|
Arizona Cardinals Team History The Cardinals are the oldest continuous professional American football club. The team was formed in 1898 as the Morgan Athletic Club in Chicago. 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 becoming the St. Louis Cardinals. After an unsuccessful campaign for a new football-only stadium in St. Louis, the club relocated to the Phoenix metropolitan area in 1988. The Cardinals shared Sun Devil Stadium with Arizona State University until the 2006 campaign. Now, the Cardinals enjoy the best stadium in the league. The University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale is spectacular and will host the 2007-2008 Super Bowl. The Cardinals were NFL Champions in 1925 and again, in 1947 but have not played for an NFL title since - a sixty-year drought. Furthermore, the team has not won a league title nor played in the championship game since then, and thus currently holds the NFL record for the longest championship drought. Along with the Houston Texans, the Cardinals are the only team not to appear in a conference championship game. 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 a horrid and short postseason history. The Cardinals have an all-time playoff record of just 2-5 but did manage a post season win a recently, the Cardinals played in the NFC Wild Card game against the Dallas Cowboys in 1998. The Cardinals conduct their annual summer training camp at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff Arizona. Since the Cardinals moved to Arizona, the Cardinal organization has enjoyed just one playoff season. In 1998, the team had been coined the "Cardiac Cards" by fans and the local and national media as eight of their 16 regular-season games were decided by three points or less, with seven of those games ending in favor of the Cardinals. Unfortunately, this nickname has stuck with the Cardinals to this day. The Cardinals have not been to the playoffs since the 1998 season. The Arizona Cardinals are statically one of the worst teams in the league year in and year out. Arizona Cardinals Memorable Moments 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 USD. The Cardinals and the Bears (originally founded as the Decatur Staleys before moving to Chicago in 1921) are the only charter members of the NFL still in existence.
The Cardinals won their last NFL championship in 1947, 28-21 over the Philadelphia Eagles with their "Million-Dollar Backfield", which included quarterback Paul Christman, running back Charley Trippi, running back Elmer Angsman, and fullback Pat Harder. The group piled up 282 rushing yards and dominated the game. However, Bidwill was not around to see it - he died before the season. Cardinals' first game in Sun Devil Stadium - The NFL finally found a home in the 'valley of the sun' and more than 67,000 fans turned to see the Cardinals take on the Dallas Cowboys. Unfortunately for the fans, the Cardinals couldn't send them home with a win as the Cowboys came away with a hard-fought 17-14 victory. The Cardinals' first home win in Arizona -More than 61,000 fans turned out on Sept. 25h for the second Cardinals home game in the Valley. This time the Cardinals came through as they beat the Washington Redskins 30-21 for their first win in the desert.
The drafting of Jake Plummer - Jake Plummer and the Cardinals were a match made in heaven. The Arizona State University star stayed at home for the start of his NFL career as the Cardinals selected him in the first round of the 1997 NFL Draft. In his six years in Arizona, Plummer gave Cardinals fans plenty of memories - mostly memories of hard fought defeats. Beating the Chargers to advance to the NFL playoffs - The 1998 season was full of magical moments for the Cardinals and their fans, but few could match the pressure and intensity of their Dec. 27 matchup against the San Diego Chargers with a playoff spot up for grabs. In front of 71,670 fans at Sun Devil Stadium, the Cardinals beat the Chargers 16-13 to earn an NFC wild-card spot. The playoff victory over the Dallas Cowboys in 1998 - The upstart Cardinals had barely sneaked into the playoffs for the first time since moving to Arizona and faced the tough test of meeting the Dallas Cowboys in the first round, a team they had lost to twice during the regular season. A stingy defensive effort and solid play by Jake Plummer helped the Cardinals beat the Cowboys 20-7 in front of 63,000 stunned fans at Texas Stadium.
Phoenix area voters approve a new stadium - Maricopa County voters approve the construction of a new stadium for the Cardinals to be built in Glendale. If voters hadn't supported the initiative, the Cardinals surely would be looking for a new place to call home. The Valley gets another Super Bowl - A new stadium usually means the Super Bowl will come to town and the NFL leaders granted that wish, awarding the Valley the 2008 Super Bowl. Boomer Esaison sets Cardinals passing record in 1996 - Many remember the lefty from his days with the Cincinnati Bengals but Boomer had one of his best days of his career sporting Cardinal red. Esaison threw for a team record high of 522 yards against the Washington Redskins in 1996.
LeShon Johnson tops the 200 yard mark in rushing in 1996 - Johnson's career lasted only 62 games spanning five seasons in the NFL, he stills holds the Cardinals' single-game rushing record. Johnson ran for 214 yards in a memorable victory over the New Orleans Saints in 1996. Arizona Cardinals Records
All-time regular season franchise record: 458 - 664 - 38
All-time playoff franchise record: 2 - 5
All-time franchise passing leader: Jim Hart - 34639 yards
All-time franchise rushing leader: Ottis Anderson - 7999 yards
All-time franchise receiving leader: Roy Green - 8496 yards
Arizona Cardinals Playoff Results
1998
NFC Wildcard Game: won 20 - 7 at Dallas Cowboys
NFC Divisional Playoff: lost 21 - 41 at Minnesota Vikings
1982
NFC Wildcard Game: lost 16 - 41 at Green Bay Packers
1975
NFC Divisional Playoff: lost 23 - 35 at Los Angeles Rams
1974
NFC Divisional Playoff: lost 14 - 30 at Minnesota Vikings
1948
NFL Championship Game: lost 0 - 7 at Philadelphia Eagles
1947
NFL Championship Game: won 28 - 21 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
All-time playoff record: 2 - 5
SOURCE: Pro Football Reference |
Arizona Cardinals HISTORY 
