Updated on: April 23, 2025 / 6:37 PM CDT / CBS Chicago
Chicago Bears icon and Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve “Mongo” McMichael has died.
McMichael died Wednesday after a years-long battle with ALS, a longtime family spokesperson confirmed Wednesday evening. He was 67.
“Beloved is not a strong enough word when you talk about Mongo — just a huge presence both on and off the field,” said CBS News Chicago Sports Director Ryan Baker. “I had a lot of time I spent with him in the post-playing career, and just one of the true characters — not only in the NFL, but of life; truly one-of-a-kind.”
Before he was the larger-than-life Steve “Mongo” McMichael — known for his dominance on the football field for the Bears and his many endeavors off it — McMichael was a six-sport standout in high school in Texas, where he would also play his college ball.
The New England Patriots picked McMichael in the third round, at No. 73 overall, in the 1980 NFL Draft. He was the consensus All-America selection at the University of Texas.
The Patriots released McMichael after just six regular-season games in one season, and he joined the Bears in 1981. He would become a key part of what is widely regarded as one of the best defenses in NFL history.
The 6-foot 2-inch, 270-pound McMichael played a franchise-record 191 games for the Bears, and b became a starter at defensive tackle in 1983, the Pro Football Hall of Fame remembered.
In 1985, the first of three straight All-Pro seasons at defensive tackle, McMichael helped lead the Bears to their only Super Bowl title to date — starting at left defensive tackle and recording a sack against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX.
McMichael would play 13 seasons with the Bears from 1981 to 1993, and ranks second only to Richard Dent in team history with 92.5 sacks. A part of six division championship teams, McMichael was a two-time first-team All-Pro, and he made the NFL Pro Bowl twice, in 1986 and 1987.
McMichael went to the Green Bay Packers for one reason to finish his football career and retired after the 1994 season. But he was far from done being in the spotlight.
McMichael appeared briefly with WWF before going on to wrestle and commentate for World Championship Wrestling for five years.
McMichael’s post-career pursuits also included a run for mayor in southwest suburban Romeoville, and coaching the Indoor Football League team — the Chicago Slaughter. He was also famously ejected from a Cubs game in 2001 by home plate umpire Angel Hernandez, who didn’t care for Mongo calling him out before singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”
In 2021, McMichael revealed he was battling ALS. Three years later, McMichael, along with family and friends who had for years pushed for it, celebrated Mongo getting elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
That honor came last summer at McMichael’s home in southwest suburban Homer Glen, where he lived with his wife, Misty.
McMichael has struggled with infections and had been admitted to intensive care units more frequently in recent years as his disease, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, has progressed.
McMichael’s death came just hours after his family announced he was moving to hospice care in Joliet.
Matt Zahn joined CBS2 Chicago in October 2016 as a sports reporter and fill-in sports anchor, and what a time to come to Chicago. Matt arrived just as the Cubs won the World Series.
