The Cardinals’ Long Case
Friday, December 29th, 2017December 29, 2017
This Sunday, December 31, is the 17th and final week of the National Football League (NFL) regular season. The Arizona Cardinals will wrap up their season with a contest against the Seattle Seahawks. With a 7-8 record, the Cardinals will miss the playoffs even with a win, ensuring that they will add to their NFL-longest title drought of 70 years. The Cardinals, the NFL’s oldest franchise, last tasted success in 1947, when the then-Chicago Cardinals downed the Philadelphia Eagles 28-21 to win the NFL Championship Game. (The first Super Bowl was not played until 1967.)
The Chicago Cardinals’ Billy Dewell (41, at left) chases a pass from quarterback Paul Christman (44, at right) during the team’s 28-21 victory over the Eagles in the 1947 NFL Championship Game at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Credit: © Bettmann/Getty Images
The Cardinals’ long case history began way back in 1898 with the Morgan Athletic Club on the south side of Chicago. The amateur team took on any comers, changing into their “cardinal red” jerseys as the Racine (a Chicago avenue, not a Wisconsin city) Normals in 1901. The team—which became known as the Cardinals—kicked around long enough to join the Decatur Staleys (now the Chicago Bears) and 12 other teams to form the American Professional Football Association in 1920, a league that became the NFL in 1922. The team entered the NFL as the Chicago Cardinals to avoid confusion with another team in Racine, Wisconsin. In 1925, the Cardinals won their first NFL championship. That team was led by Pro Football Hall of Famer John “Paddy” Driscoll, a former Northwestern University and Navy football star who played both quarterback and running back.
Driscoll moved to the Bears in 1926, and he took the Cardinals’ fortunes with him. The Cardinals had only two winning seasons from 1926 to 1946. They finally won a second NFL title in 1947, and returned to the championship game in 1948 (losing to the Eagles that time). That Cardinals team became famous for its “Million Dollar Backfield” of quarterback Paul Christman, halfbacks Elmer Angsman and Marshall Goldberg, and fullback Marlin “Pat” Harder.
In 1960, the Cardinals moved to St. Louis, where they were often referred to as the “football Cardinals” to differentiate them from the city’s existing Major League Baseball team. During the 1960′s, the team produced a number of outstanding players but never made the playoffs. Star players included quarterback Jim Hart, tight end Jackie Smith, wide receiver Mel Gray, defensive backs Pat Fischer and Larry Wilson, and placekicker Jim Bakken.
St. Louis finally made the playoffs in 1974 and 1975, winning a division championship both years. The Cardinals featured an outstanding offensive line consisting of tackles Dan Dierdorf and Ernie McMillan, guards Conrad Dobler and Bob Young, and center Tom Banks. Terry Metcalf was the team’s top running back.
In 1988, the team moved to Arizona and began playing its home games in Tempe, a suburb of Phoenix. The team was called the Phoenix Cardinals until the name was changed to the Arizona Cardinals in 1994. The team was a wild card qualifier in 1998 behind quarterback Jake Plummer. Arizona was the surprise winner of the conference championship in the 2008-2009 season, led by quarterback Kurt Warner and receiver Larry Fitzgerald. The Cardinals lone Super Bowl appearance ended in a heartbreaking 27-23 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Arizona has since made the playoffs three times, but the team’s long history without a championship continues.
The NFL has a lopsided title history. Fifteen of the NFL’s 32 teams have never won the Super Bowl. Nine of those teams—the Cardinals, Eagles, Detroit Lions, Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans, San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers, Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings, and Atlanta Falcons—have title droughts older than the Super Bowl itself.
