Bears owner Virginia Halas McCaskey will be featured in a panel discussion at the Bears100 Celebration Weekend June 7-9 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont.
Mrs. McCaskey will be joined by her son, Bears chairman George H. McCaskey, and Hall of Fame writers Don Pierson and Dan Pompei, co-authors of the Bears Centennial Scrapbook.
They will discuss the first 100 years of Bears history with fans at the Bears100 Celebration. Mrs. McCaskey is the daughter of George Halas, who helped found the Bears and the NFL in 1920. She was born in 1923 and attended her first game as a toddler. No individual has had a more up close-and-personal view of the growth of the Bears and the NFL.
As a small child, Mrs. McCaskey accompanied her father and the team during the Red Grange barnstorming tour in 1925-26. In the book, she recalls Grange carrying her in front of him through train stations so fans would not recognize him and mob him for autographs.
In 1932, Mrs. McCaskey attended the NFL's first indoor game, watching the Bears win the league championship by blanking the Portsmouth Spartans 9-0 at the Chicago Stadium. In the Centennial Scrapbook, she remembers the unpleasant smell that permeated the building, saying: "The circus had been there the week before, and it still smelled of animals."
Mrs. McCaskey spent 14 hours being interviewed by Pompei and Pierson for the Scrapbook. She wrote the foreword for the book and shares her thoughts and anecdotes throughout the keepsake.
The Bears100 Celebration will feature the ultimate gathering of fans and players. The entire 2019 team and coaching staff, along with Bears Hall of Famers and alumni, are scheduled to attend. The weekend will include autograph sessions, photo opportunities, panels, memorabilia and merchandise sales, interactive games, kids activities and a walk-though Bears history zone.
Other panels at the event will include Hall of Fame middle linebackers Dick Butkus, Mike Singletary and Brian Urlacher; quarterbacks Jim McMahon and Mitchell Trubisky; safeties Gary Fencik, Doug Plank, Mike Brown and Eddie Jackson; and the 1985 Super Bowl champions.
Click here to purchase tickets to the Bears100 Celebration.
