Hundreds gather to remember Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill

PHOENIX - Mourners paid their respects to the man who brought NFL football to Arizona Tuesday morning. 

The funeral services for Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill were Tuesday morning at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church near Central Avenue and Camelback Road.

Bidwill brought the Cardinals to Arizona back in 1988 when he relocated the team from St. Louis following a stadium dispute. 

His father first bought the team in 1932 when they played in Chicago. Bidwill was a ball boy for the team as a child and began working for the team full time in 1960 after serving in the U.S. Navy.

Bidwill and his brother inherited the team in 1962 after the death of their mother. Bidwill took full control 10 years later.

He mostly stayed out of the spotlight but was known for quietly giving millions to various causes. 

While the Cardinals weren't known for winning for most of their history, the team was known for leading the way when it came to diversity in the NFL. Bidwill hired Adele Harris, the first black female executive in league history, Bob Wallace, the first black contract negotiator, and Dennis Green and Rod Graves, the first black head coach and general manager duo.

Bidwill ceded day-to-day operations of the team to his son Michael in 2007.

He was 88 years old.