Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals are the oldest American franchise in the U.S. They began as a team in Chicago, then moved to St. Louis, Missouri, and then moved in 1988 to its current location in Glendale, Arizona.
History
The Cardinals won their first National Football League championship in 1925 and their last championship in 1947. The team began named the Racine Cardinals because they were located on Racine Avenue in Chicago. In 1922 they changed their name to the Chicago Cardinals and moved to Comiskey Park to play their games.
Cardinals of the 60’s-80’s
While in St. Louis, the Cardinals experienced up and down success. They earned the nickname of the “Cardiac Cardinals” from the nail-biting games, and constant frustration in performance. The Cardinals performed well in the 60’s and 70’s with popular names Larry Wilson, and Charley Johnson leading the team. The famous Don Coryell took over as head coach in 1973 and won the first seven games of the season. Terry Metcalf and Jim Otis carried the ball and Mel grey hauled in the passes.
For St. Louis Cardinals fans, the 80’s are marked by a successful three year stint of consecutive winning seasons. The offense was run by standout quarterback Neil Lomax passing to wide receiver Roy Green, and star running back Ottis Anderson pounding with the run game. The 80’s ended with the Cardinals franchise leaving in St. Louis in 1988, after ownership failed in convincing the city to build a new stadium for the franchise.
Arizona Cardinals of the 90’s-2000’s
The Cardinals became the Phoenix Cardinals in 1988, and then changed their name to the Arizona Cardinals in 1994. The 90’s and early 2000’s were tough years for the Cardinals, the addition of quarterback Jake Plummer from Arizona State University in 1998 helped them reach their second non-losing season since 1984.
In 2007 new coach Ken Wisenhunt was hired to turn the losing franchise around into a winning organization. Then, in 2008, the Cardinals put together a magical season to end up in the 2008 Super Bowl. The team had the best passing attack in the National Football League, former Super Bowl MVP quarterback Kurt Warner threw precision passes to wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald. Rookie Tim Hightower made a positive contribution to the team catching passes out of the backfield. Prior to reaching the Super Bowl the Cardinals were big underdogs throughout the playoffs. However, they managed to beat the Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants to reach Super Bowl XLIII to lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-23.
2009 Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals finished the 2008 National Football League (NFL) season as National Football Conference (NFC) champions. Despite losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl, the Cardinals 2008 season capped a magical season. After finishing 9-7 to win the weak National Football Conference (NFC) west division, the Cardinals remained underdogs throughout the playoffs, but still managed to reach the Super Bowl. The Cardinals impressed the National Football League (NFL) with a high flying passing attack led by veteran quarterback Kurt Warner. His wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, and Steve Breaston each had 1,000 yards receiving in 2008.
After reaching the Super Bowl, the Cardinals are very optimistic about the 2009 football season. Head coach Ken Wisenhunt and the Cardinals organization believe they can continue the success they had in the passing attack in 2008. However, they are looking to upgrade their running game. In the offseason, the Cardinals released running back Edgerinn James and drafted running back Beanie Wells from Ohio State in the first round. Although he experienced a couple of injuries in his college career, the Cardinals are confident in the power back’s abilities to force the defense to respect the run.
The defense is led by Defensive tackle Darnell Dockett, linebacker Karlos Dansby, and safety Adrian Wilson.
After a 9-7 regular season, the Arizona Cardinals are one win away from a Super Bowl title.
Arizona Cardinals 2009 Draft Picks
*1st round Chris Wells, RB -Ohio State University
*2nd round Cody Brown, DE -Connecticut
*3rd round Rashad Johnson , S -Alabama
*4th round Greg Toler, DB St Pauls
*5th round Herman Johnson, OT -Louisiana State University
*6th round Will Davis, DE -University of Illinois
*7th round LaRod Stephens-Howling, RB -Pittsburgh
*7th round (comp select) Trevor Canfield, OG -Cinncinati
Hall of Fame
• Charles Bidwill
• Jimmy Conzelman
• John “Paddy” Driscoll
• Walt Kiesling
• Ernie Nevers
• Guy Chamberlin
• Ollie Matson
• Charley Trippi
• Dick “Night Train” Lane
• Larry Wilson
• Roger Wehrli
• Dan Dierdorf
• Jackie Smith
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