Steve McMichael, Bears legend, one step closer to Hall of Fame while battling ALS
CHICAGO (WLS) -- There was big news for fans of Bears legend Steve McMichael Thursday.
The defensive lineman learned he's one of the final 12 being considered for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
It's been an all-out blitz by family members and former teammates to get the Super Bowl champ honored at the same time as he battles ALS.
It's the call that Misty McMichael said has kept her husband, Steve "Mongo" McMichael, going for the last couple years, as he has been battling ALS.
He has made the cut for the final 12 players to be considered by the senior committee for the Pro Football hall of fame.
"He was happy, so thrilled. He just wanted to talk," McMichael said.
Even though ALS has left him bedridden and unable to speak or feed himself, the former Bears star still wears his 1985 Super Bowl ring.
His teammates from that team are frequent visitors.
"The '85 boys, they're a band of brothers, tight since they were young," McMichael said.
And all are strong supporters that McMichael should be in the hall of fame, including Hall of Famer Dan Hampton.
"Eight different seasons he had eight sacks or more. I didn't do that. Very few players in the history of the NFL were able to do that," Hampton said.
Bears beat writer Dan Pompeii is a Hall of Fame senior committee member, who said he watched nearly every game of McMichael's career.
"I know his value to the team and how great a player he was, so I will advocate for him without a doubt," Pompeii said.
Pompeii said McMichael's statistics are definitely Hall of Fame caliber, but five former players from the '85 Bears are already in the hall.
Misty McMichael is leading the charge for Mongo to be No. 6.
"It's everything to him. Football is his world," she said.
The Hall of Fame senior committee meets at the end of August to choose up to three players from the 12 finalists who will go into the Hall of Fame class of 2024.
The new inductees will be introduced before the Super Bowl.
