1970's St. Louis Cardinals

[cardinals]

just some video history highlights

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[TRW]

Thanks for posting this. Brought back memories of many players of that era that I had forgotten. Those were good days for me.

Nice stroll down Memory (Macarthur) Lane

 

[Metcalf Rules]

Thanks for posting. MacArthur Lane was a beast. I was a huge Jackie Smith fan. I despised the Cowboys, but it still broke my heart to see him drop that easy td years later in the Super Bowl against the Steelers.

 

[Reign Blood]

I was only 3 when this season happened too bad the playoff rule wasn't in effect then.

 

[Bert]

I dont think I'd ever seen game film of Hart, it was just a bit before my time but his dropback/throw style reminds me a lot of Warner, or should I say Warner reminded me of him.

 

[Brak]

Good stuff. At age 13 that year, I was already quite into the NFL and glued to the TV all day on Sundays. We were living about 2 minutes off the Stanford campus, and I was a rabid Indians / Cardinal fan growing up. 1970 was magic - Jim Plunkett led them all the way to a Rose Bowl victory as 10 point dogs to mighty Ohio State, and won the Heismann. I remember those St Louis Cards teams of the era and some of their (few) great players.

 

[Mitch]

Great post and trip down memory lane. Love the old music on these highlight reels! Love too actually seeing a dominating offensive line and TE, big bruising runs up the middle and perfectly run screen plays! Thanks for posting this, cardinals!

 

[TruColor]

One bit of trivia with the '70 Cards:

That was the only season - up until 2005 with the logo and uniform redesign - that the Cardinals had Black trim on the Cardinal Red jerseys.

It was removed for the '71 season, because it was determined that the Black trim was too hard to see on TV. (The Cardinal Red was a bit darker in those days than it is now.)

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[cardpa]

One bit of trivia with the '70 Cards:

That was the only season - up until 2005 with the logo and uniform redesign - that the Cardinals had Black trim on the Cardinal Red jerseys.

It was removed for the '71 season, because it was determined that the Black trim was too hard to see on TV. (The Cardinal Red was a bit darker in those days than it is now.)

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Gilliam, 953 yards on 45 receptions that is over 21 yds. per catch.

 

[Osbern61]

Thanks for sharing! I think it weird that at the end of the intro they show a ball go through John Gilliam's hands. Not much of a highlight, maybe foreshadowing?

 

[PACardsFan]

I will never forget that 1970 season. It marked the epitome of what this franchise did to so many Cardinal fans of that era. Our defense kept our opponents out of the endzone for 4 consecutive games and the offense was the most explosive we had seen in years. But, as usual, as soon as it appeared we were heading for the playoffs, our offense couldn't stop turning the ball over & our defense turned into a sieve. I lived in Syracuse, NY, so many of my friends were Giants fans. All we had to do was beat an average NY team in St. Louis & we were division winners. Instead, Tarkenton embarrassed us & the Cowboys backed into the division title. Not only that, but the Cowboys ended up in the SB that year. They lost to the Colts on a last second FG. It didn't matter that we beat the Cowboys soundly both times that year!! I was never so devastated as a Cardinals fan, as we lost our last 3 games. I'm pretty sure that Charley Winner was fired for that choke job. We then sucked until Coryell took over the reins in 1974.

 

[BigRedRage]

look at all those white people pretending to be football players

 

[TruColor]

I will never forget that 1970 season. It marked the epitome of what this franchise did to so many Cardinal fans of that era. Our defense kept our opponents out of the endzone for 4 consecutive games and the offense was the most explosive we had seen in years. But, as usual, as soon as it appeared we were heading for the playoffs, our offense couldn't stop turning the ball over & our defense turned into a sieve. I lived in Syracuse, NY, so many of my friends were Giants fans. All we had to do was beat an average NY team in St. Louis & we were division winners. Instead, Tarkenton embarrassed us & the Cowboys backed into the division title. Not only that, but the Cowboys ended up in the SB that year. They lost to the Colts on a last second FG. It didn't matter that we beat the Cowboys soundly both times that year!! I was never so devastated as a Cardinals fan, as we lost our last 3 games. I'm pretty sure that Charley Winner was fired for that choke job. We then sucked until Coryell took over the reins in 1974.

Coryell took over in '73, but the Cards still finished 4-9-1. Just like they did in '71 and '72.

But '74, they got it together, and were actually good for a few years.

 

[BillsCarnage]

Just imagine if the goal posts were in the same place today.

 

[NJCardFan]

I was only 3 when this season happened too bad the playoff rule wasn't in effect then.

In 1976 the Cards finished 10-4 and missed the playoffs. 2 seasons later they instituted the 2nd wild card. And a side question, looking at the standings there were a ton of ties that season, 9 if my math is correct(team ties are 18 and since it takes 2 teams to tie I halved that to get 9). Considering that ties are really rare anymore even before changing the overtime rules that seems like an extremely high number. The Chargers alone had 3 ties that season. I was 5 and not much of a football fan then so why do you think there were so many ties?

 

[PACardsFan]

Coryell took over in '73, but the Cards still finished 4-9-1. Just like they did in '71 and '72.

But '74, they got it together, and were actually good for a few years.

Bob Hollway took over after Charley Winner & was awful. He last 2-3 years before Coryell. Even though the record was ugly in Coryell's first year, you could tell the team was coming.

 

[NJCardFan]

Here are 3 videos I just found on Youtube of the mid 70's Cardinals that won 2 division titles and missed out on another in 1976. This stretch saw the Cards go 31-11 but lose twice in the playoffs. The run ended on a Thanksgiving day in 1977 that started the Cards on a 12 game losing streak and a period of futility that didn't really end until 2008.

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[Reign Blood]

In 1976 the Cards finished 10-4 and missed the playoffs. 2 seasons later they instituted the 2nd wild card. And a side question, looking at the standings there were a ton of ties that season, 9 if my math is correct(team ties are 18 and since it takes 2 teams to tie I halved that to get 9). Considering that ties are really rare anymore even before changing the overtime rules that seems like an extremely high number. The Chargers alone had 3 ties that season. I was 5 and not much of a football fan then so why do you think there were so many ties?

They had a sudden death rule? I remember the rule I'm guessing after OT there was 2 minutes right?

 

[cardncubfan]

Why not add this to the other 70's thread? Just asking...

 

[NJCardFan]

They had a sudden death rule? I remember the rule I'm guessing after OT there was 2 minutes right?

Yeah. OT has always been sudden death and a FG would win it. OT has always been an extra 15 minute period.

 

[Metcalf Rules]

The original glory days in my life as a Cardinal fan!

 

[Reign Blood]

Yeah. OT has always been sudden death and a FG would win it. OT has always been an extra 15 minute period.

Wasn't there a two minute rule at the end? Sudden Death.

 

[NJCardFan]

Wasn't there a two minute rule at the end? Sudden Death.

The entire period was sudden death. Even by today's rule if you score a TD on the opening possession the game is over. For example, Thanksgiving 1980, this is the opening kickoff of overtime:

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[NJCardFan]

Why not add this to the other 70's thread? Just asking...

Because that thread was specific to 1970 not the 70's.

 

[cardncubfan]

Because that thread was specific to 1970 not the 70's.

Just nice to keep all of the 70's vids in one place.