Arizona Cardinals Team History
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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