Steve McMichael couldn’t make it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, so the ceremony came to him.
Battling ALS and bedridden in the advanced stages of the neurological disease, the 66-year-old two-time All-Pro defensive tackle was the second player enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame among seven members of the Class of 2024 on Saturday in Canton.
Surrounded by several of his Chicago Bears teammates and his wife, Misty, at his home in Homer Glen, Illinois, McMichael wore his gold jacket, and his bronze bust was unveiled live in a touching tribute.
“You are on a team that you can never be cut from and never be released from. When you die, you’ll always be on this team. Welcome home, Steve. You’re in football heaven forever,” Hall of Famer Richard Dent said, patting McMichael on the head.
Misty McMichael wiped tears as she turned her husband’s head toward the bronze bust.
“That’s you, baby, forever,” she said.
Nicknamed “Mongo” and known for his brash and boisterous personality, McMichael was the most feared player on one of the greatest defenses in NFL history. He became the fourth defensive player from the 1985 team to enter the Hall, joining Dent, Mike Singletary and Dan Hampton.
McMichael’s sister, Kathy, read a speech that she began working on with her brother before he lost his ability to move and speak.
“I want to thank the Chicago Bears and the fans, the best city to play football in,” Kathy McMichael said. “I played 15 years in the NFL and loved every minute of every down. I played with the greatest players and the greatest defense to this day.”
McMichael played in a franchise-record 191 consecutive games from 1981 to 1993 and ranks second to Dent on the Bears’ all-time sacks list with 92 1/2. His final NFL season was with Green Bay in 1994.
Credit: ccompton@ajc.com
Credit: ccompton@ajc.com
The ceremony in Ohio was delayed nearly two hours because of heavy rain and lightning. Similar weather on Thursday night forced the preseason opener between the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans to be stopped with 18 minutes remaining.
Two former Falcons were enshrined, Dwight Freeney and Devin Hester. Freeney suited up for the Falcons for one season and Hester spend two seasons with the team.
Randy Gradishar, Andre Johnson, Julius Peppers and Patrick Willis also were added, raising the total members of the Hall of Fame to 378.
D. Orlando Ledbetter, who writes about the Falcons for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and has covered the NFL since the late 1980s, received the 2024 Bill Nunn Memorial Award from the Professional Football Writers of America on Friday night.
Ledbetter is the 56th Nunn Award honoree. The award is given to a reporter who has made a long and distinguished contribution to pro football through coverage.
Credit: Jeremy Freeman / Dagger
Credit: Jeremy Freeman / Dagger
The award is named for Bill Nunn, who prior to his Hall of Fame scouting career with the Pittsburgh Steelers worked for 22 years at the Pittsburgh Courier, one of the most influential Black publications in the United States.
Ledbetter joined the AJC in 2003 and moved to the Falcons beat in 2005.
Freeney played 11 seasons in Indianapolis and 16 total, registering 125 1/2 sacks, many using his signature spin move. He forced 47 fumbles, made seven Pro Bowls and earned one Super Bowl ring.
Hester became the first player inducted primarily as a return specialist. He returned a league-record 14 punts for touchdowns and ran back five more kickoffs for scores during an 11-year career spent mostly with the Bears. Hester is the only player to return the opening kick of a Super Bowl for a TD.
Credit: David J. Phillip
Credit: David J. Phillip
Willis played only eight seasons in the NFL but made a major impact with the San Francisco 49ers as a do-it-all linebacker. He was AP Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2007, was a five-time All-Pro selection and made seven Pro Bowls.
Willis talked about growing up in the rural South living in a duplex trailer without running water until he was 8.
“Every day my siblings and I would carry empty five-gallon plastic buckets up the hill to get water from my grandparents’ house, then carry them back down,” Willis said. “I remember when I was carrying those buckets, I would tell myself, ‘If I can make it from here all the way to the house without stopping, I’m going to get stronger.’ No doubt I was getting physically stronger, but I didn’t know at the time that I was also building inner strength.”
Peppers, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2002 NFL draft by the Carolina Panthers, was a three-time All-Pro defensive end and made nine Pro Bowls in 17 seasons. He had 159 1/2 sacks — fourth most in NFL history — along with 52 forced and 11 interceptions.
Johnson, the No. 1 overall pick in 2003, is the first player in the Hall to begin his career with the Texans. He was a two-time All-Pro wide receiver, made seven Pro Bowls and finished with 1,062 catches for 14,185 yards and 70 touchdowns.
The 72-year-old Gradishar had the longest wait of the new class, becoming the first member of the Denver Broncos’ famed “Orange Crush” defense to join the Hall, 41 years after he last played in the NFL. The seven-time Pro Bowl linebacker was the AP Defensive Player of the Year in 1978.
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