Tag: Bill Bidwill

The worst owners in pro football history, from George Preston Marshall to Dan Snyder

From George Preston Marshall to Harry Wismer to Bill Bidwill to Dan Snyder, here are the worst owners in the history of professional football.

Now that soon-to-be-former Washington Commanders owner has agreed in principle to sell the team to a group led by Josh Harris and includes basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson, the NFL will have to look around for a new worst owner. Snyder, who experienced more team names (three) than playoff wins (two) in a tenure that started in 1999, was absolutely horrible, and you’ll see all the reasons why in a minute.

Not that Snyder is the only horrible owner in the history of professional football. It stands to reason that for every great owner over time, there have been those individuals who were in no way qualified to be in control of any franchise. Whether it was due to financial issues, the ego to believe that personnel decisions should be theirs and theirs alone, or just general incompetence and personality issues, there are those people who have controlled pro football teams when they had no qualifications to do so.

Here, for your consideration, are the worst owners in the history of professional football.

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Late owner Bill Bidwill to join Arizona Cardinals Ring of Honor

Bill Bidwill will be honored at halftime of the Cardinals’ season opener. He will be the 19th member of the Ring of Honor.

The Arizona Cardinals will add a new member of the Ring of Honor at halftime of their season opener at home against the Kansas City Chiefs.

The team announced that late owner Bill Bidwill, who passed away in 2019, will be inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor, becoming the 19th member.

Bidwill, the father of current owner Michael Bidwill, began working with the team as a ball boy when he was very young, as his father, Charles Bidwill, purchased the team. He began a full-time role with the team in 1960 after he graduated from Georgetown and served in the Navy.

He accomplished a number of things as an owner during a time in which the team did not experience much success.

From the team’s press release:

In 2017, he was enshrined in the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame which honors those who have made significant contributions to state’s athletics community. In 2010, Bidwill was inducted into the Sports Faith Hall of Fame in Lake Forest, IL. At its December 2010 commencement exercises, Northern Arizona University awarded Bidwill an honorary doctor of humane letters degree for “his contributions to the university, his community and his profession.”

During his time as owner, Bidwill was also at the forefront of diversity in employment practices, which was evidenced by the hiring of the NFL’s first African American female executive (Adele Harris), first African American contract negotiator (Bob Wallace) and first African American head coach/GM tandem (Dennis Green and Rod Graves). In 2015, the team established the Bill Bidwill Coaching Fellowship to increase diversity and provide opportunities to gain NFL coaching experience. At the 2010 annual NFL Combine in Indianapolis, Bidwill was honored with the Paul “Tank” Younger Award from the Fritz Pollard Alliance, whose purpose is to promote diversity and equality of job opportunity in the NFL.

Bidwill makes the first new addition to the Ring of Honor since 2019, when Carson Palmer was inducted.

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