The storied history of the Arizona Cardinals is one that encompasses more than a century in American sports. A charter member of the NFL when it was formed in 1920, the Cardinal organization was actually founded back in 1898, making it the oldest recognized professional sports organization in the United States that is continuously run outside of baseball.
Currently, the Cardinals are members of the NFC West Division of the National Football League. However, despite their very long history they have not enjoyed a great deal of success over the years and the franchise has moved from their original location in Chicago to St. Louis and now to Tempe, Arizona where they are currently located. The Cardinals are certainly one of the most interesting franchises in the NFL and over the years has certainly created a great deal of history for themselves.
The History of the Cardinals Franchise
Before becoming charter members of the NFL in 1920, the Cardinals were part of a vibrant football circuit that existed in the Chicago area. The Cardinals left that circuit to become members of the American Professional Football Association which became the National Football League in 1922. Along with the Green Bay Packers, they are the only organization to still exist from that original timeframe.
The Cardinals were rather pivotal in the inaugural season of the NFL as their victory over the Decatur Staleys (who later became the Chicago Bears) allowed the Akron Pros to win first championship by playing the Staleys to a tie where the tie-breaker was their overall records. In the first few years of the struggling NFL, the Cardinals were at the center of many interesting contests where they set one of the most curious records that still exists today. In a game against Racine on November 25th, 1923, the Cardinals scored exactly 4 points which makes them the only team to score that exact amount in the history of the NFL.
In 1925, the Cardinals won their first NFL Championship under unusual circumstances as they won by winning percentage instead of in an actual championship match. This was because the NFL at the time had no set schedules or playoff system in place. After completing what would be the final game of the season the Cardinals found themselves in second place. So, the managed to schedule a couple of games against recognized opponents and thumped each one to the point where they had managed to overtake the first place team. Although highly controversial, it was not against the open-ended rules of the NFL at the time.
Perhaps a far more notable achievement of the Chicago Cardinals was the fact that they actually hosted African American players, including Duke Slater, one of the most outstanding lineman of his era. The Cardinals kept Slater on the roster even during times when the NFL was adopting rules which greatly limited the participation of African Americans. Slater played 99 games and was named All-Pro for six seasons.
Unfortunately, the Cardinals saw little success on the field after winning the 1925 NFL Championship. Over the course of the next 20 years, the Cardinals only had two winning seasons and had 10 losing seasons in a row that lasted until 1945. However, the end of World War II signaled a change in the Cardinal organization as they managed to turn things around. The NFL had standardized their schedule for 12 games in 1947 when the Cardinals enjoyed their best season ever. They went 9- 3 and beat Philadelphia 28 to 21 for their first and only NFL Championship. The following season the Cardinals managed to go 11 – 1 and participated in the first NFL Championship Game to be televised. However, they lost to their rivals, the Eagle 7 to 0 in a heavy snowstorm.
The 1950s were a terrible time for the Cardinals as their record plummeted and attendance dropped as more people went to Soldier Field and Chicago Bears games. With only 33 wins in ten seasons, the Cardinals were in danger of being totally forgotten when after undergoing a great financial struggle managed to move the team to St. Louis in 1960.
From 1960 to 1987, the Cardinals played in St. Louis with mediocre results, enjoying a few winning seasons and some success, but for the most part not making the post season. It took 14 years before the Cardinals became truly competitive under the auspices of Don Coryell who engineered his team to win the NFC East, but through a quirk in the schedule had to go on the road and lost to the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the playoffs, the first playoff game the Cardinals were in since 1948. The Cardinals won the NFC East the following season, but lost to the Rams in the first round of the playoffs. That was the only notable success for the Cardinals in their stay in St. Louis. By 1998, the franchise had moved to Tempe, Arizona.
The Cardinals struggled in their first decade in Tempe, but by the end of the 1990s the team had shown some life with Jake Plummer as the quarterback winning some close games and managing in 1998 to beat the Cowboys in their first post-season victory since 1947, a stretch of 51 years.
However, that brief moment of success burned out the following season and the Cardinals slumped back into their losing ways for another decade until they won the NFC West Division in 2008 and their first home post-season game since 1948. However, it was not until the following year that the Cardinals won their second post-season contest since 1947 and then won two more playoff games to reach Super Bowl XLIII against the Pittsburg Steelers, only to lose in an exciting 27 to 23 contest. Still, the Cardinals manage to win more post-season games in that one year than all of their previous years in the NFL combined.
Today, the Cardinal franchise is still strong in the Tempe area and has a devoted fan base. In 2014, the Cardinals managed to secure another post-season playoff game despite undergoing numerous injuries which provides hope to the Cardinal faithful that a Super Bowl victory is within their grasp at some point.
Cardinals Super Bowl Odds
The Cardinals are a lot shot to win the Super Bowl. Their current odds in Las Vegas are 75-1. If you like Arizona to win the Super Bowl, you should bet on them now as their odds will only increase if they win this weekend. Good Luck!
