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THE SOUTHERN ILLINOISAN
LES WINKELER: FOOTBALL CARDINALS IN ST. LOUIS BRING BACK MEMORIES
[Tue Sep 30 2003]
A wave, at least a ripple, of nostalgia rolled over me when Bill Bidwill's Arizona Cardinals came to St. Louis.
I can remember sharing a chair with my grandpa on cold winter days, watching the Big Red on a grainy black and white television. The memories are nearly as fuzzy as that old television, but I remember Charley Johnson, Sonny Randle, Larry Wilson, Prentice Gautt and Jerry Stovall.
Although baseball was my true passion as a kid, watching the Cardinals on television helped pass the time from October to April.
I loved those simple red and white uniforms. Although truth be told, I didn't know for many years that the uniforms were trimmed in red. On black and white television, the red socks and uniform stripes looked black.
It wasn't until I read a Sports Illustrated or Sport magazine article, probably about Johnson or Wilson, did I realize the uniforms were actually red and white.
As the years rolled by, I became more and more interested in the fortunes of the Big Red. I lived and died, mostly died, with the fortunes of the Gridbirds.
The Cardinals are football's version of the Chicago Cubs. Cardinals teams were generally mediocre, occasionally showed promise, but ultimately disappointed. (If the Cubs' pitching comes through this year, I'll have to apply a new analogy.)
The string of Cardinals disappointments began early.
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Johnson was one of the NFL's premier quarterbacks in the early 1960s. However, his career was interrupted when he was called to active duty in the Armed Forces.
Johnson was replaced, at least nominally, by Terry Nofsinger and Tim Van Galder. The team floundered for a couple of seasons before a fresh-faced kid from Southern Illinois University, Jim Hart, took over.
Hart was hardly an overnight success. However, he matured into a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback, someone who probably deserves to be in the NFL's Hall of Fame.
Yes, those Jim Hart years represented the Big Red's brush with greatness -- at least something well above mediocrity.
Don Coryell came in and built an offense based on Hart throwing to Mel Gray, Jackie Smith, Pat Tilley. Add talented runners like Terry Metcalf, Jim Otis and Ottis Anderson and you're talking about one of the most explosive offenses of the era.
Unfortunately, the defense was woefully lacking.
Football tickets were actually hard to come by for several years. However, I somehow managed to score tickets for a Thanksgiving Day game against the Miami Dolphins.
Typically, the Cardinals disappointed in a big way, losing 55-14.
The highlight of the game was Conrad Dobler getting ejected from the game and tossing his helmet about 30 feet into the air.
Then, in 1988, Bill Bidwill moved the team to Phoenix. The NFL effectively ceased to exist for me that day.
I tried to feign interest in the team after the move, but it just wasn't the same.
While I do keep tabs on the Rams, I feel little emotional attachment to the team.
The Cardinals-Rams game piqued my interest a bit.
The 37-13 Rams victory Sunday made me smile. It's comforting to know some things never change.
LES WINKELER is a sportswriter for The Southern. Contact him at [email protected] or call 618-529-5454 x15805
THE SOUTHERN ILLINOISAN
LES WINKELER: FOOTBALL CARDINALS IN ST. LOUIS BRING BACK MEMORIES
[Tue Sep 30 2003]
A wave, at least a ripple, of nostalgia rolled over me when Bill Bidwill's Arizona Cardinals came to St. Louis.
I can remember sharing a chair with my grandpa on cold winter days, watching the Big Red on a grainy black and white television. The memories are nearly as fuzzy as that old television, but I remember Charley Johnson, Sonny Randle, Larry Wilson, Prentice Gautt and Jerry Stovall.
Although baseball was my true passion as a kid, watching the Cardinals on television helped pass the time from October to April.
I loved those simple red and white uniforms. Although truth be told, I didn't know for many years that the uniforms were trimmed in red. On black and white television, the red socks and uniform stripes looked black.
It wasn't until I read a Sports Illustrated or Sport magazine article, probably about Johnson or Wilson, did I realize the uniforms were actually red and white.
As the years rolled by, I became more and more interested in the fortunes of the Big Red. I lived and died, mostly died, with the fortunes of the Gridbirds.
The Cardinals are football's version of the Chicago Cubs. Cardinals teams were generally mediocre, occasionally showed promise, but ultimately disappointed. (If the Cubs' pitching comes through this year, I'll have to apply a new analogy.)
The string of Cardinals disappointments began early.
ADVERTISEMENT
Johnson was one of the NFL's premier quarterbacks in the early 1960s. However, his career was interrupted when he was called to active duty in the Armed Forces.
Johnson was replaced, at least nominally, by Terry Nofsinger and Tim Van Galder. The team floundered for a couple of seasons before a fresh-faced kid from Southern Illinois University, Jim Hart, took over.
Hart was hardly an overnight success. However, he matured into a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback, someone who probably deserves to be in the NFL's Hall of Fame.
Yes, those Jim Hart years represented the Big Red's brush with greatness -- at least something well above mediocrity.
Don Coryell came in and built an offense based on Hart throwing to Mel Gray, Jackie Smith, Pat Tilley. Add talented runners like Terry Metcalf, Jim Otis and Ottis Anderson and you're talking about one of the most explosive offenses of the era.
Unfortunately, the defense was woefully lacking.
Football tickets were actually hard to come by for several years. However, I somehow managed to score tickets for a Thanksgiving Day game against the Miami Dolphins.
Typically, the Cardinals disappointed in a big way, losing 55-14.
The highlight of the game was Conrad Dobler getting ejected from the game and tossing his helmet about 30 feet into the air.
Then, in 1988, Bill Bidwill moved the team to Phoenix. The NFL effectively ceased to exist for me that day.
I tried to feign interest in the team after the move, but it just wasn't the same.
While I do keep tabs on the Rams, I feel little emotional attachment to the team.
The Cardinals-Rams game piqued my interest a bit.
The 37-13 Rams victory Sunday made me smile. It's comforting to know some things never change.
LES WINKELER is a sportswriter for The Southern. Contact him at [email protected] or call 618-529-5454 x15805
