Steve McMichael, one of the greatest and most memorable players from the Bears’ legendary 1985 defense, died at 67.
Jarrett Payton, son of fellow Bears legend Walter Payton and the man who presented McMichael for his Hall of Fame enshrinement, made the announcement Wednesday.
Though McMichael would go on to win a Super Bowl championship and have a long Hall of Fame career, his beginnings were not auspicious. The New England Patriots selected him in the third round of the 1980 NFL Draft, but the Pats cut him the following year. The Bears signed him before the start of the 1981 season, and McMichael played for Chicago for the next 12 years.
“The Patriots, yeah, they thought I was a little weird,” McMichael said. “And I guess I am. But here they don’t care, as long as you play hard. . . The town, the coach, the team — it’s Steve McMichael. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
The pinnacle of McMichale’s success with the Bears came in 1985, when he got revenge on the team that cut him by helping Chicago stomp New England 46-10 in Super Bowl XX.
“McMichael was a two-time first-team All-Pro, a two-time second-team All-Pro, and a two-time Pro Bowler,” Pro Football Talk reports.
He ended his career with the Packers in 1994.
McMichael totaled 95 sacks and 847 tackles over his 15-year career.
