Feb. 18, 2024 15:29 PM EST

Bears Great Steve Mcmichael Improving From Staph Infection, Family Hopes To Have Him Home Tuesday

By ANDREW SELIGMAN
AP Sports Writer
FILE - Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka is carried off the field by Steve McMichael, left, and William Perry after the Bears defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 20 in New Orleans on Jan. 26, 1986. Bears' Willie Gault (83) and Maury Buford (8) join in the celebration. McMichael, who is battling ALS, was taken to the emergency room of a suburban Chicago hospital with suspected pneumonia, his longtime publicist Betsy Shepherd said Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin, File) Phil Sandlin, ASSOCIATED PRESS
FILE - Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka is carried off the field by Steve McMichael, left, and William Perry after the Bears defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 20 in New Orleans on Jan. 26, 1986. Bears' Willie Gault (83) and Maury Buford (8) join in the celebration. McMichael, who is battling ALS, was taken to the emergency room of a suburban Chicago hospital with suspected pneumonia, his longtime publicist Betsy Shepherd said Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin, File)
FILE - Jarrett Payton, left, son of Chicago Bears Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton; former Bears quarterback Jim McMahon, center, and former Bears defensive tackle Steve McMichael pose with Chicago Slaughter jerseys during a news conference Feb. 19, 2010, in Chicago. McMichael, who is battling ALS, was taken to the emergency room of a suburban Chicago hospital with suspected pneumonia, his longtime publicist Betsy Shepherd said Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. (John J. Kim/Chicago Sun-Times via AP, File)
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CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Bears great Steve McMichael is improving after contracting a staph infection at a suburban hospital, and his family hopes he returns home early this week, his wife said Sunday in a statement.

The 66-year-old McMichael, who went public with an ALS diagnosis three years ago, has been hospitalized since Thursday. His family hopes to have him home on Tuesday, wife Misty McMichael said.

Steve McMichael was admitted into intensive care on Thursday — a week after being voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame — with a urinary tract infection. The family announced Saturday he had developed MRSA, a staph infection that can be difficult to treat because it is resistant to certain antibiotics, and was undergoing a blood transfusion.

“He’s one tough guy,” Misty McMichael said. “He’s Mongo and his DNA is different! Keep those prayers coming! Thank you!”

Steve 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 1981-93 and ranks second to Hall of Famer Richard Dent on the Bears’ all-time sacks list with 92 1/2. His final season was with Green Bay in 1994.

Whether he was terrorizing 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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