‘Welcome home, Steve’: McMichael enters the Pro Football Hall of Fame in ceremony at his home

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 Southwest suburban Homer Glen, 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.

Former Bears Devin Hester and Julius Peppers also were inducted.

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 92½. 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 Bears and Houston Texans to be stopped with 18 minutes remaining.

Dwight Freeney, Randy Gradishar, Hester, Andre Johnson, Peppers and Patrick Willis also were enshrined, raising the total members of the Hall of Fame to 378.

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.”

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 159½ 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.