael pᴀssed at 5:28 PM after a brave fight with #ALS, surrounded by loved ones,” Payton wrote. “I’m grateful to have been with him in his final moments. Please keep Steve and his family your prayers.”
ALS, which is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a neurodegenerative disease affecting the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing a loss of muscle control.
McMichael started playing in the NFL with the Patriots in 1980 and then spent the next 13 years with the Bears, where he became a beloved figure in franchise history and a key part of the team’s 1985 Super Bowl championship.
He recorded 95 career sacks over his 15-year NFL career and was named an All-Pro five times, which included first-team honors in 1985 and 1987.
“It’s a cruel irony that the Bears’ Ironman succumbed to this dreaded disease,” Bears owner George McCaskey wrote in a statement Wednesday. “Yet Steve showed us throughout his struggle that his real strength was internal, and he demonstrated on a daily basis his class, his dignity and his humanity. He is at peace now.
“We offer our condolences to Misty, Macy, the rest of Steve’s family, his teammates, and countless friends and fans of a great Bear.”
McMichael played his final season in the NFL in 1994 with the Packers.
He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last summer and the legendary Bear was presented with his gold jacket and bronze bust at his bedside in Homer Glenn, Illinois.
McMichael was joined by former teammates, Misty and his daughter, Macy, for the ceremony.
“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,” Hall of Fame president Jim Porter said Wednesday. “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. That legendary will to fight allowed him to experience his enshrinement as a member of the Hall’s Class of 2024.”
Following his time in pro football, McMichael spent five years in the professional wrestling world working for World Championship Wrestling, starting as a color commentator before becoming part of the legendary “Four Horsemen” faction led by Ric Flair.
He later returned to football, serving as the head coach of the Chicago Slaughter of the Continental Indoor Football League.
