Virginia McCaskey, the longtime owner of the Chicago Bears and the NFL’s longest-tenured owner, passed away Thursday at the age of 102.
Virginia McCaskey, who owned the Chicago Bears for decades, passed away at the age of 102 Thursday, leaving a legacy unlike any other in her wake.
Known affectionately as the matriarch of the NFL, McCaskey was the longest-tenured NFL owner, having served as the owner of the Bears since her father and team founder, George S. Halas, passed away on Oct. 31, 1983.
McCaskey was born in 1923 in Chicago to parents Min and George Halas. She was the oldest of the couple's two children, both of whom were raised in the premiere football family.
George Halas founded the Bears and the NFL and served as a player and coach, while owning the Bears from the team's inception to his death in 1983.
McCaskey attended Chicago Public Schools through 8th grade, then transitioned to St. Hilary in Chicago and went on to graduate high school from St. Scholastica Academy. She continued her students at Drexel United in Philadelphia, where she met her husband Ed McCaskey. The two eventually married on Feb. 2, 1943.
The couple had three of their 11 children while Virginia McCaskey lived in Pennsylvania. The couple then returned to Illinois in 1949, moving to the suburb of Des Plaines.
Ed McCaskey started working with the Bears in 1967, but things quickly changed when Virginia McCaskey's younger brother passed away in 1979 and her father followed in 1983.
"After the passing of her father, Mrs. McCaskey found herself as the principal owner of the Chicago Bears franchise," the Bears said in a release. "She never sought the spotlight. 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."
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McCaskey has been the principal owner ever since, although her son Michael took over as team chairman in 1999, then another son, George, took the helm in 2011.
"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," the Bears said in a release. "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 created the Bears Care program in 2005.
"Since that time, Bears Care has issued grants totaling more than $31.5 million to 225 qualifying agencies to improve the quality of life for people in the Chicagoland community, especially disadvantaged children and their families, through targeted programs supporting education, youth athletics and medical research and health awareness programs focusing on breast and ovarian cancer," the team said. "Mrs. McCaskey also generously supported numerous other worthy causes."
She is now survived by her sons Patrick, Edward Jr., George, Richard, Brian and Joseph, as well as daughters Ellen, Mary and Ann. She also has 21 grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren.
McCaskey's husband passed away in 2003. She lost her son Timothy in 2011 and Michael in 2020.
“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. “She guided the Bears for four decades and based every business decision on what was best for Bears players, coaches, staff and fans.”
Her mark on the NFL is undisputed.
“Virginia Halas McCaskey, the matriarch of the Chicago Bears and daughter of George Halas, the founder of the NFL, leaves a legacy of class, dignity, and humanity. Faith, family, and football – in that order – were her north stars and she lived by the simple adage to always ‘do the right thing,’" NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. "The Bears that her father started meant the world to her and he would be proud of the way she continued the family business with such dedication and passion. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the McCaskey and Halas families and Bears fans around the world.”
