 McMichael in 2016 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 76, 90 | |||||||||||||||
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| Position | Defensive tackle | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1957-10-17)October 17, 1957 Houston,Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Died | April 23, 2025(2025-04-23) (aged 67) Joliet, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 270 lb (122 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Freer(Freer, Texas) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Texas (1975–1980) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1980: 3rd round, 73rd overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
Playing | |||||||||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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| Head coaching record | |||||||||||||||
| Regular season | 58–34 (.630) | ||||||||||||||
| Postseason | 4–4 (.500) | ||||||||||||||
| Career | 62–38 (.620) | ||||||||||||||
Stephen Douglas McMichael (October 17, 1957 – April 23, 2025), nicknamed "Mongo",[1] "Ming", and "Ming the Merciless",[2] was an American professionalfootball player andprofessional wrestler. He was adefensive tackle for 15 seasons in theNational Football League (NFL), primarily for theChicago Bears. He playedcollege football for theTexas Longhorns and was selected by theNew England Patriots in the1980 NFL draft. After retiring from playing football, he wrestled inWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) and was part ofThe Four Horsemen stable.
While playing for the Bears, he was a two-timePro Bowler and four-timeAll-Pro, winningSuper Bowl XX with the team. He ended his football career with theGreen Bay Packers, before making appearances for theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) ahead ofWrestleMania XI.
InWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW), he started off as a color commentator before ultimately obtaining a career as a professional wrestler. He would be a member of theFour Horsemen stable and was aone timeWCW United States Heavyweight Champion. Before retiring from public appearances, McMichael was a regular presence on Chicagosports radio and was the namesake of a restaurant in the southwest suburbs of Chicago.[3]
From 2007 to 2013, McMichael was thehead coach of theChicago Slaughter of theContinental Indoor Football League (CIFL). He ran unsuccessfully for mayor ofRomeoville, Illinois southwest of Chicago. In 2021, he was diagnosed withamyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). McMichael was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame in 2024. On April 23, 2025, McMichael was moved into hospice care. After transitioning into hospice care, McMichael died the same day at 67.
McMichael was born on October 17, 1957, inHouston.[4] His parents separated before his second birthday, and his mother later remarried E.V. McMichael, an oil company executive whose surname McMichael adopted; his surname at birth has not been publicly reported.[4] He had four siblings: older brothers John and Richard, and younger sisters Kathy and Sharon. The family moved toFreer, south ofSan Antonio, and he attendedFreer High School. In his senior year, he lettered in six sports: football, basketball, baseball, track, tennis, and golf. Baseball was his preferred sport, and whilst playing as a catcher, he batted .450 in his senior year, garnering attention from theSt. Louis Cardinals andCincinnati Reds.[5]
McMichael's accomplishments in football led to him being offered scholarships by 75 colleges and universities. He chose to go to theUniversity of Texas at Austin. He played as adefensive tackle for theTexas Longhorns football team from 1976 to 1979, but his freshman season was marred by the death of his stepfather. In his senior season, he was a consensus first-team All-American, and he was defensive MVP at the 1979Hula Bowl inHalawa, Hawaii.[5] During his time playing at Texas he was an All-Southwest conference choice in 1978 and 1979, the team MVP in 1979 and the backup place kicker in 1977. In 1979 he was inducted into the Longhorn Hall of Honor.[6]
On July 17, 2010, McMichael was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame.[7]
McMichael was drafted out of college in 1980 by theNew England Patriots but was cut before his second season. TheChicago Bears signed him as afree agent in 1981. He became one of their startingdefensive tackles and helped them to a Super Bowl win in 1985.[8] He had a streak of 101 games started until 1990, when his playing time was reduced. He led the Bears with 111⁄2 sacks in 1988. He had 108 tackles in 1989. McMichael was named to the NFC'sPro Bowl teams for the 1986 and 1987 seasons.[9][10]
In a 1991 game against theNew York Jets, with the Bears down 13–6 with 1:54 remaining, McMichael forced aBlair Thomas fumble and recovered it at the New York 36. QuarterbackJim Harbaugh then threw a game-tying touchdown toNeal Anderson with :18 left in the game. The Bears went on to win inovertime when Harbaugh scored on a one yard TD run.[11] Bears coachMike Ditka said in 2005 that McMichael was the toughest player he had ever coached.[12] He played with theGreen Bay Packers in 1994 before retiring. Aside from his "Mongo" moniker, McMichael was also nicknamed "Ming the Merciless", or "Ming" for short.[2]
"Thank God New England got rid of me. Some teams, they want you to have a certain image. Other teams, like this one, they just want you to get down and dirty. I'm really proud to be a Bear. The Patriots, yeah, they thought I was a little weird. And I guess I am. But here they don't care, long as you play hard. The town, the coach, the team — it's Steve McMichael. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."
— McMichael in 1984, speaking to theChicago Tribune'sBob Verdi[13]
"For 13 years, I helped the Bears beat the Packers every year. I whupped their ass, right? So the last year, I went up there on my last leg and I wasn't any good anymore. So I stole their money and whipped their ass again!"
— McMichael in 2019, speaking about his sole season with theGreen Bay Packers[14]
In August 2023, he was named a finalist for the Seniors ballot of thePro Football Hall of Fame for the class of 2024. He had previously been nominated in 2014 and 2015.[15] On February 8, 2024, McMichael was officially selected to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.[16] He was formally inducted on August 3, 2024, with his sister Kathy delivering a speech on his behalf. Members of the 1985 Bears, including"Samurai" Mike Singletary,Jimbo Covert andRichard Dent, traveled to his home to share the celebration with him.[17][18] Walter Payton's sonJarrett would be the one who inducted McMichael into the NFL Hall of Fame.[17]
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| Professional wrestling career | |
|---|---|
| Ring name | Steve McMichael |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) |
| Billed weight | 270 lb (122 kg) |
| Trained by | Terry Taylor |
| Debut | 1995 |
| Retired | March 6, 1999 |
Following the conclusion of his NFL career, McMichael appeared at ringside forLawrence Taylor duringWrestleMania XI on April 2, 1995, inHartford, Connecticut. Taylor competed againstBam Bam Bigelow, and several football players were present at ringside to prevent interference from other wrestlers.[19] On the March 20, 1995, episode ofMonday Night Raw, McMichael provided guest commentary alongsideVince McMahon. During the broadcast, he became involved in a brawl withKama Mustafa, an associate of Bigelow. The altercation spilled across the arena floor, knocking over the broadcast table before being broken up by event staff.[20] Taylor ultimately defeated Bigelow in their match at WrestleMania XI.
In 1995, McMichael was hired byWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW). On September 4, 1995, he made his debut with the company as the pro-babyface color commentator on thepremiere ofWCW Monday Nitro, withBobby Heenan fulfilling his typical pro-heel commentator role alongside lead broadcasterEric Bischoff.[21] McMichael would root for the popular wrestlers during matches, would bicker with Heenan on a regular basis, and brought his dog Pepe with him to the broadcast booth.[citation needed]
In April 1996,Ric Flair started hitting on McMichael's wifeDebra, who sat at ringside duringWCW Monday Nitro. McMichael challenged Flair andArn Anderson to a match with his partnerKevin Greene. He trained withRandy Savage (he was actually trained byTerry Taylor at theWCW Power Plant), while Flair and Anderson got Heenan to be their coach for the match. It was held was atThe Great American Bash. During the match, Debra and Greene's wife were chased to the back byWoman andMiss Elizabeth, who were Flair's valets. Debra came back with Woman and Elizabeth, and she had a briefcase full of money and aFour Horsemen T-shirt. McMichael accepted it and hit Greene in the head with the briefcase.[22] McMichael's first singles match was againstJoe Gomez atBash at the Beach.[23]
He then feuded with theDungeon of Doom with the other Horsemen, and he had problems withJeff Jarrett over the affections of Debra in late 1996 through early 1997. Woman trashed Debra, causing McMichael andChris Benoit to step in each time. The turning point in the McMichael–Jarrett feud was atSuperBrawl VII. McMichael wrestled Jarrett, and if Jarrett won, he was an official Horseman. Debra interfered for Jarrett, so he would win.[24] Then McMichael and Jarrett had to team, and they bickered at first but later became a solid tag team. McMichael wrestled two football players in 1997. He beatReggie White atSlamboree and lost to Kevin Greene atThe Great American Bash, which saw McMichael slapped by Greene's mother at ringside.[25][26]
In July 1997, Jarrett was kicked out of the Horsemen, and Debra soon left McMichael for Jarrett. McMichael got his revenge when he defeated Jarrett for hisWCW United States Heavyweight Championship on the August 21 episode ofClash of the Champions XXXV.[27] Weeks earlier, Arn Anderson had been forced to retire due to an injury, andCurt Hennig joined the Horsemen. AtFall Brawl, Hennig turned on the Horsemen and joined thenWo, during the War Games match in which the Horsemen were involved. McMichael was handcuffed to the steel cage surrounding the ring along with Benoit, and neither man could defend Flair from the 5-on-1 assault from the nWo; the match ended after McMichael surrendered to stop the nWo from attacking Flair, although Hennig would still slam the cage door on Flair's head (which was edited out of the home video release, but included on the WWE Network in full), even after the submission was made.[28] The next night onNitro, McMichaeldropped his United States title to Hennig, and Flair disbanded the Horsemen.[29]
McMichael went after Debra's stable of wrestlers which included Jarrett,Eddie Guerrero andAlex Wright. Debra hiredGoldberg to get McMichael, and he became one of Goldberg's first victims in November 1997. Goldberg stole McMichael's Super Bowl ring and weeks later McMichael hit Goldberg with a pipe and reclaimed it.[30][31] He briefly helped Benoit feud withRaven'sFlock in January 1998 and then got into a feud withThe British Bulldog, in which he broke his hand during a match atSuperBrawl VIII in February 1998.[32] McMichael returned in June and had a feud withStevie Ray and helped reform the Four Horsemen in October with Flair, Benoit,Dean Malenko and manager Arn Anderson. They feuded with the nWo until McMichael made his final TV appearance on the February 8, 1999, episode ofNitro. His last match was on March 6, 1999, teaming withChris Benoit andDean Malenko defeatingCurt Hennig,Barry Windham andWrath on a house show.[citation needed]
McMichael returned to professional wrestling forTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling's flagship pay-per-view,Bound For Glory, where he refereed the Monster's Ball Match. This match was notable for McMichael's extremely slow cadence for a three count.[33]
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McMichael co-hosted a Bears pre-game show with Jeff Dickerson onESPN 1000 in Chicago. He was the head coach of theChicago Slaughter of theIndoor Football League from 2007 until the team's final season in 2013.[citation needed]
McMichael and fellow 1985 Chicago Bears alumniDan Hampton andOtis Wilson performed in a rock and roll oldies band (with entertaining satirical Mike Ditka verses) called the Chicago 6.[34]
On August 7, 2001, during theseventh-inning stretch of a game between theChicago Cubs and theColorado Rockies atWrigley Field, McMichael, who was visiting the Cubs television booth, took a turn as the guest singer for "Take Me Out to the Ball Game". Earlier in the game in the bottom of the 6th inning, home plate umpireÁngel Hernández had controversially called Cubs infielderRon Coomer out at the plate. Before singing Take Me Out to the Ball Game, McMichael announced to those in attendance over the PA system that he would "have some speaks" with Hernández after the game, presumably as a result of Hernández's call on Coomer. Crew chiefRandy Marsh ordered McMichael to be ejected from the ballpark, and the umpires later received an apology for McMichael's conduct from then-Cubs general managerAndy MacPhail.[35]
On August 16, 2012, McMichael announced his intentions to run for mayor ofRomeoville, Illinois.[36] He lost the race to incumbent John Noak, garnering 39 percent of the vote.[37]
In 1985, McMichael marriedDebra Marshall. They divorced in 1998.[38] McMichael married Misty Davenport on March 24, 2001.[5][39] Their daughter, Macy Dale, was born in 2008.[40]
On April 23, 2021, McMichael announced that he had been diagnosed withamyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).[41] TheLes Turner ALS Foundation awarded McMichael the ALS Courage Award on September 18, 2021.[42][43] McMichael was transferred to hospice care inJoliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago, on April 23, 2025, and died later that day due to complications from ALS, at the age of 67.[4][44]
Jarrett Payton would be among those who paid tribute.[45] In hisX tribute, fellow member of the Four HorsemenRic Flair referred to McMichael as "my best friend through it all."[46]
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1997 - At the final WCW Clash of the Champions card, Steve McMichael defeated Jeff Jarrett to win the WCW United States Title in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Chicago Slaughter would like to congratulate head coach Steve McMichael and his wife Misty on the birth of their first child Tuesday afternoon. Macy Dale McMichael was born at 4:12 p.m. weighing in at 6 lbs. 12 oz. and measuring 19" long. Mother, baby and dad are all doing great
,Internet Wrestling Database
Media related toSteve McMichael at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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