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

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 ...

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Cardinals 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 ...

(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 i ...

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

1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator 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 independen ...

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

Biography

Early life

Wolfner was born Violet Fults in Red Bud, Illinois, the daughter of Alonzo Fults, of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and Irish 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.''1910 United States Federal Census''

Chicago Cardinals

On April 19, 1947, Violet's husband Charley Bidwill died, leaving ownership of the Chicago Cardinals to her. Bidwill's first season as owner saw the Cardinals, led by the " Dream Backfield" of Paul Christman,

Pat Harder Marlin Martin "Pat" Harder (May 6, 1922 – September 6, 1992) was an American professional football player and official in the National Football League (NFL). He played as a fullback and kicker. Harder played college football for the Wiscons ...

, Marshall Goldberg, and Charley Trippi, 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

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 current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

, but lost to the Eagles in a rematch in the snow. The Cardinals had only four more .500 seasons under her ownership. Bidwill married

businessman Walter H.S. Wolfner (1898–1971) in September 1949, thereafter becoming known as Violet Bidwill Wolfner.National Football League, "Chicago Cardinals," ''Professional Football 1953 Year Book.'' New York: Don Spencer Company, 1953; p. 19. Her new husband, a St. Louis native and alumnus of Washington University, quickly stepped into the role of managing director of the football club. 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 most o ...

George Halas George Stanley Halas Sr. (February 2, 1895 – October 31, 1983), nicknamed "Papa Bear", was an American professional football end, coach, and executive. He was the founder and owner of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL), ...

slowly began becoming the favorite of the

Chicago area The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities ...

, 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 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

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, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean ...

, on January 29, 1962, and is buried at

Queen of Heaven Cemetery Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * ...

in Hillside, Illinois. 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 "Stormy" Bidwill Jr. and Bill Bidwill, the club president and vice-president. The will was contested in court by her second husband Walter Wolfner, managing director of the football team. In February 1963 the

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

upheld the will, in favor of the sons, Bill and Stormy. The sons co-owned the team for a decade, until Bill purchased his brother's share of the team in 1972. 16 years after Bill took over the franchise in full, the team made another relocation to Phoenix, Arizona in 1988 as the Phoenix Cardinals and have based there since, then 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 20th-century American businesspeople American people of German descent American people of Irish descent People from Red Bud, Illinois Women American football executives Women sports owners Chicago Cardinals owners