21 Facts About Vince Naimoli

Vincent Joseph Naimoli was an American businessman, and the first owner of the Major League Baseball team the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Vince Naimoli was born in Paterson, New Jersey and attended Paterson Central High School.

Vince Naimoli attended the University of Notre Dame, graduating in 1959 and earning a master's degree in mechanical engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology in 1962.

Vince Naimoli received a Master of Business Administration degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1964, and attended Harvard Business School's six-week advanced management program in 1974.

Until the end of his life, Vince Naimoli attended Fighting Irish athletic events regularly.

Vince Naimoli has three daughters from his first marriage, and one daughter from his second marriage.

Vince Naimoli was a member of the Fairleigh Dickinson University Board of Trustees.

Vince Naimoli tried to buy the Seattle Mariners and move them to Tampa, but failed.

On March 20,1995, Vince Naimoli became the owner of a new expansion team granted by Major League Baseball for play in the 1998 season, which became christened as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays after originally thinking about naming them the Sting Rays before finding out a winter league team had the name.

Vince Naimoli negotiated a naming-rights deal with Tropicana Products for Tropicana Field, with the team paying for improvements to the stadium and other auxiliary facilities.

Vince Naimoli oversaw a design for the stadium with asymmetrical outfield dimensions and dirt base paths, and seats located close to the field of play.

Vince Naimoli owned the team until he sold it to a group led by Stuart Sternberg in 2004 and then stepped down after the 2005 season ended.

Vince Naimoli refused to purchase internet access and an email system for the Rays to keep costs down, as he felt email was a fad.

Vince Naimoli's thriftiness manifested itself via a strict ban on outside food at Tropicana Field.

Vince Naimoli once charged a high school band admission to play the national anthem, and went so far as to not do business with companies that did not buy season tickets.

Vince Naimoli had been attempting to sell his 10-acre mansion in the elite Avila community for at least three years to move into a smaller property.

Vince Naimoli received similar community service awards from the Urban League, the Jewish National Fund, the Tampa Sports Club, Boys and Girls Clubs and the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Vince Naimoli received an honorary monogram from the Notre Dame Monogram Club in 1999.

In 2009, Vince Naimoli donated towards the construction of the Vince Naimoli Family Athletic and Recreational Facility at New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Vince Naimoli claimed to have made many more millions of dollars' worth of "anonymous donations" to various charities.

Vince Naimoli was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy in 2014 and died on August 25,2019, at the age of 81.