The Chicago Bears will honor late team owner Virginia Halas McCaskey with a jersey patch this season and late Hall of Fame defensive tackle Steve McMichael with a football-shaped helmet decal.
McCaskey, owner of the Bears for more than 40 years, died on Feb. 2 at the age of 102.
She will have her initials displayed on the left breastplate of the Bears jersey. The patch is nearly identical to the design worn by the 1983 club when her Hall of Fame father George Halas died.
She assumed ownership upon his death on Oct. 31, 1983. Her son, George, has run the franchise since he became chairman in 2011.
“We thought it would be appropriate if her patch mirrored her dad’s from 1983,” George McCaskey said. “So it’s the same size, the same color combination. The only thing that’s different, of course, is the initials. We thought that was the right thing to do.”
McMichael died on April 23 after a long battle with ALS. He was 67.
The Bears will honor McMichael by wearing a decal of his No. 76 on their helmets. The team also will honor the Super Bowl XX champion team with a logo on the grass at Soldier Field.
“We wanted to have the decal, and we’ll also have a field stencil at every home game this season,” George McCaskey said. “This is the 40th anniversary of our Super Bowl team, so we want to properly acknowledge and honor Steve at that celebration.”
A two-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro, McMichael enjoyed a 15-year career in the NFL as a defensive lineman. Originally selected by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 1980 NFL Draft, McMichael spent the next 13 years in Chicago, where he rose to stardom, becoming a regular starter in 1983.
–Field Level Media
