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Virginia Halas McCaskey

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Virginia Halas McCaskey
McCaskey in 1963 with her father George Halas
Born
Virginia Marion Halas[1]

(1923-01-05)January 5, 1923
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedFebruary 6, 2025(2025-02-06) (aged 102)
Alma materDrexel University
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1943; died 2003)​
Children11, including Michael and George McCaskey
Parents
RelativesGeorge Halas Jr. (brother)
American football career
Chicago Bears
Position:Principal owner
Career history
As a staff member / executive:
Career highlights and awards

Virginia Halas McCaskey (née Virginia Marion Halas; January 5, 1923 – February 6, 2025) was an American football executive who was the principal owner of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) from 1983 until her death in 2025. She was the daughter of team founder George Halas and inherited ownership upon his death in 1983. Under her stewardship, the team won Super Bowl XX in 1986.

Early life

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She was the eldest child of Bears founder and owner George Halas and Minnie Bushing Halas.[2] Virginia attended Drexel University, majoring in business management[3] with the aspiration of serving as her father's secretary.[4] She was an active member of the local Pi Sigma Gamma sorority, the Newman Club, the Panhellenic Council, and the YWCA.[5]

Her first recollection of attending a Bears game was at the age of two years old, traveling with her father on a barnstorming tour starring Bears back Red Grange.[6] She attended her first NFL Championship game, the 1932 NFL Playoff Game, at age 8.[7] She was also in attendance for the first indoor NFL game that same season,[3] and the Bears' victory in the 1940 NFL Championship Game.[8]

Career

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Officially, she was the secretary of the Bears franchise, as well as a member of the team's board of directors.[9] However, she was empowered to vote the shares of her children and grandchildren as well as her own. Between them, McCaskey and other Halas heirs own 80% of the Bears.[10] The franchise has been in the hands of the Halas-McCaskey family since George Halas acquired the then-Decatur Staleys from A. E. Staley and moved the team to Chicago in 1921, renaming the team the Bears the following year. The Bears have been owned by the same family for longer than any other family has owned an NFL team.[11]

George Halas had initially intended for Virginia's younger brother George "Mugs" Halas Jr. to inherit the team, and passed the team presidency to him in 1963. However, Mugs died suddenly of a heart attack in 1979. Thus, it was Virginia who inherited the Bears when her father died four years later.[12]

During her tenure as owner, the Bears won Super Bowl XX in 1986, two seasons after "Papa Bear's" death.[13] It was part of a run of five consecutive NFC Central titles from 1984 to 1988.[14] In 1986, she disbanded the team's cheerleading squad, the "Honey Bears", after ten years, arguing that their field performances were "sexist and degrading to women".[15]

However, the team struggled in the 1990s, and since 1999 she had been a very hands-off owner.[16] Her son Michael McCaskey was team president from 1983 to 1999, when Virginia fired him,[17][15] though he remained as chairman of the board until May 6, 2011, when his brother George assumed the position.[18] George McCaskey had been the Bears ticket office director since 1991.[19] The team president currently has operational control; when Ted Phillips assumed the post in 1999, it marked the first time in the NFL portion of franchise history that a Halas or McCaskey had not held that title,[20][17] and this has continued under current president/CEO Kevin Warren, who succeeded Philips on January 12, 2023.[21]

Halas's husband, Ed McCaskey, was previously the chairman and treasurer of the Bears. Although McCaskey never had any official share of ownership, he acted as co-owner alongside his wife before his death in 2003.[22]

On January 21, 2007, she accepted the NFC Championship trophy, which bears her father's name. She called it "her happiest day so far", after the Bears had beaten the New Orleans Saints to earn a trip to Super Bowl XLI.[23]

McCaskey was one of ten female NFL owners in 2022, including Sheila Ford Hamp (Detroit Lions), Amy Adams Strunk (Tennessee Titans), Kim Pegula (Buffalo Bills), Carol Davis (Las Vegas Raiders), Denise DeBartolo York (San Francisco 49ers), Gayle Benson (New Orleans Saints), Janice McNair (Houston Texans), Jody Allen (Seattle Seahawks), and Dee Haslam (Cleveland Browns).[24]

After the death of Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson in March 2014, she became the oldest owner in the NFL and in all major league sports in the United States.[25]

After the death of Arizona Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill in October 2019, McCaskey became the longest-tenured owner in the NFL.[26]

In 2023, she was named as a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[27]

Personal life and death

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McCaskey was known for being "proudly private" pertaining to the team her father built, rarely discussing the business aspect of her life. She married Ed McCaskey in 1943,[3] they had 11 children and 21 grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren, and 4 great-great-grandchildren. McCaskey was a Roman Catholic and considered "faith, family, and football" indivisible in her life.[28][29]

McCaskey turned 100 on January 5, 2023,[30] and died on February 6, 2025, a month after her 102nd birthday.[31]

References

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  1. ^ "The Story of "Papa Bear" George Halas". Illinois Fighting Illini. February 2, 2020. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  2. ^ Jensen, Sean (April 1, 2010). "Heirs and Bears: The mysterious McCaskeys". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on April 4, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c Mayer, Larry (January 5, 2023). "Virginia Halas McCaskey celebrates 100th birthday". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on September 18, 2024. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
  4. ^ "Virginia McCaskey passes away at 102; All about the 'faith, family, and football' of the late 'Chicago Bears' owner". The Times of India. February 7, 2025. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  5. ^ Shaak, Natalie (November 10, 2011). "Drexel Fraternities and Sororities History Presentation" (PDF). Retrieved February 7, 2025. - lists chapters that existed at Drexel University; the Pi Sigma Gamma chapter there was founded after the national Pi Sigma Gamma organization closed/was absorbed into another organization.
  6. ^ Battista, Judy (February 6, 2025). "Bears owner Virginia Halas McCaskey dies at 102: A life inextricably linked to Chicago franchise". National Football League. Archived from the original on February 7, 2025. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  7. ^ "Mama Bear has a local tie". Lancaster Online. February 1, 2007. Archived from the original on January 5, 2024. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  8. ^ "Column: Chicago Bears owner Virginia McCaskey turns 100 — and her pride and optimism for the franchise still resonate". Boston Herald. January 5, 2023. Archived from the original on January 5, 2024. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  9. ^ "Front Office: Chicago Bears". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on August 27, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  10. ^ Wertheim, Jon (July 17, 2018). "The Family Ownership Dramas That Roil the NFL". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on August 27, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  11. ^ Edwards, Colton (August 4, 2024). "Virginia Halas McCaskey's Net Worth: How the Chicago Bears Owner Made Her Fortune". MSN. Pro Football Network. Archived from the original on February 7, 2025. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  12. ^ Edel, Victoria (February 6, 2025). "Virginia Halas McCaskey, Chicago Bears Owner, Dies at 102". People.com. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  13. ^ Sessler, Marc (December 29, 2014). "Virginia McCaskey 'pissed off' with struggling Bears". National Football League. Archived from the original on November 27, 2024. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  14. ^ Archives, L. A. Times (December 12, 1988). "Bears Beat Detroit to Win Title : Chicago Gains Home-Field Edge in NFC Playoffs". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  15. ^ a b Brinson, Will (February 6, 2025). "Longtime Bears owner Virginia Halas McCaskey dies at the age of 102 after four decades of ownership". CBS Sports. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  16. ^ "Virginia Halas-McCaskey-Chicago Bears". Sports Illustrated. July 20, 2018. Archived from the original on August 27, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  17. ^ a b Pierson, Don (February 10, 1999). "Michael McCaskey ousted as president of the Chicago Bears". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on October 1, 2024. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  18. ^ Gano, Rick (April 21, 2010). "Michael McCaskey to Retire as Bears Chairman". Boston.com. Associated Press. Archived from the original on August 27, 2018. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  19. ^ Briggs, Brad (November 1, 2011). "Addressing issues: A new McCaskey takes the helm". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on November 1, 2011. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  20. ^ "Ted Phillips-President and CEO". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  21. ^ "Kevin Warren". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on January 8, 2025. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  22. ^ Warren, James (August 30, 1987). "It's 4th Down For Halas Heirs In Family Feud". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on March 26, 2024. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  23. ^ Fusfeld, Adam (January 29, 2011). "Meet the 88-year-Old Grandmother Who's One Win Away From the Super Bowl". Business Insider. Archived from the original on August 27, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  24. ^ Reyna, Lorenzo (September 15, 2024). "Who Is the Houston Texans' Owner? History of the McNair Family". Pro Football Network. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
  25. ^ Vergara, Andre (May 1, 2016). "Billionaire Girls' Club: 4 of sports' richest team owners are women". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on August 27, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  26. ^ Duncan, Jeff (March 29, 2014). "Succession plan in place for New Orleans Saints and Pelicans to remain with Tom Benson's family". The Times-Picayune|The New Orleans Advocate. Archived from the original on December 24, 2019. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  27. ^ Hajduk, Gabby (July 12, 2023). "Steve McMichael, Virginia Halas McCaskey among Hall of Fame semifinalists". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on October 6, 2024.
  28. ^ "Faith, Family, Football". Drexel University. December 20, 2013. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  29. ^ Finley, Patrick (February 6, 2025). "Chicago Bears matriarch Virginia McCaskey dies at 102". WBEZ. Archived from the original on February 6, 2025. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
  30. ^ Hawley, Larry (January 5, 2023). "Bears' Virginia McCaskey turns 100-years-old Thursday". WGN-TV. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  31. ^ Pierson, Don (February 6, 2025). "Virginia McCaskey, the principal owner of the Chicago Bears and George Halas' daughter, dies at 102". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on February 7, 2025. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
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