Violet Fults Bidwill Wolfner (; January 10, 1900 – January 29, 1962) was the owner of the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for over 14 years, from 1947 until her death in early 1962. She inherited the team in April

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

, following the death of her husband Charles Bidwill, Sr., who purchased the team in

1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...

. She was the first woman to become principal owner of an NFL team.

Early life

Wolfner was born Violet Fults in

Red Bud, Illinois Red Bud is a city in Randolph County, Illinois, in the United States. The population was 3,804 at the 2020 census. It is the home of thRed Bud campusof Southwestern Illinois College. Geography Red Bud is located at . According to the 2010 cen ...

, the daughter of Alonzo Fults, of

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and

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

descent, and Mary Ann "Mamie" Vogel, of German descent. She had an older sister, Imelda. Her father died in 1906 and her mother worked as a waitress.

Chicago Cardinals

Bidwill's first season as owner saw the Cardinals, led by the " Dream Backfield" of

Paul Christman Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

Pat Harder Marlin Martin “Pat” Harder (May 6, 1922 – September 6, 1992) was an American football player, playing fullback (American football), fullback and Kicker (american football), kicker. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in ...

Marshall Goldberg Marshall Goldberg (October 24, 1917 – April 3, 2006) was a National Football League (NFL) All-Pro American football player. He played college football as a halfback and fullback at the University of Pittsburgh. At Pittsburgh, Goldberg wa ...

, and

Charley Trippi Charles Louis Trippi (December 14, 1921 – October 19, 2022) was an American professional football player for the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) from 1947 to 1955. Although primarily a running back, his versatility al ...

, defeat the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

for the franchise's first undisputed league championship. They made it to the league title game again in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

, but lost to the Eagles in a

rematch ''Rematch'' is the first US-released Sammy Hagar compilation album. After Sammy left Capitol Records for Geffen in 1981, and after Rick Springfield had a hit with the Hagar-penned "I've Done Everything for You", this collection was released to ...

in the snow. The Cardinals had only four more .500 seasons under her ownership.

Move to St. Louis

Bidwill married

businessman Walter H.S. Wolfner (1898–1971) in 1949, becoming known as Violet Bidwill Wolfner. When the

Bears Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the North ...

George Halas George Stanley Halas Sr. (; February 2, 1895October 31, 1983), nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was an American professional football player, coach, and team owner. He was the founder and owner of the National Football League's Chic ...

slowly began becoming the favorite of the

Chicago area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hint ...

, the Wolfners moved the team to St. Louis after the

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

season.

Death

Wolfner died in a physician's office in

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and artificial island, man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the ...

, on January 29, 1962, and is buried at

Queen of Heaven Cemetery Queen of Heaven Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery in Hillside, Illinois, a suburban community near Chicago. The cemetery is operated by the Archdiocese of Chicago. Queen of Heaven is located at Wolf and Roosevelt Roads, near the Eisenhower ...

Hillside, Illinois Hillside is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 8,320. Geography Hillside is located at (41.874797, −87.900372). According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Hillside has a total ar ...

. In her

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

, she split her more than 80% interest in the Cardinals between her adopted sons from her first marriage, Charles Bidwill Jr. and

Bill Bidwill William Vogel Bidwill (July 31, 1931 – October 2, 2019) was an American businessman and the owner of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He had co-owned the team from 1962 for ten seasons with his brother Charles Jr. ...

, the club president and vice-president. The will was contested in court by her second husband, who was the managing director of the football team. The

Illinois Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the State of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five ap ...

upheld the will, in favor of the sons, in February 1963. Wolfner sought to invalidate the legal adoption of the two sons, who had eliminated his position with the team in May 1962. The sons co-owned the team for a decade, until Bill purchased his brother's share of the team in . 16 years after Bill took over the franchise in full, the team made another relocation to Phoenix, Arizona, and have based there since, becoming the Arizona Cardinals in 1994. Wolfner's wardrobe was auctioned off in November 1963. Among the 25,000 items were 1,000 coats and dresses and 1,500 pairs of shoes, many never worn; the auction fetched more than $40,000.

References

External links

*
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
' – photo of Pop Ivy and Violet Bidwill Wolfner – December 1960 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfner, Violet Bidwill 1900 births 1962 deaths St. Louis Cardinals (football) owners Bidwill family 20th-century American businesswomen American people of German descent American people of Irish descent People from Red Bud, Illinois Women National Football League executives Women sports owners Chicago Cardinals owners