Funeral mass planned for Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill
Oct 4, 2019, 3:21 PM | Updated: 3:22 pm
FILE - In this Sept. 9, 2012, file photo, Arizona Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill, front, and his son, team president Michael Bidwill, stand on the sidelines prior to an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Paul Connors, File)
(AP Photo/Paul Connors, File)
There will be a funeral mass for Arizona Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill at 10 a.m. on Tuesday at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Phoenix.
The team announced on Wednesday that Bidwill had passed away. He was 88.
Bidwill inherited the Cardinals in 1962 with his brother Charles Jr. after their mother passed away. In 1972, Bill purchased full control of the team from his brother and eventually moved the Cards to the Valley (the Cardinals played in St. Louis when Bill took over).
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Their father first brought the team into the family in 1933. The Cardinals have been owned by one family longer than any team in league history other than the Chicago Bears and New York Giants.
The team is still in the family business as Michael Bidwill, Bill’s grandson, is the team president in charge.
Bidwill stayed out of the limelight as much as he could. According to the Arizona Cardinals’ team website, “The quiet Bidwill shunned the spotlight, but loved to reminisce and tell a good story, whether it be an anecdote from his time serving in the U.S. Navy or his days growing up around the Cardinals.”
Besides being an owner, Bidwill was a member of the Navy, a philanthropist and the creator of Cardinals Charities.
