The 1985 Chicago Bears remain the most revered football team in the city’s long history. It’s the only one to win a Super Bowl and had arguably the most dominant defense of all-time. Any player who was part of it remains revered to this day. Most people talk about the big names like Mike Singletary, Dan Hampton, Steve McMichael, and Richard Dent when referencing that unit. Not enough talked about Mike Richardson.
He was the primary cover cornerback for Chicago during that period. His ability to cover one-on-one on the outside enabled that iconic “46” defense to work as effectively as it did. From 1983 when he was drafted through 1986, he had a whopping 18 interceptions. However, his play started to fade by 1987 after he was out of the league by 1990.
Sadly his story gets a lot worse after he left football.
Richardson became addicted to drugs in the years following the end of his career. By the end of 2008, he’d been convicted of more than 20 crimes. Many of them drug-related. Usually, when something like this happens, it’s only a matter of time before that person pushes things beyond the point of no return. For Richardson, that moment may have arrived in Phoenix, Arizona where accord to ABC 15 he was arrested and charged with shooting and killed a man.
“Former Chicago Bears star, Michael Richardson, was arrested by Phoenix police on murder charges, according to multiple sources.
Phoenix police confirm Richardson, 59, was locked up Wednesday in connection with the shooting death of 47-year-old Ronald Like.”
Richardson also had a felony warrant out for his arrest even before this incident took place. So the likelihood of him avoiding prison seems remote. Details of the alleged murder remain unknown at this point. This should serve as a reminder that athletes, for all their accomplishments, aren’t all role models. Some go down some dark, dark paths.
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Mike Richardson has dodged rock bottom for a long time
He almost went to prison for 13 years back in 2008. If not for some assistant from teammate Dent and former head coach Mike Ditka, it could’ve been much worse. He ended up spending just one year behind bars with an extended probation period. Clearly, that wasn’t enough to get him back on the straight path. His problems only continued to mount. Now it’s likely no amount of support from friends, teammates, coaches, and family will save him this time.
Mike Richardson was destined for greatness in football even before getting to the NFL. He helped lead the University of Arizona to a 19-4 record his final two seasons in college. It culminated with a huge upset of Oklahoma in the 1982 Fiesta Bowl. This is what helped him get drafted in the 2nd round by the Bears in 1983, easily their best draft class in franchise history. The same one that produced Dent, Jimbo Covert, Willie Gault, Dave Duerson, Tom Thayer, and Mark Bortz.
This is why Richardson is sometimes forgotten.
Yet there can be no doubt the 1985 Bears defense isn’t nearly what it was without him. There’s no telling how much better his career could’ve been if he’d been able to stay healthy. After becoming an All-Pro in 1986, health issues began to mount after that. Enough to where he had to retire before his 30th birthday. Maybe being able to play long might’ve saved him from the path he ended up going down.
No one will ever know.