Arizona Cardinals

 

The Arizona Cardinals are currently headquartered in Glendale, Arizona where they are part of the Western Division, which is part of the NFC. They play in the University of Phoenix Stadium located in Glendale, Arizona. This amazing team has a vast and rich history, since they are the oldest run professional football club in the U.S. Their main team colors are cardinal, white, and black, and tend to use the alternate (black) uniform for when they play on the road or are up against a team with similar colors. Their mascot is Big Red, a huge Cardinal that shows up to every home game to cheer on the team, which could be the reason he is one of the most recognizable mascots in the NFL.

 

Cardinal Brief Team History

The Cardinals have a great history, as mentioned before they are the oldest NFL team. They were first established in 1898 in Chicago, where they later became a charter member of the NFL in 1920. The club did move several times. The first time was in 1960, where they moved to St. Louis, Missouri, and caused quite a stir since the baseball team there was called the St. Louis Cardinals; football fans would simply refer to them as the Football Cardinals or Big Red. They played in St. Louis until 1987, where they moved to their new home in Arizona.

When they arrived at Arizona, they would play their home game at the Arizona State University, Sun Devil Stadium until 2006 when they started playing their games at the newly finished University of Phoenix Stadium that they play in today.

The person that is responsible for this success is Charles Bidwill, who was the owner of the Cardinals since their inception in Chicago until he died in 1947. From then on, it has been run by his son, Bill Bidwill.

 

Notable Cardinal Figures

The Arizona Cardinals have had several important players, as well as coaches throughout their extensive history.

 

Past Cardinal Figures

 

Jim Hart was a Quarterback for the Cardinals from 1966 to 1983, where he became the top quarterback in terms of passing yards in his career, which led to him getting 34,639 yards. He was picked four times to be in the Pro Bowl, and ended up getting the NFC Offensive Player of the Year award in 1974.

 

Ottis Anderson played as a Running Back for the Cardinals from 1979 to 1986, and is most famous for getting the all-time leader in rushing yards for the Cardinals with a record of 1,605 yards; he is also a leader in rushing yards for the NFL with 7,999 yards. His first year playing for the Cardinals he won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. He was certainly an influential force for the Cardinals.

 

Kurt Warner was the latest Quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, where he played his final seasons from 2005 to 2009. During his time with the Cardinals he managed to put up some excellent numbers, being leader in various different fields. He had 30 Passing Touchdowns, 401 Passes completed, and 598 Passes attempted all in 2008. It was also in 2008 that the Cardinals won the NFC title, and put up a good fight in the Super Bowl.

 

Present Cardinal Figures

 

Kevin Kolb is the new Cardinals quarterback when he started in 2011. Ever since then he has been able to bring the team together and post some excellent numbers. During his 2011 career, he managed to win half of the games, bringing the team back up after a couple of losing seasons. So far in the 2012 season, he has been making sure the Cardinals remain top dog in their Conference.

 

Larry Fitzgerald was drafted by the Cardinals during the first round picks in 2004, where he has remained as one of the team’s top Wide Receivers. He has managed to get over 1,000 yards consistently since 2007, and it looks like he will be able to accomplish this same task again during the 2012 season.

 

Ryan Williams is a new addition to the Cardinals, when he was drafted in 2011. This Running Back has already managed to become a great asset for the team. His performance during this 2012 season has not gone unnoticed and he will surely improve as the season progresses.

 

 

Present Team Personnel

The current people in charge of the Arizona Cardinals are a select and very well-traveled group. The owner and chairman of the team is Bill Bidwill, and the president is his brother, Michael Bidwill. These two have managed to keep this NFL legacy going for over 47 years. The current head coach for the Cardinals is Ken Whisenhunt, who used to be a Tight End in the NFL and has been coaching the Cardinals since 2007.

These members of the Cardinals are highly important as their decisions affect the team as a whole, and so far in the past decade they have been making all of the right calls, bringing the Arizona Cardinals that much closer to winning the conference title, as well as the Super Bowl.