- 1960
- 1984
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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. ... -
Move to Arizona
The overall mediocrity of the Cardinals, combined with an old stadium, caused game attendance to dwindle, and once again the Bidwill’s 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 ...
History of the Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals have a history of success in the National Football League, dating back to their inception as an expansion team in 1960. The franchise has won two Super Bowls and made 12 playoff appearances, including four NFC Championship games. They are one of only three teams to have never had a losing season since joining the NFL and boast some of the greatest players ever to play professional football, such as Hall-of-Famers Marshall Faulk and Kurt Warner.
Since its beginning, the Cardinals organization has been committed to excellence on and off the field while providing fans with exciting entertainment every Sunday during football season. From early days at Busch Stadium II (now known as Busch Stadium) through today’s state-of-the-art home at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona - Cardinal Nation is passionate about its team!
In addition to having multiple All-Pro players over time – many members from this historic franchise are enshrined into both college & NFL Halls of Fame: Dan Dierdorf (Michigan), Roger Wehrli (Missouri), Larry Wilson(Utah State), Ollie Matson(San Francisco). Thirty-two former members now hold that distinction for their respective schools or league - making them one of the most successful franchises for producing great talent!
The St Louis Cardinals continue to be competitive within divisional rivalries between the San Francisco 49ers & Seattle Seahawks; however, they also maintain strong relationships with other teams around the league well – especially those located Midwest region like Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, etc... This type camaraderie helps create healthy competition which ultimately leads more wins year after year! With recent acquisitions, free agency, plus draft picks upcoming 2018 Season could be very promising indeed!!
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 St. Louis Cardinals are one of the most beloved and successful teams in NFL history, with 11 World Championships and two Super Bowl titles. But few people know that the team's nickname has an interesting origin story.
In 1901, when the then-Chicago Cardinals were founded as part of a group called The Morgan Athletic Club, they adopted a cardinal red color for their uniforms because it was believed to be lucky. Some players even wore red underwear! As time went on and more fans began attending games at Comiskey Park (now U.S Cellular Field), they started referring to these “lucky” birds as “Cardinals” due to their bright colors on game days – hence giving rise to one of football’s oldest nicknames!
When owner Chris O'Brien moved his franchise from Chicago southward in 1960, he kept this same nickname but changed its spelling slightly by adding an "s" – thus creating what we know today as the St Louis Cardinals! This new moniker paid homage to its predecessor and served another purpose: It honored Cardinal John Glennon, who had been instrumental in bringing professional football back into Missouri after many years without any such presence there whatsoever.
Today this iconic team continues to bring joy and excitement every season while proudly representing both its city & state with honor & distinction - all thanks primarily due to those original fortunate birds that inspired them so long ago! Go Cards!!
Championship
Super Bowl 0
NFL Championship 0
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
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