Charles W. "Stormy" Bidwill Jr. (born June 9, 1928) is an American businessman who was the president of the now defunct Sportsman’s Park horse track in Cicero, Illinois from 1967 to 1995 and co-owner of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and St. Louis Cardinals franchise with his younger brother, Bill Bidwill, from 1962 to 1972.

Biography

Early life and education

Charles Jr. and his younger brother Bill were adopted by

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

and Violet Bidwill, the owners of the then-

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

. Bidwill attended

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

where he obtained a law degree. He was given the nickname “Stormy” when he was one year old after an uncle observed him having a temper tantrum.

Football and horse racing

Prior to the 1960 season, Violet Bidwill moved the Cardinals to St. Louis, Missouri, and Charles Jr. and Bill inherited the team after their mother’s sudden death in 1962. In addition to the football team, the brothers inherited other business interests, including Sportsman’s Park. Charles Jr. was named president of Sportsman's Park in 1967 and remained in Chicago to run the horse track while his brother Bill lived in St. Louis and essentially ran the football team. Over the years, the relationship between the Bidwell brothers became strained, resulting in Stormy selling his share of the Cardinals to Bill for $6,500,000 in 1972.

Other business interests

Along with Sportsman’s Park, Bidwill owned a beer distributorship and had financial interests in four Florida dog tracks. For many years, he was the largest stockholder in

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States that hosts the annual Kentucky Derby. It opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was prominent in Kentucky for many years. The first ...

and a member of its board of directors.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bidwell, Charles 1928 births Living people St. Louis Cardinals (football) owners Businesspeople from Chicago Georgetown University Law Center alumni Bidwill family American adoptees