Steve “Mongo” McMichael, the hard-hitting, loud-talking defensive tackle who embodied a 1985 Bears team that bullied and crowed its way to a Super Bowl title, has been diagnosed with 36-month onset ALS.
The 63-year-old is paralyzed from the shoulders down and does not have movement in his arms or hands, a family spokesperson said Friday. His legs are weakening; he will soon need a customized wheelchair, which the Bears will purchase. He relies on his wife of 20 years, Misty, to feed him and help with hygiene, the spokesperson said.
Former Bears coach Mike Ditka was still reeling Friday.
“I don’t want to say that you have favorites, but I would have to say that Steve McMichael was always one of my favorites,” Ditka told the Sun-Times. “There was no quit in the guy. He gave you what he had. Whether it was enough or not, it didn’t matter. You were going to get his best effort. …
“He didn’t take any crap from anybody — teammates in practice, nobody. … He was one of the mainstays of that great Bear defense we had in ’85. I love him to death.”
Doctors confirmed McMichael’s diagnosis in January.
“This epitaph that I’m going to have on me now?” McMichael told the Tribune. “This ain’t ever how I envisioned this was going to end.”
Dan Hampton has visited McMichael two or three times per month since January; two weeks ago, he brought fellow Hall of Fame defensive end Richard Dent with him.
“What do you say? What do you do? How do you respond?” said Hampton, who has built a ramp at McMichael’s Romeoville home so his friend can go outside. “It’s like a plane crash. You don’t know what’s up. You have to start making contingency plans.
“I admire him so much. He and his wife’s attitude has been just spectacular. If something like that happens to me or most people, you become bitter. Moribund. To his credit, his attitude has been exemplary. The whole thing is like a bad dream.”
He called McMichael one of the half-dozen “alpha males” on the greatest defense of all time.
“To see that now he’s not in a position where he’s able to control his life, it’s a sobering gut punch,” Hampton said.
Former receiver Dennis McKinnon found out about the diagnosis when he got a text from Misty two months ago. When he went to McMichael’s house, he found him to be the same zany friend — “A few fries short of a Happy Meal,” he said “but who doesn’t like McDonald’s?” — but with physical limitations.
“Any time you can embrace a brother and he can’t hug you back,” he said, “it’s one of the worst feelings in the world.”
In a Bears career that spanned from 1981-93, McMichael made the Pro Bowl two times and was twice named a first-team all pro. He finished his Bears career with 814 tackles, 92.5 sacks and two interceptions. He is second in franchise history in sacks and third in tackles.
He played his final season in 1994 for the rival Packers before retiring and performing as a professional wrestler from 1995-99.
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A GoFundMe page has been established to help pay the costs of McMichael’s medical care, while Obvious Shirts has created “Team Mongo” shirts to raise money for the family. The McMichaels are looking for a handicap-accessible house — Steve and Misty have a 13-year-old daughter, Macy — and have made a down payment on a handicap-accessible van.
McMichael had various concerns about his health for several years, but was in good shape and spirits when he appeared at the Bears 100 convention in 2019. He quoted a line from Russell Crowe in the movie Gladiator to describe the rock-star reception he received at the event.
“Your name echoes through eternity,” he said. “That’s some pride, isn’t it?”
Mark Potash contributed
