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The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area. In 2006, the club will move to the new Cardinals Stadium in the suburb of Glendale, Arizona. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL).

The Cardinals are the oldest existing professional American football club in the United States. * The team was formed in 1898 as the Morgan Athletic Club in Chicago, Illinois. The club was then called the Racine Normals since they were originally located on Racine Avenue but moved to Chicago's Normal Field. They then changed their name to the Racine Cardinals after they started wearing cardinal-red uniforms.

After becoming a charter member of the NFL in 1920, the club was renamed the Chicago Cardinals. The Cardinals moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1960, then relocated to the Phoenix area in 1988. The team was known as the Phoenix Cardinals before it started using "Arizona" in its name in 1994.

Despite moving to St. Louis and then to Arizona, the Cardinals had always remained in either an Eastern conference or division. When the league was divided into Eastern and Western conferences prior to the 1953 season, the Cardinals were placed in the East while the Chicago Bears were placed in the West. After the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger, the team was placed in the NFC East. The Cardinals were finally moved to the NFC West as part of the 2002 realignment.

The Cardinals were NFL Champions in 1925 and 1947. However, the team has not won a league title since then, and thus currently holds the NFL record for the longest championship drought (period of not winning). The team has also won only two division titles (1974 and 1975) since their 1947 NFL championship. Despite being the oldest existing professional football franchise in the United States, the Cardinals have an all-time postseason record of 2-5 (not counting the 1964 Bert Bell Benefit Bowl).

The Cardinals conduct summer training camp at Northern Arizona University.

Franchise history

Chicago years

The Cardinals are the oldest existing football club in the United States, beginning as an amateur athletic club team in Chicago named the Morgan Athletic Club, which was founded by Chicago painter/builder Chris O'Brien in 1898. They began to field a pro team even before the founding of the NFL. O'Brien later moved them to Chicago's Normal Field and the team was renamed The Racine Normals, since they were originally located on Racine Avenue in Chicago. In 1901, O'Brien bought used maroon uniforms from the University of Chicago, the colors of which had by then faded, leading O'Brien to exclaim, "That's not maroon, it's cardinal red!" It was then that the team changed its name to the Racine Cardinals.

The team disbanded in 1906 mostly for lack of local competition, but reformed in 1913. They were forced to suspend operations for a second time in 1918 due to World War I and the outbreak of the Spanish Flu Pandemic. They resumed operations later in the year, and have since operated continuously.

In 1920, the team became a charter member of the American Professional Football Association (which became the NFL in 1922), for a franchise fee of $100. According to some, the team's name was erroneously recorded as "Racine, Wisconsin." The team was renamed the Chicago Cardinals in 1922 after a team from Racine, Wisconsin entered the league. That season the team moved to Comiskey Park.

In 1932 the team was purchased by Charles Bidwill, then a vice president of the Chicago Bears. The team has been under the ownership of the Bidwill family since then.

The Cardinals won their first NFL championship in 1925, finishing the season with a record of 11-2-1 (until the 1933 season, the league champion was determined solely by win-loss percentage). It was actually awarded by default, since the Pottsville Maroons, the team with the best record, had their franchise revoked for violating the territorial rights of the Frankford Yellow Jackets. The team posted a winning record only twice in the twenty years (1931 and 1935) after their championship.

In 1944, owing to player shortages caused by World War II, the Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers merged for one year and were known as the "Card-Pitt," or derisively as the "Carpets" as they were winless that season.

The Cardinals won their last NFL championship game in 1947 (28-21 over the Philadelphia Eagles) with their "Million-Dollar Backfield," which included quarterback Paul Christman and halfback Charley Trippi. They advanced to the championship game the next season, but lost 7-0 in a rematch with the Eagles.

St. Louis years

In 1960 the team moved to St. Louis. During this period, two major teams (football and baseball) of that name called the city home. Sports fans and local news broadcasters got into the habit of calling them "the football Cardinals" or "the baseball Cardinals" to distinguish the two. The change in scenery did little to alter the team's fortunes. During the Cardinals' stay in St. Louis, they advanced to the playoffs just four times (one of those was in a season-ending consolation game, and another was in the NFC tournament following the strike-shortened 1982 season). The team left St. Louis in 1987 when owner Bill Bidwill was unable to convince the city to build a new stadium.

Exodus to the desert

In 1988, the Cardinals moved to Arizona, became the Phoenix Cardinals, and started playing home games in Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University. To better market themselves to a statewide fan base, they became the Arizona Cardinals in 1994. The team did not post a winning record for 13 seasons (1985 to 1997). Joe Bugel coached from 1990 to 1993, usually finishing last in the NFC East, which produced the Super Bowl winner in each of those seasons (Giants in '90, Redskins '91, Cowboys '92-93). Buddy Ryan replaced Bugel in 1994, lasting 2 seasons. He infamously guaranteed victory in the 1994 Week 3 game at the Cleveland Browns (Cleveland won, 32-0). Ryan was followed by Vince Tobin, under whom the Cardinals posted a 9-7 record in 1998 and advanced to the playoffs for the first time since the 1982 season. They upset the favored Dallas Cowboys in the wild-card round, 20-7, but lost their divisional playoff to the Minnesota Vikings, 41-21.

Tobin was fired during the 2000 season and replaced by defensive coordinator Dave McGinnis, who remained head coach until his firing in 2003; McGinnis compiled a win-loss record of 17-40 during his tenure.

The Cardinals have not won more than seven games in a season since their 1998 playoff appearance, and have had one of the worst yearly attendance records in the NFL. Sun Devil Stadium has gained a reputation for being one of the quietest in the league, and half of those who do show up for games are fans of the away team. Such incidents are most noticeable when teams with great national followings, such as the Packers and Cowboys, come into town. *

In 2004, the Cardinals hired former Minnesota Vikings head coach Dennis Green as their main coach. Prior to his signing with the Cardinals, he compiled a 97-62 record in ten seasons with Minnesota (1992-2001), leading that franchise to four NFC Central Division titles and two NFC Championship games.

In 2000, Maricopa County voters passed a ballot initiative by a margin of 51% to 49%, providing funding for a new Cardinals stadium (as well as for improvements to Major League Baseball spring training facilities in the greater Phoenix region; and youth recreation). After some legal obstacles, the Cardinals began construction of their new facility in April 2003, in Glendale, one of the northwest suburbs of Phoenix. Cardinals Stadium will feature a retractable roof and a slide-out grass surface, which is good for the hot desert weather; the new stadium will have air conditioning and high-back seats. It is scheduled to open for the 2006 season *. It will also be the location of Super Bowl XLII (2008).

It does appear that the future may turn brighter for the team. On Sunday, March 12, 2006, the Cardinals acquired former Colts RB Edgerrin James through free agency, by signing him to a four-year, $30 million contract. Additionally, on Saturday, April 30, 2006, the Cardinals drafted the 2004 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Matt Leinart with the 10th pick. Leinart played for the University of Southern California and won one national championship with the team in 2004. Also in the draft, the Cardinals would select USC Guard Taitusi Lutui, Georgia TE Leonard Pope, Michigan DT Gabriel Watson, Louisville LB Brandon Johnson, Virginia Tech DT Jonathan Lewis, and Brigham Young WR Todd Watkins.

Logo and uniforms

The team has used the cardinal red jerseys since Chris O'Brien bought them for the club in 1901. And for most of its history, the Cardinals have basically used the same basic uniform design of white helmets, white pants with red stripes on the sides, and either red or white jerseys.

Starting in 1947, the team had a logo of a cardinal bird perched on the stitches of a football. However, the club did not attach a logo to their helmets until they debuted a cardinal-head logo in 1960. When the Cardinals moved to Arizona in 1988, the flag of Arizona was added to the sleeves. And in 1990, the team began wearing red pants with their white jerseys.

In 2005, the team unveiled their first major changes in a century. The cardinal-head logo was updated to be sleeker and meaner. * Black was added as an accent color, while trim lines were added to the outside shoulders and sleeves, and the sides of the jerseys and pants. Both the red and white jerseys had the option of red or white pants, but coach Dennis Green opted to have the team wear only the white pants for the entire season.

Since moving to the Phoenix area, the Cardinals practice what many other NFL teams located in subtropical climates traditionally do: wear their white jerseys at home during the first half of the season — forcing opponents to wear their dark ones under the hot autumns in Arizona. It is unclear whether or not that tradition will continue when the Cardinals move to their new stadium in 2006, as early-season games will be played with the retractable roof of Cardinals Stadium closed, keeping the temperature inside at a comfortable 72 degrees.

Season-by-season records

Since 1920

Chicago Cardinals (APFA) 1920 3 2 1 6th APFA1   1921 3 3 2 9th APFA1 Chicago Cardinals (NFL) 1922 8 3 0 3rd NFL The NFL did not hold playoff games until 1932 1923 8 4 0 6th NFL 1924 5 4 1 8th NFL 1925 11 2 1 1st NFL Named NFL Champions2 1926 5 6 1 10th NFL   1927 3 7 1 9th NFL 1928 1 5 0 9th NFL 1929 6 6 1 4th NFL 1930 5 6 2 7th NFL 1931 5 4 0 4th NFL 1932 2 6 2 7th NFL -- 1933 1 9 1 5th NFL West -- 1934 5 6 0 4th NFL West -- 1935 6 4 2 T-3rd NFL West -- 1936 3 8 1 4th NFL West -- 1937 5 5 1 4th NFL West -- 1938 2 9 0 5th NFL West -- 1939 1 10 0 5th NFL West -- 1940 2 7 2 5th NFL West -- 1941 3 7 1 4th NFL West -- 1942 3 8 0 4th NFL West -- 1943 0 10 0 4th NFL West - Card-Pitt 1944 0 10 0 5th NFL West -- Chicago Cardinals 1945 1 9 0 5th NFL West -- 1946 6 5 0 T-3rd NFL West -- 1947 9 3 0 1st NFL West Won NFL Championship (Eagles) 1948 11 1 0 1st NFL West Lost NFL Championship (Eagles) 1949 6 5 1 3rd NFL West -- 1950 5 7 0 5th NFL AFC -- 1951 3 9 0 6th NFL AFC -- 1952 4 8 0 T-5th NFL AFC -- 1953 1 10 1 6th NFL East -- 1954 2 10 0 6th NFL East -- 1955 4 7 1 T-4th NFL East -- 1956 7 5 0 2nd NFL East -- 1957 3 9 0 6th NFL East -- 1958 2 9 1 T-5th NFL East -- 1959 2 10 0 6th NFL East -- St. Louis Cardinals 1960 6 5 1 4th NFL East -- 1961 7 7 0 4th NFL East -- 1962 4 9 1 6th NFL East -- 1963 9 5 0 3rd NFL East -- 1964 9 3 2 2nd NFL East -- 1965 5 9 0 T-5th NFL East -- 1966 8 5 1 4th NFL East -- 1967 6 7 1 3rd NFL Century -- 1968 9 4 1 2nd NFL Century -- 1969 4 9 1 3rd NFL Century -- 1970 8 5 1 3rd NFC East -- 1971 4 9 1 4th NFC East -- 1972 4 9 1 4th NFC East -- 1973 4 9 1 4th NFC East -- 1974 10 4 0 1st NFC East Lost Divisional Playoffs (Vikings) 1975 11 3 0 1st NFC East Lost Divisional Playoffs (Rams) 1976 10 4 0 3rd NFC East -- 1977 7 7 0 3rd NFC East -- 1978 6 10 0 4th NFC East -- 1979 5 11 0 5th NFC East -- 1980 5 11 0 4th NFC East -- 1981 7 9 0 5th NFC East -- 1982 5 4 0 6th NFC Conf. Lost First Round (Packers) 1983 8 7 1 3rd NFC East -- 1984 9 7 0 3rd NFC East -- 1985 5 11 0 5th NFC East -- 1986 4 11 1 5th NFC East -- 1987 7 8 0 3rd NFC East - Phoenix Cardinals 1988 7 9 0 4th NFC East -- 1989 5 11 0 4th NFC East -- 1990 5 11 0 5th NFC East -- 1991 4 12 0 5th NFC East -- 1992 4 12 0 5th NFC East -- 1993 7 9 0 4th NFC East -- Arizona Cardinals 1994 8 8 0 3rd NFC East -- 1995 4 12 0 5th NFC East -- 1996 7 9 0 4th NFC East -- 1997 4 12 0 5th NFC East -- 1998 9 7 0 2nd NFC East Won Wild Card Playoffs (Cowboys)
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Vikings) 1999 6 10 0 4th NFC East -- 2000 3 13 0 5th NFC East -- 2001 7 9 0 4th NFC East -- 2002 5 11 0 4th NFC West -- 2003 4 12 0 4th NFC West -- 2004 6 10 0 3rd NFC West -- 2005 5 11 0 3rd NFC West -- Totals 450 635 38 (including NFL playoffs)

1=The NFL was originally named the American Professional Football Association (APFA) from 1920-1922.

2=The NFL did not hold playoff games until 1932. The team that finished with the best regular season record was named the league champions.

Single Season Records

Passing

Rushing

Receiving

Kicking

* NFL Record

Players of note

Current roster

Pro Football Hall of Famers

Chicago Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals

These three, plus Conrad Dobler (66, G), Jim Hart (17, QB), and Jim Hanifan (Head Coach) have been inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.

Arizona Cardinals

  • None as of the 2005 season.

Retired numbers

Other notable alumni

Chicago St. Louis Phoenix/Arizona

Head Coaches

Current Staff

External links

1898 establishments | Arizona Cardinals | National Football League teams

Arizona Cardinals | Arizona Cardinals | Arizona Cardinals | Cardinals de l'Arizona | Arizona Cardinals | אריזונה קרדינלס | Arizona Cardinals | アリゾナ・カージナルス | Arizona Cardinals | Arizona Cardinals | Arizona Cardinals

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Arizona Cardinals".

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