What to know about Hall of Fame inductions for Steve McMichael, Devin Hester, Julius Peppers

Three former Chicago Bears players are going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday in Canton, Ohio.

The Bears are well represented this weekend, especially after the 2024 Bears appeared in the Hall of Fame game Thursday to kick off a celebratory weekend.

Bears legends Steve McMichael, Devin Hester and Julius Peppers will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame on Saturday afternoon.

Here’s what Bears fans need to know about the Hall of Fame inductions.

Who is going into the Hall of Fame?

The Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024 includes seven inductees.

In addition to the three former Bears, the class includes former Colts edge rusher Dwight Freeney, former Broncos linebacker Randy Gradishar, former Texans receiver Andre Johnson and former 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis.

Players are selected by the Hall of Fame selection committee through an intense, monthslong voting process.

How to watch

The ceremony begins at noon Saturday. It will be broadcast on ESPN and the NFL Network.

What to know about the Hall of Fame

The Pro Football Hall of Fame opened in 1963, and Saturday’s ceremony will bring the total number of inductees to 378. With 32 Hall of Famers, the Bears have the most players represented of any NFL team.

The Hall of Fame is in Canton, Ohio, because the league was founded at a meeting in Canton in 1920. The city featured the league’s first back-to-back champions when the Canton Bulldogs won NFL titles in 1922 and 1923.

Steve “Mongo” McMichael

McMichael was an All-Pro defensive tackle for the Super Bowl XX champion Bears during the 1985 season. He played for the Bears from 1981-93 and earned five All-Pro nods and two Pro Bowl appearances. McMichael becomes the sixth Hall of Famer from the 1985 Bears (seventh counting coach Mike Ditka).

He announced he was battling ALS in April 2021. His wife, Misty, made a push for her husband to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. McMichael will watch the ceremony from the family’s suburban home Saturday.

McMichael totaled 95 sacks over a 15-year career, including 92.5 as a member of the Bears. He was drafted with a third-round pick by the New England Patriots in 1980 but was cut after one season. The Bears signed him ahead of the 1981 season, and he played in a limited role in his first few seasons in Chicago. In 1983, he had a breakout performance with 8.5 sacks and followed it with 10 sacks in 1984. He earned his first All-Pro honors in 1985 and was a dominant force for the Super Bowl champion Bears.

McMichael became a pro wrestler after his NFL career and was a frequent presence on Chicago sports talk radio for many years.

Devin Hester

No player in this year’s class affected his position more than Hester did for returners.

During his 11-year NFL career, Hester returned 14 punts and five kickoffs for touchdowns, plus one touchdown returned on a missed field goal. His 20 total return touchdowns ranks first in NFL history. His 14 punt return touchdowns is also an NFL record.

Hester returned the opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown in Super Bowl XLI. To do it in the biggest game of his life, with the world watching, cemented Hester’s legacy. It remains the only touchdown scored on the opening kickoff in Super Bowl history.

The Bears selected Hester with a second-round draft pick in 2006. He played in Chicago from 2006-13, scoring all but one of his return touchdowns as a member of the Bears. He went on to play two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons in 2014-15. He played for the Baltimore Ravens in 2016 and briefly appeared with the Seattle Seahawks during the playoffs that season.

He retired after the 2016 season and signed a ceremonial one-day contract with the Bears in 2018, ending his career where it began.

Julius Peppers

Peppers joined the Bears after playing the first eight years of his pro career with the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers drafted Peppers with the No. 2 overall pick in 2002. In 2010, the Bears signed him to a six-year, $91.5 million contract in free agency.

Peppers played only four seasons for the Bears, but he went to the Pro Bowl three times in that span. He recorded 37.5 sacks and 10 forced fumbles in 64 games with the Bears. His addition was a big reason the Bears won 11 games and reached the NFC championship game during the 2010 season.

After his time with the Bears, Peppers played three seasons with the Green Bay Packers before returning to Carolina for two seasons. Peppers totaled 159.5 sacks over his 17-year career. He ranks fourth on the NFL’s all-time sack list. He was voted into the Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot.