Bears owner Virginia Halas McCaskey dies at 102 - ESPN

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Virginia Halas McCaskey, who inherited the Chicago Bears from her father, George Halas, but avoided the spotlight during four-plus decades as principal owner, has died. She was 102.

McCaskey's family announced through the team that she died Thursday. She had owned the Bears since her father's death on Oct. 31, 1983.

«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.»

Like her father, a co-founder of the NFL, McCaskey kept the team in family hands. She gave operational control and the title of president to her eldest son, Michael McCaskey, who served as chairman until being succeeded by brother George McCaskey in 2011.

During her stewardship, the Bears won a Super Bowl in 1986 and lost a second 21 years later.

«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.»

McCaskey, the older of Halas' two children, never expected to find herself in charge. Her brother, George «Mugs» Halas Jr., was being groomed to