Virginia Halas McCaskey, owner of the Chicago Bears for more than 40 years, died Thursday. She was 102.
McCaskey’s father, George Halas, founded the team, and she assumed ownership upon his death on Oct. 31, 1983. Her son, George, has run the franchise since he became chairman in 2011.
A cause of death was not announced.
“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 in a statement released by the team. “She guided the Bears for four decades and based every business decision on what was best for Bears players, coaches, staff and fans.”
McCaskey was at the helm when the Bears won their first Super Bowl — and ninth NFL championship — in 1985. She attended every home and road game that she could and had said that while she didn’t have her father’s football acumen, she always wanted to hire the best people to lead the product.
Her death is not expected to impact the ownership of the Bears. The team has a succession plan on file with the NFL, and McCaskey gave a glimpse at what it included in a 2016 interview with The Athletic.
Then, she predicted the Bears would remain family-owned “until the second coming.” Having grown up with the Bears herself, she encouraged her heirs to attend games and learn as much about the Bears’ place in Chicago and the NFL as possible.
Last month, the Bears wished McCaskey a happy 102nd birthday via social media.
She was born in Chicago in 1923, the eldest of George and Min Halas’ two children. In college at Drexel in Philadelphia, she met her future husband, Edward E. McCaskey, and they married on Feb. 2, 1943.
The McCaskeys settled in Des Plaines, Ill., in 1948 after McCaskey’s military service, and he went to work with the Bears in 1967 while his wife focused on raising their 11 children.
But when George Halas Jr., her brother, died suddenly in 1979, and followed by her father’s death, Virginia McCaskey was in charge.
As her husband and some of their children took over the day-to-day operation of the club, Virginia McCaskey focused on programs to better Chicago, founding the Bears Care program in 2005. Since then, Bears Care has issued grants totaling more than $31.5 million to local agencies.
“Her impact on the football community will never be forgotten. Our thoughts are with her family and the entire Bears organization during this difficult time,” the Pro Football Hall of Fame wrote in a statement.
Edward McCaskey passed away in 2003, followed by sons Timothy in 2011 and Michael in 2020. She is survived by nine children, 21 grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren.
Former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue referred to her on occasion as “the first lady of the NFL,” but several women joined the ownership ranks since McCaskey did. They are Gayle Benson, New Orleans Saints; Sheila Ford Hamp, Detroit Lions; Amy Adams Strunk, Tennessee Titans; and Jody Allen, Seattle Seahawks. The list also includes three women who have ownership shares with family members: Dee Haslam (Cleveland Browns), Denise DeBartolo York (San Francisco 49ers), Carol Davis (Las Vegas Raiders) and Kim Pegula (Buffalo Bills).
