There are the usual suspects when talking about the greatest players not inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Names like Ken Anderson, Zach Thomas, Jim Marshall, and Steve Wisniewski among others. Not nearly enough people talk about Steve McMichael. Here is a man who checked every single box necessary for enshrinement. He is a four-time All-Pro, collected 100.5 sacks in his career, and won the Super Bowl in 1985 as an anchor for the vaunted Chicago Bears defense. Yet he remains without a gold jacket, and Jim McMahon isn’t having that anymore.
McMichael’s former Bears teammate understands that time is short. The former defensive tackle is battling the disease ALS, and it is wasting him away at a frightening pace. McMichael is already bedridden and can no longer communicate like he used to. McMahon and Betsy Shepherd have started a petition on Change.org seeking at least 15,000 signatures to get McMichael into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
He explained it to Bob Sirott of WGN Radio, as only the QB could.
“I think it’d be awesome. I think he deserves it and we’re doing everything we can for him.”
McMahon took it a step further by saying other guys on that 1985 team also deserve the honor, including some offensive linemen. When asked what made McMichael a special teammate, the quarterback didn’t need to think about it too much.
“He was an awesome teammate. He brought it every day. I mean he practiced like he played and he made our team better because of that. He made our offensive guys work and that’s what teammates are supposed to do. Make each other better and he did that.”
People remember McMichael for his brash character and somewhat off-the-wall antics away from the field. Jim McMahon remembers him more for his relentless work ethic and intimidating aura. He accepted nothing less than the best from everybody around him because that is what he was going to give on every single snap. It’s no wonder opponents had such a miserable time dealing with him every year.
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The man led an amazing life even after football too, becoming a significant contributor in professional wrestling for WCW during the last boom period in the late 1990s. It is difficult to understand how the Hall of Fame has ignored him for this long, considering his contributions to the game. Hopefully, McMahon will get the signatures necessary and then some to finally snap them out of their funk.
