(670 The Score) Bears great Steve “Mongo” McMichael has been named a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2024 as part of the senior ballot.
McMichael, 65, was a 15-year NFL veteran who served as a key force on the Bears' vaunted defense on their 1985 Super Bowl championship team. He spent 13 years with Chicago before playing one year in Green Bay and one in New England.
A defensive lineman, McMichael posted 95 career sacks over 213 games, including 92.5 sacks over 191 games with the Bears.
A famed personality in his playing days and his post-football career, McMichael was diagnosed with ALS in April 2021. He resides locally in the Chicago suburbs and continues to battle the disease, for which there is no known cure.
McMichael was admitted to a local hospital early in August for pneumonia and sepsis. He previously had a do-not-resuscitate order in place, but it has since been lifted in order for McMichael to see through his candidacy for the Hall of Fame.
“He would have died at home if it wasn’t for the nomination,” Steve’s wife, Misty McMichael, told the Chicago Sun-Times on Tuesday. “He was dying in front of us. We ripped up the DNR because of the nomination. He has to live to see this.”
The Hall of Fame will announce its 2024 class during Super Bowl weekend in February.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.
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