McCaskey has been the team's principal owner since 1983, when her father and team founder George S. Halas died.

Longtime Chicago Bears owner Virginia Halas McCaskey died at the age of 102, the Bears announced Thursday. For more than four years, McCaskey had been the longest-tenured owner in the NFL. McCaskey is survived by 11 children and more than 40 grandchildren.

Once upon a time, Virginia McCaskey inherited memorabilia from a cousin, a collection that included a box of old ticket stubs. In it, she said, was a torn admittance to the NFL’s 1932 championship game between the Chicago Bears and Portsmouth Spartans.