After yearslong push, former Chicago Bear Steve McMichael set to enter Hall of Fame: ‘The least I could do’

HOMER GLEN – About three years ago, Misty McMichael started a journey, but she didn’t know where to begin.

For years, she and her husband, former Bears defensive tackle Steve McMichael, talked about McMichael’s goal of being inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But after he lost his ability to talk due to his battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Misty feared he’d never get a chance to realize that dream.

“I thought it was never going to happen, especially when he got sick,” Misty McMichael told Shaw Local News Network during an interview in their Homer Glen home Tuesday. “I’m like, ‘Oh my god.’ Seven years ago, they gave us two to five years. So we were supposed to be gone already.”

Misty vowed to do whatever it took to get Steve into the Hall in what felt like a race against time. No matter the medium, Misty championed her husband’s career and explained why he deserved to be in the Hall of Fame.

Those efforts will be rewarded Saturday in Canton, Ohio, when McMichael will be inducted into the Hall of Fame as part of a seven-member class that includes former Bears Devin Hester and Julius Peppers.

“If I could do anything for him, at least it’s a little bit of something I could do for him, because he’s done everything for me,” Misty said, fighting back tears. “So I feel like it was the least I could do, and I did it with pleasure. It’s an honor and privilege to take care of that man, and to do all I can for him. He’s such an awesome, awesome person.

“That has nothing to do with what he did on the field. He’s just an awesome man.”

The annual exclusion of “Mongo” from the Hall left the McMichaels and other Bears fans dumbfounded. A key defensive tackle on the 1985 Super Bowl champion Bears, Steve seemed like an easy vote into the Hall.

Steve was an All-Pro tackle in 1985 and 1987 and played in a Bears’ record 191 straight games from 1981 to 1993. He played most of his career in Chicago, other than his rookie year with the New England Patriots in 1980 and his final season with the Green Bay Packers in 1994.

Five 1985 Bears already had made the Hall, including three from that historic defense. Defensive ends Richard Dent and Dan Hampton and linebacker Mike Singletary were inducted, along with running back Walter Payton and offensive lineman Jim Covert.

But each year, McMichael’s name wasn’t added to the group.

“It was dumbfounding, because we just assumed that on his stats alone and on, you know, just what he did, that people would take notice,” Misty said. “But that’s not the case.”

Misty learned more about the Hall of Fame voting process from Hampton when she started her journey. Hampton explained how a group of football writers from each state nominate and vote for candidates each year. Once she learned that veteran football writer Dan Pompei was Illinois’ representative, she gathered all of Steve’s statistics and accomplishments and gave them to him to present to the voters.

She also used other mediums to spread Steve’s candidacy. Misty joined the Chicago Sports Podcast to let fans know about Steve’s battle with ALS and his candidacy. She made an Instagram to share updates. She even encouraged fans to send their supportive letters to the Hall.

“Every time I was on camera, it was “Steve in the Hall of Fame, Steve in the Hall of Fame,’ and it just worked,” Misty said. “Just when I covered all my bases.”

After years of failing to advance, Misty felt good when Steve was named a finalist for this year’s class. Everything came full circle in February when he was officially introduced as a member.

“I knew I could make it happen,” Misty said. “But I didn’t realize how awesome it was going to be once we got it.”

Despite initial plans of trying to transport Steve to Ohio for the ceremony, he’ll watch the ceremony from home Saturday due to his advanced stage of ALS. Misty traveled to Canton on Wednesday morning and will be there for almost all of the festivities this weekend, including the Bears’ preseason opener against the Houston Texans on Thursday.

“If I could do anything for him, at least it’s a little bit of something I could do for him, because he’s done everything for me. So I feel like it was the least I could do, and I did it with pleasure. It’s an honor and privilege to take care of that man, and to do all I can for him. He’s such an awesome, awesome person. That has nothing to do with what he did on the field. He’s just an awesome man.”

—  Misty McMichael, Steve McMichael's wife

She’ll return home Saturday morning to watch Steve be presented his Hall of Fame jacket and bust in person before traveling back to Ohio.

Misty expects plenty of memorable moments this weekend. Her handprints will be the first women’s handprints added to the Hall. Payton’s son, Jarrett, will introduce Steve wearing his dad’s Hall jacket. And while Steve won’t speak, he has a message for Bears fans through an eye-gaze machine:

Hello Chicago. Thank you, Chicago.

But among all the events, there’s one thing Misty can’t wait to see. It’s something she fought for almost three years.

“I just want to see his face when he sees his jacket, his bust, that’s going to be, to me, the best part, to see him see,” Misty said. “And then, of course, all the love. I want him to see how many people love him.”