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Bill Bidwill, shown before the Cardinals took on the Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII, has died at age 88. Getty Images

Nearly five decades after taking sole ownership of the Arizona Cardinals, William "Bill" Bidwill has died at the age of 88.

The team confirmed the news in an announcement Wednesday, marking the end of a celebrated front-office leadership that began in 1972, when Bidwill carried on what had become a family business.

"Our dad passed away today the same way he lived his life: peacefully, with grace, dignity and surrounded by family and loved ones," Cardinals president Michael Bidwill, one of Bill's four sons, said in a statement. "We are overwhelmed by the support our family has received, not only now but throughout the latest chapter of his life. We are especially grateful to the nurses, doctors and other caregivers whose endless kindness and compassion in recent years have made our dad's life so meaningful. Above all else, we will remember him as a man devoted to the three central pillars of his life -- his immense faith, his love for his family and his life-long passion for the Cardinals and the sport of football."

A ballboy for the Cardinals back when the team played in Chicago, Bidwill first joined the team as a vice president while attending Georgetown University. His father, Charles, purchased the franchise in 1932, just over a decade after the team was founded, and he began working full-time for the club in 1960, the same year the Cards relocated to St. Louis. He and his brother Charles Jr. inherited ownership of the team upon their mother's passing two years later, then continued to co-operate the franchise until Bill bought his brother's share in '72.

Under Bidwill's guidance, the Cardinals moved to Arizona in 1988, and the city played host to Super Bowl XXX in 1996. He also worked alongside his son to forge the construction of State Farm Stadium, which opened in 2006. On the field, the Bidwill-owned Cardinals reached the postseason for the first time since moving to Arizona in 1998, advanced to the Super Bowl 10 years later and also made an NFC Championship Game appearance in 2015.