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Chicago Bears principal owner Virginia Halas McCaskey has died at the age of 102, the team announced on its social media accounts Thursday (February 6).
No additional details were given at the time of publication. McCaskey was the daughter of late Pro Football Hall of Famer George Halas, who founded, coached and played for the franchise.
The franchise matriarch, who married the late Ed McCaskey and had 11 children, was in line to inherit ownership following the death of her brother, George 'Mugs' Halas Jr., in 1979 and did so from her father following his death in 1983, joining late Los Angeles Rams owner Georgia Frontiere as one of the first female principal owners in NFL history.
“He could have done things differently,” McCaskley told the Chicago Sun-Times during a rare interview in May 2018. “Some owners have planned to sell the team instead of handing it on to the next generation. He had faith in me after ‘Mugs’ died.
“I hope to justify the thing.”
The Bears won their only Super Bowl of the modern era under McCaskey in January 1986, but experienced struggles for the next 21 years until winning the NFC Championship, with the matriarch accepting the trophy named after her father in 2007, which she said was her best day since Super Bowl XX.
“It’s beautiful,” McCaskey said while looking at the George Halas Trophy. “Just beautiful.”
