By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer
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.
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.
Jim McMahon, quarterback of the 1985 Bears Super Bowl championship team, watched the scene unfold on a video screen from the in-person event at Tom Benson Stadium in Canton, Ohio. Many Bears supporters shed tears watching McMichael.
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.”
Jarret Payton, son of Bears Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton, presented McMichael, who called Payton a “pseudo-son” in the speech read by his sister.
“The only thing bigger than his personality is his heart,” Payton said.
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.
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.
Dwight Freeney, Randy Gradishar, Devin Hester, Andre Johnson, Julius Peppers and Patrick Willis also were enshrined, raising the total members of the Hall of Fame to 378.
Freeney, a three-time All-Pro defensive end with the Indianapolis Colts, was playing soccer in high school when the football coach took him off the field. It was a life-changing move.
“My parents are both Jamaican, so soccer was in my blood,” Freeney said. “If it wasn’t for my high school coach, Jack Cochran, pulling me off that soccer field and convincing me to play this great game, I wouldn’t be on this stage today. Your invaluable lessons in work ethic have stayed with me for my entire life. You also taught me what it takes to become a champion.”
Colts owner Jim Irsay, who is recovering from a fall, introduced Freeney in a video message. Irsay then was brought on stage in a wheelchair to help unveil Freeney’s bronze bust.
“He arguably was the best Colt defensive player in our 60-plus year history,” Irsay said.
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.
In his speech, Freeney apologized to his mother for scaring her when he jumped out of a babysitter’s second-story window at age 2.
“Maybe that daredevil helped me create my spin move,” he joked.
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.
“When I first exploded on the professional scene, there was a lot of negativity, because people didn’t respect the return game,” Hester said. “But eventually, it got to the point where they put in a new rule — the Devin Hester rule — to move the kickoff up, so it made it easy for the kicker to kick it out of the end zone, which eliminated me from getting a lot of returns.
“So I guess the NFL had started taking the return game seriously. I hope that me being here today opens up the door and brings some attention to other guys like Brian Mitchell and Josh Cribbs because I’m not the only returner who deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.”
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.
“I’ve been blessed and fortunate to have many great people in my life, and those relationships, those friendships, are what’ll make you a success,” Peppers said.
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.
Johnson went last and received one of the loudest ovations with a huge contingent of the organization and fans in the crowd.
“You have shown me so much love since I came to the city,” Johnson said. “I was waking in the store the other day and a lady I didn’t know said: ‘I’ll see you in Canton.’ I love you guys and I couldn’t do what I did if I didn’t have you cheering me on.”
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.
“Don’t work for status, power, wealth, materialism, or people’s recognition — all of that is temporary, but in all you are and do, work for God’s glory because he will give you an inheritance as your reward,” Gradishar said, paraphrasing Scripture.