SPORTS TEAM HISTORY

Sports Team HistorySports Logo History
  • Home
  • Sports History
    • Baseball History
    • Basketball History
    • College History
    • Football History
    • Hockey History
    • Soccer History
  • Greatest Player Polls
  • More…
    • STH News
    • Team History Forum
    • Sports Team History Products
STH #3 Home Header 1440x650

Chicago Cardinals Team History

STH Clash of Logos NFL - Banner
STH Products Sale Banner
Sports News History Banner #2
Sports Market History Banner #4
Chicago Cardinals




  • 1920
  • 1925
  • 1944
  • 1947
  • 1959
  • Chicago Cardinals 1920

    Chicago Cardinals 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 ...
    Read More
    See Full Story
  • 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 ...
    Read More
    See Full Story
  • Card-Pitt vs Bears 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 ...
    Read More
    See Full Story
  • 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 ...
    Read More
    See Full Story
  • 11-29--1959 Chicago Cardinals

    Move To St. Louis

    With the team almost bankrupt, the Bidwill’s 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 Bidwill’s 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 ...
    Read More
    See Full Story

Cardinals Primary Logo
Cardinals Alternate Logo
Cardinals Wordmark Logo

History of the Cardinals

The Chicago Cardinals, now known as the Arizona Cardinals, are one of the oldest teams in NFL history. Founded in 1898 as an independent professional team based out of Chicago’s Normal Park, they joined the National Football League (NFL) in 1920 and have been a member ever since. The franchise has experienced many highs and lows throughout its long tenure in pro football but remains one of only two charter members still playing today; the other being their division rival – The Green Bay Packers.

Throughout their storied history with numerous name changes including Racine Normals (1898-1901), Morgan Athletic Club (1902-03), Racine Street Railway Co.-Cardinals/Racines Cards(1904–06), Decatur Staleys/Chicago Staleys(1920–21). In 1922 they changed to become what we know them best for: “The Chicago Cardinals” or simply “Cards” for short. During this time period from 1922 until 1959 when they moved to St Louis Missouri., the team had several successful seasons making it all way up to the championship game twice during this era but unfortunately never won any championships while playing at home field Comiskey Park.

After moving from Illinois, they finally got a taste of success winning back-to-back NFL Championships firstly against Philadelphia Eagles by defeating them 47-7 on December 28th, 1947 followed by another win over the same opponent 7 months later on December 19th, 1948. In the 1960s, the team relocated again this time moving further westward into Phoenix Arizona where eventually became known as ‘Arizona Cardnials' following the relocation announcement made publically on June 8, 1988, officially changing the name once more after having spent 66 years under the moniker 'Chicago Cardnials'. Since then Cardinals have enjoyed some level of success most notably reaching Super Bowl XLIII 2009 before losing to Pittsburgh Steelers 27-23 due to a late touchdown catch by Santonio Holmes which sealed the victory Steeler's side's last-minute play in the fourth quarter action that day!





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 - 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.

Championship
Super Bowl 0
NFL Championship 2
1947, 1925

Stadium
2019 - Present / State Farm Stadium
2006 - 2018 / 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
2019 - Present / Michael Bidwill
1972 - 2019 / 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

Who is the greatest Chicago Cardinals?
  • Add your greatest player

To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.

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

*Blue is this team’s history

Sports News History

Sports News Worth Knowing

RSS NFL Headline News

  • Ranking 15 notable QB moves from 2023 NFL offseason, from inevitable Aaron Rodgers trade to Derek Carr signing
  • Richardson flips after flashing arm for NFL execs
  • Ex-Lions WR Marvin Jones returns to Detroit as free-agent influx continues
  • NFL Three-Round Mock Draft 2023: Buccaneers trade up for QB; Steelers, Eagles add pass-catchers in Round 2
  • Mike Tannenbaum’s GM mock draft: A former exec makes 31 first-round picks

Sports Market History

Sports Team Marketplace of Champions!

NFL Logo Battle

NFL Greatest Player

STH Product Sale

NFL Teams
Menu
  • Arizona Cardinals
    • Phoenix Cardinals
    • St. Louis Cardinals
    • Chicago Cardinals
  • Atlanta Falcons
  • Baltimore Ravens
  • Buffalo Bills
  • Carolina Panthers
  • Chicago Bears
    • Chicago Staleys
    • Decatur Staleys
  • Cincinnati Bengals
  • Cleveland Browns
  • Dallas Cowboys
  • Denver Broncos
  • Detroit Lions
    • Portsmouth Spartans
  • Green Bay Packers
  • Houston Texans
  • Indianapolis Colts
    • Baltimore Colts
    • Dallas Texans
  • Jacksonville Jaguars
  • Kansas City Chiefs
    • Dallas Texans
  • Las Vegas Raiders
    • Oakland Raiders
    • Los Angeles Raiders
  • Los Angeles Chargers
    • San Diego Chargers
  • Los Angeles Rams
    • St. Louis Rams
    • Cleveland Rams
  • Miami Dolphins
  • Minnesota Vikings
  • New England Patriots
    • Boston Patriots
  • New Orleans Saints
  • New York Giants
  • New York Jets
    • Titans of New York
  • Philadelphia Eagles
  • Pittsburgh Steelers
    • Pittsburgh Pirates
  • San Francisco 49ers
  • Seattle Seahawks
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  • Tennessee Titans
    • Tennessee Oilers
    • Houston Oilers
  • Washington Commanders
    • Washington Football Team
    • Washington Redskins
    • Boston Redskins
    • Boston Braves
  • Proposed Teams
    • Baltimore Bombers

STH News

Latest Sports Team History News

History Of the Oldest NBA Team: Sacramento Kings

March 21, 2023

The Historic Success of Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski

March 21, 2023

The Sponsorship History of New York Red Bulls

March 16, 2023

It’s Now Clear: Ronaldo’s Exit Was Best for Both Manchester United and Cristiano

March 14, 2023

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Search in posts
Search in pages
Sports Logo History
Sports News History
Sports Market History
  • About
  • Contact
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy

Sports Team History
© 2013 - 2023 Sports History Group LLC - All Rights Reserved
  • Arizona Hotshots
  • Atlanta Legends
  • Birmingham Iron
  • Memphis Express
  • Orlando Apollos
  • Salt Lake Stallions
  • San Antonio Commanders
  • San Diego Fleet