Chicago wears a big and professional football Hall of Famer Steve McMichael died on Wednesday After a one year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (SLA).
Walter Payton's son Jarrett Payton announced his death on Wednesday evening that The NFL confirmed later. McMichael had would have been transferred to palliative care Earlier Wednesday after a trip to the hospital resulted in an intensive stay in care.
“With deep sadness, I share that Steve McMichael went at 5:28 p.m. after a courageous fight with #als, surrounded by dear beings. I am grateful to have been with him in his last moments. Please keep Steve and his family your prayers,” Payton wrote on social networks.
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McMichael, affectively known as Mongo, is a five-year five-year who played 13 of his 15 NFL seasons for the Bears as a defensive tackle. He was a key member as the first All-Pro team for the famous Bears defense in 1985 which anchored the only franchise race to a Super Bowl championship.
Steve McMichael, seen here with the Bears in a 1991 match against the Vikings. (Jonathan Daniel / Allsport via Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
McMichael, 67, was diagnosed with SLA in 2021. Known as Lou Gehrig's disease after New York Yankees were diagnosed with it, ALS is a neurodegenerative disease that attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
This causes the loss of muscle control and ends up having an impact on the muscles necessary to move, speak, eat and breathe, by the Mayo clinic. It is a progressive disease without known remedy which is ultimately deadly.
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According to the Chicago Tribune, McMichael lost control of his arms and legs at the start of the disease. He has finally lost control of his speech and has been in bed for years.
Emotional induction of the McMichael renowned temple
McMichael was elected to the temple of renown of professional football and Controlled at a distance during the 2024 ceremony in Canton, Ohio. The family of McMichael and the members of the 1985 Bears, including Mike Singletary and Richard Dent, surrounded him in his suburban house in Chicago while his bust of the renowned bronze temple, featuring its fluid locks, was unveiled.
McMichael's impact on the NFL, Chicago
McMichael is a beloved figure in Chicago whose disproportionate personality stood out from a list of 1985 Bears filled with giant personalities.
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McMichael entered the NFL in 1980 as a draft choice of the New England Patriots in Texas. The Patriots cut him after a recruit year in which he appeared in six games and recorded only five plated, leaving him free to sign with the Bears.
The Bears were certainly satisfied with the way it turned out. McMichael played for the Bears from 1981 to 1993 and was appointed All-Pro after each season from 1984 to 1988 and again in 1991. It was an anchor for a team of the Bears which won six NFC central titles in seven seasons from 1984 to 1990. He ended his career in the NFL with 95 bags, 847 plated and 13 escaped in 213 games.
The former head coach of the Bears, Mike Ditka, described McMichael as one of the most difficult players he has ever trained, by bearsAnd McMichael's personality was a perfect match for a famous boastful team.
McMichael remained an active member of the Chicago community after his retirement from football in 1994. He owned a restaurant called Mongo McMichaels in the suburbs of Chicago in Romeoville. He was the head coach of a team from the indoor football league in Chicago and became the only person to eject of a Chicago Cubs match after Sing during the seventh round.
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McMichael was used to fundraising and events in Chicago and A frequent collaborator with the Cornemuse group of the Chicago Police Department, The Emerald Society. According to Le Tribune, these collaborations involved McMichael putting kilts for charitable advertising crawls across the city to help collect funds for the first stakeholders.
Tribute to McMichael
McMichael tributes began to surface shortly after the news of his death.
