Arizona Cardinals - Pro Football Betting, Online Sportsbook Casino
Arizona
Cardinals History
|
Arizona Cardinals,
professional football team is one of five teams in the Eastern
Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) of the National
Football League (NFL). Under the league’s realignment
plan, which will take affect in 2002, the Cardinals will move
into the West Division of the NFC. Formerly based in Chicago,
Illinois, and St. Louis, Missouri, the Cardinals now play at
Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, and wear uniforms of red,
black, and white. The Cardinals are the oldest continuously
run professional football team in the United States.
The Cardinals built strong teams during the 1920s, 1940s, and
1970s, capturing a total of two NFL titles and four division
crowns during those decades. Because the first Super Bowl was
not played until 1967, however, the Cardinals have never played
in it. The team’s championship lineup of 1947 starred
the famed Dream Backfield of quarterback Paul Christman, fullback
Pat Harder, and halfbacks Elmer Angsman and Charley Trippi.
During the 1970s quarterback Jim Hart commanded one of the league’s
most potent offenses.
The Cardinals organization dates from 1898, when the Morgan
Athletic Club played regular games on Chicago’s South
Side. The club adopted the name Cardinals in 1901 when team
owner Chris O’Brien, a painting and decorating contractor,
bought used maroon uniforms from the University of Chicago that
had faded to the color of cardinal red.
In 1920 the Chicago Cardinals became charter members of the
American Professional Football League, the NFL’s predecessor.
The team’s first star was future Hall of Fame halfback
Paddy Driscoll, who was known for his drop-kicking prowess.
The Cardinals, based in Comiskey Park, captured their first
NFL crown in 1925 under head coach Norman Barry.
Following the 1925 championship, the Cardinals struggled for
two decades, recording only two winning records from 1926 to
1945. One highlight during those years was when star running
back Ernie Nevers came out of retirement to join the club in
1929. On Thanksgiving Day of that year he scored all of the
team’s 40 points in a victory over the Chicago Bears.
World War II (1939-1945) deprived the team of so many players
that in 1944 the Cardinals merged with the Pittsburgh Steelers
to form a club called Card-Pitt. The combined squad lost all
ten of its games.
From 1946 to 1948 head coach Jimmy Conzelman directed the Cardinals
to three consecutive winning seasons. In 1947 Conzelman put
together the offensive unit of Paul Christman, Pat Harder, Elmer
Angsman, and Charley Trippi, which gained the name the Dream
Backfield because of its overwhelming offensive production.
The Cardinals rolled through the season and went on to defeat
the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1947 NFL Championship Game.
The Cardinals repeated as division champions in 1948 behind
the NFL’s top offensive attack. Harder had a sensational
year, scoring six touchdowns and converting on all 53 of his
extra-point attempts. But after averaging 33 points per game
during the regular season, Chicago was upset 7-0 in a championship
game rematch against Philadelphia. After Christman’s departure
in 1949, the Cardinals tried to fill the quarterback slot with
seven different players, including Trippi. But without solid
leadership on the field, the team posted just two winning records
during its remaining 11 seasons in Chicago.
In 1960 the franchise moved to St. Louis, enjoying a solid first
season in its new home. Running back John David Crow surpassed
the 1,000-yard mark, and defensive back Jerry Norton led the
NFC in interceptions. During the 1960s the Cardinals finished
with winning seasons five times, yet failed to qualify for postseason
play.
In 1974 second-year head coach Don Coryell took the Cardinals
to the playoffs for the first time in 26 years. Coryell was
named the league’s top coach, while quarterback Jim Hart
and running back Terry Metcalf shared player of the year honors.
St. Louis lost in the first round, but the following year the
team repeated as division champions. Wide receiver Mel Gray
and running back Jim Otis each led his respective position in
yards gained, supported by an offensive line that featured Dan
Dierdorf, a future Hall of Fame member, and Conrad Dobler, who
was considered one of the era’s most intimidating players.
St. Louis again lost in the first round of the playoffs.
The Cardinals played inconsistently during the next two decades,
posting several winning records but reaching the postseason
only once (1982) from 1976 to 1996. In 1979 running back Ottis
Anderson rushed for 1,605 yards and was named both player of
the year and rookie of the year. Notable individual achievements
during the 1980s included four more 1,000-yard seasons by Anderson,
wide receiver Roy Green’s yardage championship in 1984,
(1,555 yards) and quarterback Neil Lomax’s two NFC yardage
titles, in 1984 with 4,614 yards and in 1987 with 3,387 yards.
During the 1990s Aeneas Williams became one of the NFC’s
finest cornerbacks.
After a deal between team owner Bill Bidwill and the St. Louis
County government to build the team a new domed structure failed,
the franchise moved to Arizona in 1988. In 1998 second-year
quarterback Jake Plummer led the Cardinals to the team’s
first playoff appearance since 1982 and first postseason victory
since 1947.
The Arizona Cardinals have never played in the Super Bowl. |
|
|
|
|
|
