A former professional wrestling star has made his way to Canton, Ohio. On Thursday evening, Steve McMichael was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024. He earned the honor of being one of the senior selections to be selected to the Hall of Fame.
McMichael, 66, played in the NFL as a defensive tackle from 1980 to 1994. He spent the majority of his career with the Chicago Bears (1981-1993) and became one of the top defenders in the 1980s. In his career, McMichael was selected to the Pro Bowl twice, the All-Pro Team five times and helped the Bears win Super Bowl XX. He tallied 847 tackles, 95 sacks, 17 fumble recoveries and three safeties.
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“When I think about Steve as a player, as a teammate, reliable,” Bears Hall of Fame middle linebacker Mike Singletary said, per the team’s official website. “Steve would be what you’d call a blue-collar guy. He was a team guy. As a player, he was the best. You could always depend on him to do his job and be where he was supposed to be. I really believe that’s one of the things that he prided himself on is being dependable and being a teammate.”
Following his NFL career, McMichael entered the world of professional wrestling. He appeared at WrestleMania XI in 1995 to support NFL legend Lawrence Taylor who was wrestling Bam Bam Bigelow. He then joined WCW later in the year and worked as a color commentator and competitor. During his time in WCW, McMichael was a member of the Four Horsemen and won the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship in 1997.
McMichael has been battling ALS since 2021. His wife, Misty, was in Las Vegas on Thursday night for the announcement and spoke to Fox 32 in Chicago about the honor. “I feel elated, I feel vindicated,” she said. “I feel just very, very happy for him because this is his life’s dream, and he’s worked so hard his whole life for this. And when he could no longer speak for himself, I was honored and privileged to speak for him. And I’m just happy my voice was louder than his, and I can’t believe that!”
