Petition Pushes For Former Bears Star McMichael To Gain Hall Entry

HOMER GLEN, IL — As former Chicago Bears defensive lineman Steve McMichael continues his fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a petition has started to get the Homer Glen resident into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

McMichael, who moved to Homer Glen from Romeoville, where he once ran for mayor and opened a restaurant, Mongo McMichael's, has lost at least 100 pounds since being diagnosed with ALS and is unable to move his arms and legs, organizers of the petition wrote. McMichael, who is affectionately became known as “Mongo” due to his hulking size and intimidating playing style, also cannot swallow and cannot speak.

Yet, those who are behind the Hall of Fame push said that they are not attempting to get McMichael enshrined into the Hall of Fame out of sympathy. Instead, they said the 15-year NFL veteran who started 157 consecutive games, recorded 95 sacks, made 838 tackles, and recovered 17 fumbles while starring for a team that won the 1985 Super Bowl has been overlooked by the Hall of Fame for far too long.

“Steve is hanging on to see this happen,” organizers of the petition wrote as part of an effort that had more than 350 signatures as of Wednesday afternoon.

Three members of the 1985 Bears defense have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, but McMichael has never gained traction despite his contributions to a defensive unit many consider to be the best of all time.

Long-time NFL writer Dan Pompei told Patch in a message on Wednesday that the Hall of Fame has never made an exception for a former player for Hall of Fame induction based on a health condition. Pompei, who is among several Chicago-area media members who have profiled McMichael’s fight against ALS after visiting him, said that McMichael has never been discussed in a Hall of Fame meeting, which would require him to be a finalist.

Pompei said that he does not expect McMichael’s health situation to bring on a change in Hall of Fame procedures. McMichael is a member of the “senior pool” of former players who would need to be included on 80 percent of the ballots to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

In a profile of the 64-year-old McMichael for The Athletic, Pompei wrote that McMichael realizes he will be bed-ridden for the rest of his days. But he said — in language true to form for the former pro wrestler — that he doesn't have to let his illness kill his spirit.

“I’ve got a good heart and mind about it,” the former NFL star told The Athletic. “Why be a miserable mother----- until you die?”

McMichael became eligible for the senior pool in 2020. Unlike the National Baseball Hall of Fame, senior pool members do not face a time limit on how long they can remain on the list.

The Hall of Fame has already announced its eight-member class for 2022, which will be added to the Hall later this summer. And although the petition to get McMichael added just started, it’s unlikely, Pompei, who writes for The Athletic after years at the Chicago Tribune, said Wednesday that nothing short of McMichael’s senior pool score growing exponentially will change the likelihood of the former Bears star getting in.

McMichael’s former Bears teammate, Hall of Famer Dan Hampton, told ABC 7 this week that the time has come for McMichael to be enshrined in Canton.

"For the moment now, to be acknowledged as one of the greatest to ever play the game, it would mean everything to him, Hampton told ABC7.

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Rick Telander visited McMichael earlier this month and wrote a piece supporting McMichael’s Hall of Fame enshrinement. McMichael is already a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, but Telander told Patch on Wednesday he fears McMichael is running out of time.

“There’s not much of him left,” Telander said.