ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Vince Naimoli, the first owner of the Tampa Bay Rays, died Sunday night.

He was 81.

The Rays, then called the Devil Rays, began play in 1998 at Tropicana Field. Major League Baseball awarded a team to Tampa in 1995 after the team's failed bid to land the San Francisco Giants.

"It took someone like Vince Naimoli to have the brashness and the chutzpah, for lack of a better term, to go to Major League Baseball and say that this is a market that is going to work," said WDAE Rays reporter Steve Carney.

Naimoli sold a large share of the franchise to investor Stuart Sternberg in 2004 and stepped down as managing general partner a little more than a year later.

In a prepared statement, Sternberg said: "Vince Naimoli was instrumental in bringing baseball to Tampa Bay. I am forever grateful that he entrusted me with the franchise in 2005. It was my pleasure to have worked with Vince and to have been his partner."

But Naimoli's legacy in the Bay Area extends beyond the confines of the Trop. Naimoli’s involvement in the community and his philanthropic work included donations to several projects and universities. In 2017 he presented $1 million dollar to USF Athletics.

"He was a team Tampa Bay guy," said USF President of Athletics Michael Kelly. "He wanted to find things that did good things for the Tampa Bay community and he loved sports. He loved being around us and we really appreciate all that he did for USF."

Over the final year of his life Naimoli mentioned that he would like to see the Rays move from the Trop in St. Pete to somewhere in Tampa. For a man whose legacy will forever be remembered to bringing a team to Tampa Bay, he hoped that the Rays actually stay here.

He had been in declining health in recent years.

Naimoli is survived by his wife and four daughters.