Arizona Sports Hall of Fame

In 2013 Karl, (at ceremony with friend Jason Watts), was inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame. Karl was acknowledged for his involvement with U of A Football, Fiesta Bowl Founders and as original Phoenix Suns investor.

Cardinals

In 1988, The St. Louis Cardinals professional football team, began play in Tempe at Sun Devil Stadium. Now known as The Arizona Cardinals, Karl and a group of Phoenix businessmen were responsible for putting together a deal with The Bidwill family (team owners) that allowed for the move to Arizona.

Circle K Shootout

As a Phoenix Thunderbird (lifetime member) Karl presents a check to the 1986 winner from The Circle K Shootout.

PAC 10

In 1978 Karl was instrumental in getting the Pac 8 Conference to accept Arizona State University and University of Arizona from the Western Athletic Conference into theirs. Re-named the PAC 10, it has since evolved to the PAC 12 Conference.

Fiesta Bowl Founders

Karl (middle, front) was one of the original Fiesta Bowl Founders. This group of men were the driving force to bring the game to Phoenix in 1971 and begin a new college football tradition.

Reagan Fiesta Bowl

As an original Fiesta Bowl Founder, Karl presents Fiesta Bowl game tickets to President Ronald Reagan.

Phoenix Suns

A 1968 newspaper article announcing that three investors, one being Karl (middle) landed an NBA franchise that would begin play in Phoenix Arizona. This was the beginning of “The Phoenix Suns”.

Phoenix Roadrunners

In the late sixties, Karl was the lead investor in a group from Phoenix that brought the original Phoenix Roadrunners hockey team to Phoenix.

U of A Program

Karl played college football at The University of Arizona. In 1951 he graced the cover of the program for the Utah game. Notice how “Wilbur” the mascot has changed over the years.

Tucson High Number 67

In 1945, Karl played on the Tucson High School Badgers football team. Under the leadership of coach Rollin Gridley, this team was undefeated and went on to win the state championship. Karl is number 67.