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Virginia Halas McCaskey, Chicago Bears owner, dies at 102

On3 imageby:Dan Morrison•02/06/25•

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Virginia Halas McCaskey, Bears - © Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images

Chicago Bears owner Virginia Halas McCaskey has passed away at the age of 102. The team announced her passing on social media the Thursday before the Super Bowl.

McCaskey was born in 1923 in Chicago and is the daughter of the legendary George Halas. It was Halas, of course, who founded the Bears in 1920, making the team a charter member of the NFL. He would own the team until his death in 1983, which was when Virginia inherited the team from him. She, along with the other Halas heirs, owned 80 percent of the franchise.

“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.”

Early in McCaskey’s tenure as the Bears’ owner, the team won the Super Bowl for the 1985 season. That remains the Bears’ only Super Bowl win in franchise history, though they did also win eight NFL Championships before the Super Bowl. They would again reach the Super Bowl in 2006. However, in recent years, the team has struggled to consistently compete in a competitive NFC North and has only made the playoffs three times since that last Super Bowl appearance.

For Virginia Halas McCaskey, the Chicago Bears were often a family matter. Her husband, Ed McCaskey was the chairman and treasurer for the team. On top of that, her son Michael McCaskey was the team president from 1983 to 1999 when Virginia fired him. That all came, of course, after her father and other family members previously ran the franchise.

Over the course of her tenure, Chicago fans had given her the affectionate nickname of ‘Mama Bear.’

Since 2014, she has been the oldest owner in the four major American sports. She has also been the NFL’s longest-tenured owner since 2019. In 2023, she would be named a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

A mother to 11 children and a grandmother and great-grandmother to 40 more children, McCaskey was known for being a private person. As a student, she attended Drexel in Philadelphia, where she earned a degree in business management. At this time, the Chicago Bears and her family did not announce details surrounding her passing.