Cardinals Mourn Passing Of Sandra Day O'Connor

First female Supreme Court Justice hailed from Arizona

Dec 01, 2023 at 10:22 AM

Michael Bidwill (left), Sandra Day O'Connor (center) and Bill Bidwill before a game at State Farm Stadium in December of 2009.

Sandra Day O'Connor, the Arizonan who was the first woman to become a Supreme Court Justice, died at the age of 93 on Friday.

O'Connor had attended multiple Cardinals games in her life. The team released a statement on her passing.

"We join all of those today celebrating the life of Sandra Day O'Connor. An American icon who was distinctly Arizonan, she combined rare toughness and grit with extraordinary intellect and common sense. We mourn the passing of a true pioneer but also fully recognize that hers is a legacy that will live forever.

"An example of the legacy she inspired through her commitment to civil discourse is the Cardinals annual Civics Matters AZ program that allows deserving high students the opportunity to visit Washington, DC and get a first-hand look at how government works."

Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill addresses the students headed to the Civics Matters trip in 2023.

The Civics Matters program sends 260 students on the Cardinals team plan to help encourage a love and appreciate of the government that makes the country work. That love was at the heart of O'Connor's own civic duty that eventually allowed her to spend nearly 25 years deciding important cases for the highest court in the land.

When she was nominated in 1981 by then-President Ronald Reagan, she had already served as the majority leader in the Arizona state Senate. She was also the first woman to hold such a title in a state Senate in the United States.

O'Connor had retired from the Supreme Court in 2006.