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NFL Legend Dies At 67 After Battle With ALS

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Chicago Bears legend and NFL Hall of Fame member Steve McMichael passed away on Thursday at the age of 67. The news was confirmed by Jarrett Payton, the son of legendary Bears running back Walter Payton.

McMichael passed away peacefully while surrounded by loved ones, Payton announced.

In 2021, the two-time Super Bowl champion was diagnosed with ALS. The disease soon moved into the advanced stages, especially over the last several weeks, when McMichael’s health took a turn for the worst, his wife, Misty, told Fox 32 Chicago.

McMichael had been “unresponsive for last two weeks and in and out of the hospital,” she said. The announcement comes a little over 24 hours after the McMichael family announced that Steve would be moving into hospice care on Wednesday.

“With deep sorrow, I share that Steve McMichael passed 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.”

McMichael was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2024

A native of Houston, Texas, McMichael played college football for the Texas Longhorns before being selected by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 1980 NFL Draft.

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After spending just one season with the Patriots, the defensive tackle signed with the Chicago Bears in free agency and stayed with the team through parts of 12 seasons. After becoming one of the team’s two starting defensive tackles, McMichael played a key role in the team’s 1985 Super Bowl win under coach Mike Ditka.

McMichael became known for his durability, at one point racking up a streak of 109 games started until 1990, when his playing time was reduced.

The peak of his career came in the mid-late 1980’s, when he was selected to multiple NFL All-Pro teams. He led the bears in sacks in 1988 with 11.5, and went on to record 108 tackles in the following year.

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 was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2024. Several bears teammates and coach Ditka were present for the ceremony, when McMichael was presented with his Gold Jacket and bronze bust at his bedside in Homer Glenn, Illinois.

McMichael was enshrined in the NFL Hall of Fame in 2024

Following the conclusion of his professional football career in 1994, McMichael worked as a commentator for the professional wrestling league World Championship Wrestling. After getting into wrestling through the commentary booth, he eventually made his way to the ring, where he became part of the legendary “Four Horsemen” collective led by Ric Flair.

In 2021, McMichael shared the heartbreaking news that he had been diagnosed with ALS. Also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, ALS is a neurodegenerative disease affecting the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. It ultimately leads to muscle breakdown.

“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.”