Vince Naimoli, the man who brought Major League Baseball to Tampa Bay as the original owner and CEO of the Rays, passed away on Sunday night, the team announced. He was 81.

A product of Notre Dame, New Jersey Institute of Technology and Fairleigh Dickinson University, Naimoli was the leader of an ownership group to which MLB awarded the expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who began play in 1998. It was a group led by Naimoli until 2005, when ownership was ultimately passed on to current principal owner Stu Sternberg.

“Vince Naimoli was the driving force behind the efforts that brought a Major League club to the Tampa Bay region," Commissioner Rob Manfred said. "Vince believed deeply in the market and overcame significant obstacles to secure a Major League franchise. The Rays’ many winning seasons under Stu Sternberg would not have been possible without Vince’s longstanding devotion to this cause leading up to a successful expansion bid in 1995.

“Vince was also a generous figure who cared deeply about his community and education, including his alma mater, the University of Notre Dame, and universities in the Tampa area and his native New Jersey. On behalf of all of us at Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Vince’s wife Lenda and their entire family.”

Though the Devil Rays finished in fifth place in all but one of their first eight seasons, Naimoli helped plant the seeds for a team that made it to its first World Series in 2008, the year they were renamed the Rays. Since then, Tampa Bay has gone on to become an annual competitor in the unrelenting American League East.

The Rays provided the following statement: “The Tampa Bay Rays are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former owner and CEO Vince Naimoli. Vince was unyielding in his pursuit of a Major League Baseball franchise for Tampa Bay, and his success in landing the then Devil Rays changed the region’s sports landscape forever. In addition to his distinguished business and baseball careers, his family’s philanthropic efforts in the community will be felt for generations. We are grateful for his leadership and wish his family peace during this difficult time.”

Added Sternberg: “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.”

Naimoli's wife, Lenda Naimoli, said: “Our Vince passed away peacefully the evening of Aug. 25, 2019. He was surrounded by family and friends during his last days. We thank everyone for the outpouring of love and support for Vince. We ask for respect of our privacy during this time. Arrangement details will be communicated as they become available.”

The Rays will honor Naimoli with a commemorative patch on their jerseys for the remainder of the 2019 season. There will be a pregame recognition before the Rays’ next game at Tropicana Field -- a location Naimoli helped secure naming rights for and had a hand in designing -- this Friday against the Indians. Exact details will be announced at a later date.