Sports Team History

Sports Team History

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Home cardinals logo

St. Louis Cardinals Team History

St. Louis Cardinals Team History

St. Louis Cardinals Primary Logo 1998 - Present
  • 1882
  • 1926 - 1931
  • 1934 - 1944
  • 1946 - 1967
  • 1982
  • 2006
  • 2011
  • 1889 Cardinals

    St. Louis Cardinals Team Formation

    After the American Association collapsed, the National League re-enrolled St. Louis to raise the total to twelve. The St. Louis Cardinals have had perpetual affiliation since. Their inaugural season of reentry was largely a disappointment their winning percentage plunged from .625 in 1891 to .373. With an opportunity emerging the next season for a larger property at Vandeventer and Natural Bridge Avenues, Von der Ahe moved the club a few blocks north-northwest from Grand and Dodier and opened a new park christened as “New Sportsman’s Park” on April 27.

  • 1926-st-louis-cardinals

    World Series Winner 1926 – 1931

    World Series – 1931
    In the 1931 World Series, the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Athletics in seven games, a rematch and reversal of fortunes of the 1930 World Series.

    World Series – 1926
    The 1926 World Series pitted the NL champion St. Louis Cardinals against the AL champion New York Yankees. The Cardinals defeated the Yankees four games to three in the best-of-seven series, which took place from October 2 to 10, 1926 at Yankee Stadium and Sportsman’s Park.

  • 1944 WS Game1

    World Series 1934 – 1944

    World Series – 1944
    The 1944 World Series was an all-St. Louis World Series, matching up the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Browns at Sportsman’s Park. It marked only the third time in World Series history in which both teams had the same home field, the other two being the 1921 and 1922 World Series in the Polo Grounds in New York City. The Series was also known as the “Trolley Series,” “Streetcar Series,” or the “St. Louis Showdown.” Coincidentally, this World Series was played the same year Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer released the musical film Meet Me in St. Louis.

    World Series – 1942
    The 1942 World Series featured the defending champion New York Yankees against the St. Louis Cardinals, with the Cardinals winning the Series in five games for their first championship since 1934 and their fourth overall. The 1942 St. Louis Cardinals set a franchise record for victories with 106. Every Cardinal, except for Harry Gumbert was a product of the team’s farm system which was put in place by Branch Rickey.

    World Series – 1934
    The 1934 World Series matched the St. Louis Cardinals against the Detroit Tigers, with the Cardinals’ “Gashouse Gang” winning in seven games for their third championship in nine years.

  • Bob Gibson World Series 1967

    World Series Winner 1946 – 1967

    World Series – 1967
    The 1967 World Series matched the St. Louis Cardinals against the Boston Red Sox in a rematch of the 1946 World Series, with the Cardinals winning in seven games for their second championship in four years and their eighth overall. The Series was played from October 4 to 12 in Fenway Park and Busch Memorial Stadium.

    World Series – 1964
    The 1964 World Series pitted the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals against the American League champion New York Yankees, with the Cardinals prevailing in seven games. St. Louis won their seventh world championship, while the Yankees, who had appeared in 14 of 16 World Series since 1949, did not play in the Series again until 1976.

    World Series – 1946
    The 1946 World Series was played in October 1946 between the St. Louis Cardinals (representing the National League) and the Boston Red Sox (representing the American League). The Cardinals won the Series in seven games, giving them their sixth championship.

  • 1982_World_Series_Program

    World Series Winner 1982

    The 1982 World Series matched the St. Louis Cardinals against the Milwaukee Brewers, with the Cardinals winning in seven games. The Cardinals won the National League East division by three games over the Philadelphia Phillies, then defeated the Atlanta Braves by 3 games to none in the National League Championship Series. The Brewers won the American League East division by one game over the Baltimore Orioles, then defeated the California Angels by 3 games to 2 in the American League Championship Series. The 1982 World Series represented the last time (until the Giants won in 2010 and the Cardinals in 2011 respectively, both defeating the Texas Rangers) that the National League won back-to-back World Series; they had, in fact, won four straight, starting in 1979. Though the teams had never met, the cities had an existing commercial rivalry in the beer market, as St. Louis is the home of Anheuser Busch while Milwaukee is the home of Miller Brewing. This led to a few minor references to the Series being nicknamed the “Suds Series.” The cities previously had a rivalry in the National League when the Braves called Milwaukee home from 1953 – 1965. Notably, due to the Brewers’ move to the National League, this matchup (Cardinals vs. Brewers) at the World Series will not happen again (unless one of the teams switches leagues). In the modern era, only this series and the 2005 World Series (Chicago White Sox vs. Houston Astros) will no longer occur due to league switches. In 2011 the Cardinals and Brewers did meet for the National League Pennant, the latest possible postseason series now possible for the two franchises to play each other in. This was the first of thirteen consecutive World Series over fourteen years that did not include the New York Yankees (during that time, a player’s strike wiped out the remainder of the 1994 regular season games, postseason and World Series and delayed the start of the 1995 season); to date, it’s their longest such drought since 1923, the year of their first World Series championship.

  • World Series - 2006 St. Louis Cardinals

    World Series Winner 2006

    The 2006 World Series, the 102nd edition of Major League Baseball’s championship series, began on October 21 and ended on October 27, and matched the American League champion Detroit Tigers against the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals won the Series in five games, taking Games 1, 3, 4 and 5. This was the third Series meeting between the Tigers and the Cardinals, the first in 38 years. St. Louis won the first in 1934, and Detroit won the second in 1968; each went the full seven games. The 1968 Series was the last before divisional play and an extra round of playoffs began.

  • World Series - 2011 Cardinals

    World Series Winner 2011

    The 2011 World Series was the 107th edition of Major League Baseball’s championship series. The best-of-seven playoff was played between the American League champion Texas Rangers and the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals, with the Cardinals defeating the Rangers in seven games to win their 11th World Series championship. The Series was noted for its back-and-forth Game 6, in which the Cardinals erased a two-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth inning, then did it again in the 10th. In both innings, the Rangers were one strike away from their first World Series championship. The Cardinals won the game in the 11th inning on a walk-off home run by David Freese. The Series was also known for the blowout Game 3, in which Cardinals player Albert Pujols hit three home runs, a World Series feat previously accomplished only by Reggie Jackson and Babe Ruth, and subsequently only by Pablo Sandoval (in 2012). The Series began on October 19, earlier than the previous season so that no games would be played in November. The Cardinals enjoyed home-field advantage for the series because the National League won the 2011 All-Star Game 5–1 on July 12. The 2011 World Series was the first World Series to go all seven games since 2002.

Cardinals Primary Logo
Cardinals Alternate Logo
Cardinals Wordmark Logo
Cardinals Concept Logo

The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The new Busch Stadium has been their home ballpark since 2006. With origins as one of the early professional baseball clubs in St. Louis, entrepreneur Chris von der Ahe purchased a barnstorming club in 1881 then known as the Brown Stockings and established them as charter members of the American Association (AA) the following season. Upon the discontinuation of the AA, St. Louis joined the NL in 1892; at that time, they were called the Browns and the Perfectos before they were officially renamed as the Cardinals in 1900.

Established
1882

City
St. Louis

League History
2000 – Present  Major League Baseball
1891 – 1999  National League
1882 – 1891  American Association

Nickname
Cardinals – In 1899, the St. Louis Browns became the St. Louis Perfectos. That season, Willie McHale, a columnist for the St. Louis Republic reportedly heard a woman refer to the team’s red stockings as a “lovely shade of Cardinal.” McHale included the nickname in his column and it was an instant hit among fans. The team officially changed its nickname in 1900.

Team History
1882 – Present  St. Louis Cardinals

Championship
World Series  11
2011, 2006, 1982, 1967, 1964, 1946, 1944, 1942, 1934, 1931, 1926

Stadium
2006 – Present  Busch Stadium III
1982 – 2005  Busch Stadium II
   1966 – 1982  Busch Memorial Stadium
1920 – 1966  Sportsman’s Park III
   1953 – 1966  Busch Stadium I
1893 – 1920  Robison Field
   1917 – 1920  Cardinal Field
   1899 – 1911  League Park
   1893 – 1899  Sportsman’s Park II
1882 – 1892  Sportsman’s Park

Owner
1995 – Present  William DeWitt, Jr.
1953 – 1995  Anheuser-Busch
1947 – 1953  Fred Saigh
1947 – 1949  Robert Hannegan
1917 – 1947  Sam Breadon
1911 – 1917  Helene Hathaway Britton
1899 – 1911  Frank & Stanley Robison
1882 – 1899  Chris von der Ahe

Retired Number
1 Ozzie Smith
2 Red Schoendienst
6 Stan Musial
9 Enos Slaughter
10 Tony La Russa
14 Ken Boyer
17 Dizzy Dean
20 Lou Brock
24 Whitey Herzog
42 Bruce Sutter
42 Jackie Robinson
45 Bob Gibson
85 August Busch Jr.
– Jack Buck

Mascot
1979 – Present  Fredbird
2011  Rally Squirrel

*Blue is this team’s history

Cardinals History Comments

Chicago Cardinals Team History

Chicago Cardinals Team History

Chicago Cardinals Primary Logo 1947 - 1959
Arizona Cardinals Primary Logo 2005 - Present
Phoenix Cardinals Primary Logo 1988 - 1993
St. Louis Cardinals Primary Logo 1970 - 1987
  • 1920
  • 1925
  • 1944
  • 1947
  • 1959
  • Chicago Cardinals 1920

    Chicago Team Formation

    In 1898, Chicago painting and building contractor Chris O’Brien established an amateur Chicago-based athletic club football team named the Morgan Athletic Club. O’Brien later moved them to Chicago’s Normal Park and renamed them the Racine Normals, since Normal Park was 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 original Racine Cardinals team disbanded in 1906 mostly for lack of local competition. A professional team under the same name formed in 1913, claiming the previous team as part of their history. As was the case for most professional football teams in 1918, the team was forced to suspend operations for a second time due to World War I and the outbreak of the Spanish flu pandemic. They resumed operations later in the year (even with the suspension they were one of the few teams to play that year), and have since operated continuously.

    At the time of the founding of the modern National Football League, the Cardinals were part of a thriving professional football circuit based in the Chicago area. Teams such as the Decatur Staleys, Hammond Pros, Chicago Tigers and the Cardinals had formed an informal loop similar to, and generally on par with, the Ohio and New York circuits that had also emerged as top football centers prior to the league’s founding.

  • Chicago Cardinals 1925 Championship

    1925 NFL Championship Controversy

    The 1925 National Football League Championship, claimed by the Chicago Cardinals, has long been the subject of controversy. The controversy centers on the suspension of the Pottsville Maroons by NFL commissioner Joseph Carr, which prevented them from taking the title.

    The Maroons were one of the dominant teams of the 1925 season, and after defeating the Chicago Cardinals on December 6, came away with the best record in the league. However, Carr suspended and removed the team from the NFL after they played an unauthorized exhibition game in Philadelphia, on the grounds that they had violated the territorial rights of the Frankford Yellow Jackets. Chicago played and won two more games against weak NFL opponents, but were sanctioned because a Chicago player, Art Folz, hired four Chicago high school football players to play for the Milwaukee Badgers under assumed names to ensure a Cardinals victory.

    Pottsville supporters argue that the suspension was illegitimate because the League did not then grant exclusive territory rights and that- in any event- they had verbal League approval to play the game in Philadelphia. Further, they argue that the Maroons, who were reinstated the next year, would have had the best record had they not been suspended. Others claim that Chicago were the legitimate champions based on the rules of the time. In 1963, the NFL investigated and rejected Pottsville’s case, and in 2003 refused to reopen the case. Both the NFL and the Pro Football Hall of Fame continue to list the Cardinals as the 1925 NFL champion.

  • Card-Pitt 1944

    Card-Pitt for One Year

    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. In 1945, the Cardinals snapped their long losing streak (an NFL record 29 games, dating back to the 1942 season and including their lone season as Card-Pitt) by beating the Bears 16-7. It was their only victory of the season. In 1946, the team finished 6-5 for the first winning season in eight years.

  • Championship Ring - Chicago Cardinals 1947

    NFL Championship Winner 1947

    In 1947, the NFL standardized on a 12-game season. This would be the most celebrated year in Cardinals history as the team went 9-3, beating Philadelphia in the championship game 28–21 with their “Million Dollar Backfield”, which included quarterback Paul Christman, halfback Charley Trippi, halfback Elmer Angsman, and fullback Pat Harder, piling up 282 rushing yards. However, Bidwill was not around to see it; he’d died before the season, leaving the team to his wife Violet.

  • 11-29--1959 Chicago Cardinals

    Move To St. Louis

    With the team almost bankrupt, the Bidwills were anxious to move the Cardinals to another city. However, the NFL demanded a hefty relocation fee which the Bidwills were unwilling and/or unable to pay. Needing cash, the Bidwills entertained offers from various out-of-town investors, including Lamar Hunt, Bud Adams, Bob Howsam and Max Winter. However, these negotiations came to nothing, probably because the Bidwills wanted to maintain control of the Cardinals and were only willing to sell a minority stake in the team.

    Having failed in their separate efforts to buy the Cardinals, Hunt, Adams, Howsam and Winter joined forces to form the American Football League. Suddenly faced with a serious rival, the NFL quickly came to terms with the Bidwills, engineering a deal that sent the Cardinals to St. Louis, Missouri beginning with the 1960 season in a move which also blocked St. Louis as a potential market for the new AFL, which began play the same year.

Cardinals Primary Logo

The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois.

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. The Cardinals and the Chicago Bears (the latter founded as the Decatur Staleys before moving to Chicago in 1921) are the only charter members of the NFL still in existence, though the Green Bay Packers, which joined the league in 1921, existed prior to the formation of the NFL. The person keeping the minutes of the first league meeting, unfamiliar with the nuances of Chicago football, recorded the Cardinals as from Racine, Wisconsin. The team was renamed the Chicago Cardinals in 1922 after a team actually from Racine, Wisconsin (the Horlick-Racine Legion) entered the league. That season the team moved to Comiskey Park.

Established
1920

City
Chicago – St. Louis – Phoenix

League History
1920 – Present  National Football League

Nickname
Cardinals – Contrary to popular logic, the team was not named after the beautiful bird but instead because the team owner Chris O’Brien purchased used and faded maroon jerseys from the University of Chicago in 1901 and dubbed the color of his squad’s new outfits “cardinal red.” A nickname was born. The team adopted the cardinal bird as part of its logo as early as 1947 and first featured a cardinal head on its helmets in 1960.

Team History
1994 – Present  Arizona Cardinals
1988 – 1993  Phoenix Cardinals
1960 – 1987  St. Louis Cardinals
1945 – 1959  Chicago Cardinals
1944  Card-Pitt
1920 – 1943  Chicago Cardinals

Championship
Super Bowl  0
NFL Championship  2
1947, 1925

Stadium
2006 – Present  University of Phoenix Stadium
1988 – 2005  Sun Devil Stadium

*St. Louis*
1966 – 1987  Busch Memorial Stadium
1960 – 1965  Busch Stadium

*Chicago*
1959  Soldier Field &  Metropolitan Stadium
1922 – 1925, 1929 – 1958  Comiskey Park
1920 – 1921, 1926 – 1928  Normal Park

Owner
1972 – Present  Bill Bidwill
1962 – 1972  Bill Bidwill and Charles Bidwill, Jr.
1947 – 1962  Violet Bidwill Wolfner
1933 – 1947  Charles Bidwill
1929 – 1933  Dr. David Jones
1898 – 1929  Chris O’Brien

Retired Number
8 Larry Wilson
40 Pat Tillman
77 Stan Mauldin
88 J. V. Cain
99 Marshall Goldberg

Mascot
1998 – Present  Big Red

*Blue is this team’s history

Cardinals History Comments

St. Louis Cardinals (Football) Team History

St. Louis Cardinals (Football) Team History

St. Louis Cardinals Primary Logo 1970 - 1987
Chicago Cardinals Primary Logo 1947 - 1959
Arizona Cardinals Primary Logo 2005 - Present
Phoenix Cardinals Primary Logo 1988 - 1993
  • 1960
  • 1984
  • st. louis cardinals football

    Moving to St. Louis

    Chicago Cardinals owner Violet Bidwill had married St. Louis businessman Walter Wolfner in 1949, two years after inheriting the team from her late first husband, Charles Bidwill. When it became obvious that the Cardinals could no longer hope to compete with the Chicago Bears, a move to St. Louis seemed to make sense.
    The NFL conducted a survey of St. Louis and concluded that it was capable of supporting a team. The league’s 12 owners unanimously approved the move, ending their 62-year stay in Chicago.
    The new St. Louis football Cardinals were competitive for much of the 1960s. New stars emerged in Larry Wilson, Charley Johnson, Jim Bakken, Sonny Randle, and Jim Hart. Violet Bidwill Wolfner died in 1962, and her sons, Bill and Charles, Jr. took control. Although the Cardinals were competitive again in the ’60s, they failed to achieve a playoff appearance during the decade.

  • St. Louis Cardinals 1960-1984

    Move to Arizona

    The overall mediocrity of the Cardinals, combined with an old stadium, caused game attendance to dwindle, and once again the Bidwills decided to move the team, this time to either Baltimore, Phoenix, or Jacksonville. Nonetheless, Cardinals fans were unhappy at losing their team, and Bill Bidwill, fearing for his safety, stayed away from several of the 1987 home games. Their last home game was on December 13, 1987, in which the Cardinals won 27-24 over the New York Giants in front of 29,623 fans on a late Sunday afternoon.

    On March 16, 1988, the NFL team owners voted to allow Bidwill to move the Cardinals from St. Louis to Phoenix, Arizona for the 1988 NFL season.

Cardinals Primary Logo

The club then moved to St. Louis in 1960 and played in that city through 1987 (sometimes referred to as the “Football Cardinals” or the “Big Red” to avoid confusion with the Major League Baseball St. Louis Cardinals).

Established
1920

City
Chicago – St. Louis – Phoenix

League History
1920 – Present  National Football League

Nickname
Cardinals – The “Cardinals” began play in Chicago in 1898 before moving to St. Louis in 1960. See the nickname description of the Chicago Cardinals.

Team History
1994 – Present  Arizona Cardinals
1988 – 1993  Phoenix Cardinals
1960 – 1987  St. Louis Cardinals
1945 – 1959  Chicago Cardinals
1944  Card-Pitt
1920 – 1943  Chicago Cardinals

Championship
Super Bowl  0
NFL Championship  0
1947, 1925

Stadium
2006 – Present  University of Phoenix Stadium
1988 – 2005  Sun Devil Stadium

*St. Louis*
1966 – 1987  Busch Memorial Stadium
1960 – 1965  Busch Stadium

*Chicago*
1959  Soldier Field &  Metropolitan Stadium
1922 – 1925, 1929 – 1958  Comiskey Park
1920 – 1921, 1926 – 1928  Normal Park

Owner
1972 – Present  Bill Bidwill
1962 – 1972  Bill Bidwill and Charles Bidwill, Jr.
1947 – 1962  Violet Bidwill Wolfner
1933 – 1947  Charles Bidwill
1929 – 1933  Dr. David Jones
1898 – 1929  Chris O’Brien

Retired Number
8 Larry Wilson
40 Pat Tillman
77 Stan Mauldin
88 J. V. Cain
99 Marshall Goldberg

Mascot
1998 – Present  Big Red

*Blue is this team’s history

Cardinals History Comments

Phoenix Cardinals Team History

Phoenix Cardinals Team History

Phoenix Cardinals Primary Logo 1988 - 1993
St. Louis Cardinals Primary Logo 1970 - 1987
Chicago Cardinals Primary Logo 1947 - 1959
Arizona Cardinals Primary Logo 2005 - Present
  • 1988
  • Phoenix Cardinals 1988

    Cardinals Relocate to Phoenix

    Not long after the 1987 season, Bidwill agreed to move to the Phoenix area on a handshake deal with state and local officials, and the team became the Phoenix Cardinals. They planned to play at Arizona State University’s Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe on a temporary basis while a new stadium was being built. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the savings and loan crisis derailed financing for the stadium, forcing the Cardinals to play at Arizona State for 18 years.

Cardinals Primary Logo

The Phoenix Cardinals are a professional American football franchise based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League as a member of the league’s National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Cardinals were founded as the Morgan Athletic Club in 1898, and are the oldest continuously run professional football team in the United States.

Established
1920

City
Chicago – St. Louis – Phoenix

League History
1920 – Present  National Football League

Nickname
Cardinals – The “Cardinals” began play in Chicago in 1898 before moving to St. Louis in 1960 and Arizona in 1988. See the nickname description of the Chicago Cardinals.

Team History
1994 – Present  Arizona Cardinals
1988 – 1993  Phoenix Cardinals
1960 – 1987  St. Louis Cardinals
1945 – 1959  Chicago Cardinals
1944  Card-Pitt
1920 – 1943  Chicago Cardinals

Championship
Super Bowl  0
NFL Championship  0
1947, 1925

Stadium
2006 – Present  University of Phoenix Stadium
1988 – 2005  Sun Devil Stadium

*St. Louis*
1966 – 1987  Busch Memorial Stadium
1960 – 1965  Busch Stadium

*Chicago*
1959  Soldier Field &  Metropolitan Stadium
1922 – 1925, 1929 – 1958  Comiskey Park
1920 – 1921, 1926 – 1928  Normal Park

Owner
1972 – Present  Bill Bidwill
1962 – 1972  Bill Bidwill and Charles Bidwill, Jr.
1947 – 1962  Violet Bidwill Wolfner
1933 – 1947  Charles Bidwill
1929 – 1933  Dr. David Jones
1898 – 1929  Chris O’Brien

Retired Number
8 Larry Wilson
40 Pat Tillman
77 Stan Mauldin
88 J. V. Cain
99 Marshall Goldberg

Mascot
1998 – Present  Big Red

*Blue is this team’s history

Cardinals History Comments

Arizona Cardinals Team History

Arizona Cardinals Team History

Arizona Cardinals Primary Logo 2005 - Present
Phoenix Cardinals Primary Logo 1988 - 1993
St. Louis Cardinals Primary Logo 1970 - 1987
Chicago Cardinals Primary Logo 1947 - 1959
  • 1994
  • 2006
  • Arizona Cardinals 1994

    Name Change to Arizona Cardinals

    In March 1994, Bill Bidwill renamed the team the Arizona Cardinals due to fan preference, Bidwill had initially resisted the name “Arizona Cardinals” due to the NFL’s tradition of team names that identified home cities, although the Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots were longstanding exceptions and the Carolina Panthers were set to start play the following year. The rest of the NFL owners quickly approved the name change.
  • University of Phoenix Stadium

    New Glendale Stadium

    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 western suburbs of Phoenix. University of Phoenix Stadium features a retractable roof and a slide-out grass surface, which is good for the hot desert weather; the new stadium has a state-of-the-art air conditioning system and high-back seats.
    The 63,500-seat stadium (expandable to 72,800) opened on August 12, 2006 when the Cardinals defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-13, in a preseason game. The Cardinals then hosted their first regular season opening day game since moving to the Phoenix area in 1988, defeating the San Francisco 49ers in a rematch of the 2005 blowout in Mexico City, 34-27, in front of a sellout crowd of 63,407. In February 2008, the stadium hosted Super Bowl XLII.

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The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football franchise based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League as a member of the league’s National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Cardinals were founded as the Morgan Athletic Club in 1898, and are the oldest continuously run professional football team in the United States. The Cardinals play their home games at the University of Phoenix Stadium, which is located in the northwestern suburb of Glendale, Arizona.

Established
1920

City
Chicago – St. Louis – Phoenix

League History
1920 – Present  National Football League

Nickname
Cardinals – The “Cardinals” began play in Chicago in 1898 before moving to St. Louis in 1960 and Arizona in 1988. See the nickname description of the Chicago Cardinals.

Team History
1994 – Present  Arizona Cardinals
1988 – 1993  Phoenix Cardinals
1960 – 1987  St. Louis Cardinals
1945 – 1959  Chicago Cardinals
1944  Card-Pitt
1920 – 1943  Chicago Cardinals

Championship
Super Bowl  0
NFL Championship  0
1947, 1925

Stadium
2006 – Present  University of Phoenix Stadium
1988 – 2005  Sun Devil Stadium

*St. Louis*
1966 – 1987  Busch Memorial Stadium
1960 – 1965  Busch Stadium

*Chicago*
1959  Soldier Field &  Metropolitan Stadium
1922 – 1925, 1929 – 1958  Comiskey Park
1920 – 1921, 1926 – 1928  Normal Park

Owner
1972 – Present  Bill Bidwill
1962 – 1972  Bill Bidwill and Charles Bidwill, Jr.
1947 – 1962  Violet Bidwill Wolfner
1933 – 1947  Charles Bidwill
1929 – 1933  Dr. David Jones
1898 – 1929  Chris O’Brien

Retired Number
8 Larry Wilson
40 Pat Tillman
77 Stan Mauldin
88 J. V. Cain
99 Marshall Goldberg

Mascot
1998 – Present  Big Red

*Blue is this team’s history

Cardinals History Comments

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