Chicago Cardinals

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The roots of the Chicago Cardinals can be traced back to 1898, when Chris O'Brien established an amateur Chicago-based athletic team, the Morgan Athletic Club. O'Brien later moved them to Chicago's Normal Park and renamed them the Racine Normals, then adopting the maroon color from the University of Chicago uniforms. In the 1900s, the Cardinals became part of a professional circuit in Chicago. The Racine Cardinals joined the NFL later in 1920, after the league's initial charter meeting, and thus were not original charter members who paid the initial $100 fee. The Bears and the Cardinals developed a rivalry during those NFL first years. After some irregular campaigns during the 1950s, the Cardinals were largely overshadowed by the Bears in Chicago and almost fell into bankruptcy. In 1959, a group of investors including Lamar Hunt, Bud Adams, Bob Howsam, and Max Winter formed the American Football League after Hunt was denied an NFL expansion franchise—not specifically because of the Cardinals' financial troubles. The Cardinals would later move to St. Louis, Missouri, beginning with the 1960 season.

In Their Own Story

On November 28, 1929, Ernie Nevers scored six rushing touchdowns in a historic 40–6 victory over the Chicago Bears. In this contest, Duke Slater played all 60 minutes, alternating between offensive and defensive lines while participating on special teams. This game highlighted the resilience of African-American players during an era when the league was increasingly hostile to their presence. Between 1926 and 1927, a movement among NFL owners led to every black player being removed from the league except Slater. Although four other African-American players drew salaries intermittently through 1933, Slater remained the sole black player in 1929. By his retirement in 1931, he had achieved All-Pro status six times and never missed a game due to injury, starting in 96 of the 99 games he played between the AFL and NFL.

Reader's Guide

The original Racine Street Cardinals team disbanded in 1906 mostly for lack of local competition. A professional team under the same name formed in 1913, claiming the previous team as part of their history. In 1920, the team became a charter member of the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football League in 1922), for a franchise fee of $100. The Cardinals and the Chicago Bears are the only charter members of the NFL still in existence. The team was renamed the 'Chicago Cardinals' in 1922. In 1925, the Cardinals lost to the Pottsville Maroons 21–7. The league sanctioned the Cardinals for using ineligible players, and later awarded the championship to the Cardinals. Owner Chris O'Brien refused to accept the championship title, arguing his team did not deserve it. It was only after the Bidwill family bought the Cardinals in 1933 that the franchise began to claim the 1925 title as its own.

Did You Know?

• The Cardinals and Bears are the only two surviving teams from the NFL's 1920 season, though the Cardinals were not original charter members.
• The team's name 'Cardinals' came from used maroon uniforms that had faded to a color Chris O'Brien called 'cardinal red'.
• The Cardinals' rivalry with the Bears is the oldest in the NFL, dating back to 1920.