Steve McMichael Selected for Texas Sports Hall of Fame Induction

AUSTIN, Texas – Steve McMichael, a Texas Longhorn legend, has been chosen for posthumous induction into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame for the 2026 class.

The Texas Sports Hall of Fame Board of Trustees announced the news on Thursday. McMichael will be honored alongside eight other inductees on April 18, 2026, at the BASE in the Extraco Events Center in Waco, Texas.

The Class of 2026 includes remarkable athletes such as the 1966 Texas Western Miners Basketball Team, Clint Dempsey, Chad Hedrick, Charmayne James, Zach Martin, Von Miller, Gary Patterson, and Louis Santop, who is also recognized posthumously.

A former Texas All-American, McMichael played 15 years with the Chicago Bears and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2024. He also entered the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame in 2009.

McMichael was a first-team All-American in 1979, leading a Longhorn defense that allowed fewer than nine points per game. He lettered for four years at Texas, from 1976 to 1979, and was part of the 1977 Southwest Conference Championship team. He graduated as Texas’ all-time leader in career tackles (369) and sacks (30).

In 1979, he was a finalist for the Lombardi and Outland Awards and earned MVP honors in both his team and the Hula Bowl after totaling 133 tackles. During his time at Texas, he also contributed 40 tackles for loss and 11 forced fumbles.

McMichael played a crucial role in the Chicago Bears’ famous “46” defense, which led the team to a Super Bowl XX victory in the 1985 season. Originally drafted by the New England Patriots in 1980, he signed with Chicago in 1981 and became a two-time first-team All-Pro and a three-time second-team All-Pro.

He retired in 1994 after his final season with the Green Bay Packers, holding the Bears’ franchise record for consecutive games played (191) and ranking second with 92.5 sacks.

Throughout his career in 213 NFL games, he recorded 847 tackles, 95 sacks, and 17 fumble recoveries. McMichael had seven seasons with at least eight sacks, an exceptional feat among defensive tackles since sacks became an official statistic in 1982.

In April 2021, McMichael revealed he was battling ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. He received the ALS Courage Award in September at Soldiers Field. McMichael passed away on April 23, 2025, at the age of 67 after a courageous fight with the disease.