Faith, family and football

PATRICK McCASKEY has Catholicism and love of the gridiron running through his veins . . .

Judging from this year’s negative NFL headlines, one might think that faith and football are mutually exclusive. Patrick McCaskey would strongly disagree.

Both run through McCaskey’s blood, just as they’ve run through the blood of his ancestors. The grandson of George Halas, the Chicago Bears’ legendary founder and coach, McCaskey has worked for the team in various capacities for the past 40 years.

Family ties

Paul McCaskey

McCaskey said his faith was modeled by family members, his Catholic school educators, and another of his loves — reading.

“I used to enjoy getting up in front of my classmates and reading to them,” said McCaskey. “In high school, the teacher told me, ‘You have a unique talent; you should develop it.’ I told him, ‘I have to get to [football] practice.’”

His passion for the game grew from time spent with his grandfather. As a child, McCaskey and his brothers frequently attended games at Wrigley Field (the Bears’ home field from 1921 to 1970) and training at St. Joseph’s College.

“My brothers and I sat on an Army blanket next to the Bears’ bench,” recalled McCaskey. “After the games, we waited for him outside the Bears’ locker room. Regardless of the outcome of the game, he said to each one of us, ‘Hi Pal! How about a kiss for grandpa?’”

An All-American quarterback during high school, McCaskey dreamed of one day playing college football. An eye problem, however, prevented him from pursuing football at a higher level.

Among a total of 11 children, McCaskey was fourth. He had a stay-at-home mother, while his father was an executive with a sales incentive firm before joining the Bears’ head office in 1967. His father became vice president, chairman, and chairman emeritus.

After graduating with an undergraduate degree from Indiana University, McCaskey himself started working for the Bears in 1974.

“I was in the ticket office until training started, and then I was the publicity assistant,” said McCaskey, who continued as public relations director and community involvement director through 1981. He currently serves as a board member and senior director of special projects, which puts him in charge of the team’s community and charity work.

“George left the team to his family,” said McCaskey. “We are trying to extend his legacy. That legacy has two parts: win championships and help other people.”

On both fronts, the Bears’ record is impressive.

Founded in Decatur, Ill., in 1919, and moved to Chicago in 1921, the Bears franchise is one of only two remaining original NFL teams. They’ve won nine NFL championships and the 1985 Super Bowl. Their charitable arm, Bears Care, has issued grants totaling more than $9 million to nearly 80 agencies devoted to disadvantaged children and families, cancer research, and youth athletics and education.

Fire of adversity

Patrick McCaskey played football while studying at Notre Dame College Prep in Niles, Ill.

McCaskey has made good on his other love, authoring three books.

“McCaskey looks back at his parents and Papa Bear who taught him always to appreciate the responsibility and legacy of Bears ownership and more than anything, the Catholic faith, which was lovingly passed on,” Lawrence Norris wrote in a review of McCaskey’s second book, Sports and Faith: Stories of the Devoted and the Devout. Norris later co-authored the book Pillars of the NFL with McCaskey earlier this year.

Ever since learning that he could no longer play contact sports, McCaskey said he’s been determined to be kind to others.

“My father said that the steel of manhood is tempered in the fire of adversity. Everybody has something wrong with them. Everyone’s handicap is different because all of us are unique. When we are strong in an area in which others are weak, we are our brother’s keeper.”

That philosophy has guided McCaskey in all areas of his life — in his faith, family, work, and on the field. He met his wife Gretchen through mutual friends on Super Bowl Sunday in 1983.

As coach for his three sons’ junior high football teams, he taught them to be servant leaders like Christ. He commonly took notes during the game to keep from meddling.

“I think the worst thing I ever yelled at an official was, ‘Jesus died for your sins,’” said McCaskey. “Before most games, I told the players: ‘Good luck. Do your best because God doesn’t grade on a curve. If you do your best, you’re a winner regardless of the score.’”

Catholic education

McCaskey is a strong supporter of parochial education because of the role it played in his own life. He attended Catholic grade school, high school, some college, and earned a graduate degree from DePaul University.

“My grandfather called me into his office and said, ‘Get a Master’s degree,’” McCaskey explained. “I asked, ‘Will you pay for it?’ He replied, ‘Yes.’ It was a short meeting.”

Choosing a school was easy. DePaul University was located across the street from the Bears’ office.

McCaskey has participated in fundraisers for Catholic education in Chicago, and frequently speaks at Catholic colleges and universities. In the past year alone, he’s given 95 speeches.

McCaskey serves as chairman of the Sports Faith International (SFI) advisory board. Founded in 2008, SFI recognizes and encourages excellence in sports and in the Catholic faith. Through its annual Hall of Fame inductees, the organization hopes to inspire other athletes to aim higher. Among its inductees are George Halas and Legatus founder Tom Monaghan.

Chris Ledyard, director of athletics at Franciscan University of Steubenville, first got to know McCaskey through SFI. As a result, Ledyard invited McCaskey to speak as part of the school’s 2013 Distinguished Speaker Series. He later invited him to join Franciscan’s athletic advisory board.

“Franciscan University of Steubenville has a strong, poignant purpose for sports and virtue,” Ledyard said. “That’s what Patrick McCaskey is all about. I’ve found him to be a very courageous guy when it comes to expressing his faith. You get the impression that what has remained stable for him is to love God and reach out to others.”

TIM DRAKE is Legatus magazine’s editorial assistant.