CHICAGO — Virginia Halas McCaskey, the owner of the Chicago Bears and the daughter of famed founder George S. Halas, died Thursday at 102.
Virginia McCaskey, the longtime owner of the Chicago Bears, died Thursday at 102. Credit: Chicago Bears
McCaskey has owned the Bears since Papa Bear died in 1983. She’s been a constant presence with the team, watching games from the owner’s suite and setting the tone for the historic franchise.
“While we are sad, we are comforted knowing Virginia Halas McCaskey lived a long, full, faith-filled life and is now with the love of her life on earth,” her family said in a statement. “She guided the Bears for four decades and based every business decision on what was best for Bears players, coaches, staff and fans.”
She sat at the helm of the franchise for more than 41 years, making her one of the most powerful women in sports. She kept a low-profile, but was nearly always at Bears games.
“She never sought the spotlight,” the Bears said in a statement. “She understood the importance of emphasizing to family members how important the legacy of the franchise was, not in terms of money or value, but in terms of what the team meant to people in Chicago and beyond.”
McCaskey saw nine Bears world championships, including the Bears only Super Bowl win at the end of the 1985 season. She turned 102 on Jan. 5 — the same day the Bears beat the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. It was Bears first win against their archrivals since 2018, and McCaskey’s final game.
“She had a passion for the team that matched her father’s, celebrating every win with grace while quietly suffering every loss. She made it a point to attend every game she could, both home and away,” the team said.
McCaskey represented 13 family members on the team’s board of directors, holding about an 80 percent stake in the team, according to the Sun-Times.
The McCaskeys have long vowed to keep the team in the family despite the growing animosity from fans about the team’s struggles on the field.
Halas bought the franchise for $100 at a famout 1920 meeting in Canton, Ohio that ended in the founding of the American Professional Football Association, according to “one version of the story,” the team has said.
The Bears are now worth $6.4 billion as the NFL’s 9th most valuable franchise, according to Forbes.
Born in Chicago in 1923, McCaskey was the oldest of George and Min Halas’ two children. Younger brother George “Mugs” Halas Jr. died in 1979. She went to Chicago public schools until 8th grade, when she enrolled in St. Hilary Catholic school. She then went to high school at the former St. Scholastica Academy in Rogers Park.
She had 11 children — eight sons and three daughters — with Ed McCaskey, who died in 2003.
She outlived two of her children: Michael, the longtime Bears president, died in 2020. Timothy died in 2011. She is survived by 21 grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren.
The McCaskeys and Bears legend Walter Payton. Credit: Chicago Bears
Virginia McCaskey, the longtime owner of the Chicago Bears, died Thursday at 102. Credit: Chicago Bears
This is a breaking story that will be updated.
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