Late owner Bill Bidwill to enter Arizona Cardinals Ring of Honor

Bill Bidwill, the late Arizona Cardinals owner and father of current owner Michael Bidwill, will enter the team’s Ring of Honor as its 19th member, the team announced Friday.

The ceremony will take place during halftime of the Cardinals’ regular season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 11.

Bill Bidwill will be inducted into the Cardinals Ring of Honor at halftime of the September 11 opener against the Chiefs.

Bidwill’s passion for the game and for the Cardinals was matched only by his generosity and love for his family. pic.twitter.com/Ysg8KGv0cL

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) August 19, 2022

Bill Bidwill joins his father, Charles, in the Ring of Honor. During Bill’s lifetime, the franchise changed locations from Chicago to St. Louis. He then led its move to Arizona in 1988.

Bidwill is the first person to join the select group of franchise contributors since quarterback Carson Palmer was inducted in September 2019.

Bidwill died in October 2019 at 88 years old.

Born in Chicago, Bidwill began working for the Cardinals franchise as a ball boy after his father bought the team in 1932, the year after Bill was born.

Bidwill’s mother, Violet, took ownership of the franchise in 1947 after Charles’ death and ran the team for 15 years.

Bill earned an undergraduate degree at Georgetown and served in the Navy before he began a full-time role with the Cardinals in 1960.

In the Ring of Honor, Bidwill joins his father, coach Jimmy Conzelman, quarterback and coach John “Paddy” Driscoll, halfback Marshall Goldberg, cornerback Dick “Night Train” Lane, halfback Ollie Matson, fullback and coach Ernie Nevers, halfback and quarterback Charley Trippi, safety Larry Wilson, tackle Dan Dierdorf, safety Pat Tillman, cornerback Roger Wehrli, defensive back Aeneas Williams, quarterback Kurt Warner, safety Adrian Wilson, receiver Roy Green, quarterback Jim Hart and Palmer.

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