Bears Great Steve McMichael, Who’s Battling ALS, Hospitalized Again – News18

CHICAGO: Chicago Bears great Steve McMichael, who’s battling ALS, was hospitalized again and undergoing tests Wednesday, publicist Betsy Shepherd said.

The 66-year-old McMichael went public with an ALS diagnosis three years ago. He spent more than a week at a suburban hospital after being admitted into intensive care on Feb. 15 with a urinary tract infection. He was hospitalized one week after being voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

McMichael was also treated for pneumonia and MRSA — a staph infection that can be difficult to treat because it is resistant to certain antibiotics — during his stay.

McMichael, who controlled the interior of the line for the Bears’ famed “46 defense,” was an All-Pro during the 1985 Super Bowl championship season and in 1987. He played in a franchise-record 191 consecutive games from 1981-1993 and ranks second to Hall of Famer Richard Dent on the Bears’ career sacks list with 92 1/2. His final season was with Green Bay in 1994.

Whether he was harassing opponents or discussing the Bears on sports talk radio, the man known as “Ming The Merciless” and “Mongo” after the character in “Blazing Saddles” who knocked out a horse, remained a prominent presence in Chicago long after his playing days ended. He also spent five years in professional wrestling in the late 1990s.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Associated Press)