Bears owner Virginia McCaskey dead at 102

Bears owner Virginia McCaskey died on Thursday at the age of 102, the team announced.McCaskey served as the owner of the Bears since Oct.31, 1983, with the passing of her father and team patriarch, George “Papa Bear” Halas.“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 Bears 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.” Virginia had a brother, George “Mugs” Halas Jr., but he tragically died of a heart attack in 1979, giving her full control of the team upon the death of their father.Chicago won their only Super Bowl under her lead, defeating the Patriots at Super Bowl XX in 1986.Born Virginia Marion Halas, she married Ed McCaskey in 1943 and the two had 11 children together.Ed passed away in 2008, while Virginia has continued leading the Bears as the longest-tenured owner in major professional sports.Although this was not always a successful endeavor.

The Bears have a 335-340 record since 1983 and 105-139 since 2010.McCaskey’s son, George, is the current chairman of the Bears and has been working on securing a new stadium for the team.The stadium issue has not yet been solved, although team president Kevin Warren recently expressed optimism that they would be able to reach a deal.“Downtown still remains the focus — the museum campus,” Warren said.“I feel that we made a massive amount of momentum.

Again, I have been here 20 months, and we have made great progress.But along those lines, we own 326 acres of beautiful land in Arlington Heights.

It is a fantastic piece of property.We were able to get the memorandum of understanding done there.

So, optionality does exist, but I will remain steadfast that the goal remains that we have shovels in the ground in 2025, and I am confident that will happen.”...