Chicago Bears Principal Owner And NFL Co-Founder’s Daughter Virginia McCaskey Passes Away at 102 | NFL News
Chicago Bears matriarch Virginia McCaskey, who was the principal owner of the team has passed away at the age of 102. In 1983, McCaskey inherited the Chicago Bears from her father, George Halas who was one of the founders of the NFL McCaskey’s family announced through the team that she died Thursday.
Chicago Bears Owner Virginia McCaskey Dies; What Was Her Role In The Organization?
“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.”
NFL columnist Judy Battista writes in McCaskey’s obituary that the late McCaskey still went to every Bears game and often agonized over the results. During her time, the Bears won a Super Bowl in 1986 and lost a second 21 years later. In 2014, her son, George, fired the coach and general manager following a dismal season and famously said his mother was “pissed off.”
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McCaskey had 11 children and preferred to keep a low profile, despite controlling 80 per cent of the team. She let her late husband of 60 years, Ed, and their sons have prominent roles in the Bears organization. In a 2016 interview, McCaskey predicted that the team will remain in the family’s hands “until the second coming.”
“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,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “Faith, family, and football — in that order — were her north stars and she lived by the simple adage to always ‘do the right thing.’ 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.”
