SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS: Steve McMichael, a former player for the Chicago Bears who has ALS, was admitted to an Illinois intensive care unit on August 4 with sepsis and pneumonia, according to his wife, Misty McMichael.
A post on his wife's Instagram account read, "Prayers for Mongo, We were admitted last night to the ICU at Silver Cross with Sepsis and pneumonia." McMichael, who received an ALS diagnosis in 2021, is now awake, according to his family, after being unconscious upon admission to the hospital.
'The world is going to be a sad place when he's not here anymore'
His wife said about the community support for McMichael, "I think those prayers have kept him alive and the Hall of Fame hope, that dream is still alive, all that together is keeping him here with us. The world is going to be a sad place when he's not here anymore so I appreciate the prayers and I want them to keep praying cause we got a whole other year to get through."
The defensive tackle from Chicago spent 13 seasons with the Bears, earning two All-Pro selections and playing a significant role in the defensive line that helped the team win the Super Bowl in 1985.
Steve McMichael was known as 'Ming The Merciless'
From 1981 to 1993, McMichael, also known as 'Mongo' and 'Ming The Merciless,' participated in a franchise-record 191 straight games. With 92 and a half career sacks, he is second on the team's all-time sack list. The defensive tackle will be one of 12 players who retired before 1998 and will be considered for induction into the Hall of Fame by voters in January of the following year, as reported by the New York Post.
After playing for the Patriots during his rookie season, McMichael spent his final season in Green Bay. The former NFL star also pursued a second career in professional wrestling, challenging Arn Anderson and Ric Flair to a match alongside his partner Kevin Greene. From 2007 to 2013, he served as the head coach of the Chicago Slaughter of the Indoor Football League.
The World Championship Wrestling (WCW) organization hired McMichael in 1995. On the first episode of WCW Monday Nitro on September 4, 1995, he made his company debut as the pro-babyface color commentator, joining lead broadcaster Eric Bischoff and Bobby Heenan in their customary pro-heel commentary roles. McMichael regularly quarreled with Heenan, supported the well-liked wrestlers during matches, and brought his dog Pepe to the broadcast booth, as per reports.
