Windy City Gridiron
Virginia Halas McCaskey, the principal owner and matriarch of the Chicago Bears, died Thursday at the age of 102, the team announced.
The final game she watched was the Bears’ 24 to 22 last-second win against the Green Bay Packers on her 102nd birthday.
Here’s the full statement from the Bears:
Chicago Bears team Owner Virginia Halas McCaskey passed away today at the age of 102. Mrs. McCaskey has served as the owner of the Bears since her father and team founder, George S. Halas, passed away on October 31, 1983.
“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,” the family said. “She guided the Bears for four decades and based every business decision on what was best for Bears players, coaches, staff and fans.”
Over the last 41-plus years, Mrs. McCaskey continued the steadfast mission set forth by her father to uphold the values of the City of Chicago, its people and its fans.
Mrs. McCaskey understood, not only her father’s love and appreciation of football and the team which he played for, coached and owned, but also the love of the Chicago Bears by its fans. She always kept in mind what the Bears meant to the City of Chicago and what the city meant to the Bears.
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, and was alive for eight of the Bears nine World Championships. As owner of the team, Mrs. McCaskey oversaw the franchise’s ninth World Championship and first Super Bowl title in 1985.
Installing the values of faith and family in every person she met, not just her own family, was the essence of her life’s work. Mrs. McCaskey stated she never felt like a qualified football mind but focused on supporting others to do the best job for the club, team and its fan base. Her focus was never to lead the Bears organization rather to instill her faith in those who did. She wanted to help everyone who touched the organization, staff, coaches, players and fans, realize they were all a part of one big family. Mrs. McCaskey hoped that Bears fans had as much faith in the team as she did in them. Through it all, Mrs. McCaskey couldn’t imagine her life as anything else than what it was.
She was born to Min and George Halas in 1923 in Chicago, Illinois. She was the oldest of two children, along with her younger brother, George S. “Mugs” Halas, Jr. Mrs. McCaskey attended Chicago public schools until 8th grade when she transferred to the parish school at St. Hilary in Chicago. Her high school studies were conducted at St. Scholastica Academy...
