Monthly Archives: November 2019

Big Red Flashback: Revisiting Cards Record Breaking Victory

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Posted by Bob Underwood

The NFL was coming off another strike and the Big Red were on a three-game losing streak. They were facing a bad Tampa Bay team and owner Bill Bidwill was talking about leaving town. It’s a wonder that even 22,449 fans showed up to see the Cardinals play the Buccaneers on a dreary, rainy Sunday in early November.

And like many fans, the Cards were no-shows themselves for the first three quarters of the game spotting the Bucs a 28-3 lead. As St. Louis Post Dispatch columnist Kevin Horrigan wrote, “As the fourth quarter began, the Bucs are up by 25 points and it’s so quiet you can hear the cheerleaders, which is a bad sign. NFL cheerleaders are designed to be seen, not heard.”

But the game was far from over. The Big Red erupted for four touchdowns in the final 12:42 to win the game 31-28. It was the largest fourth quarter comeback in NFL history.

“Just another laugher,” said Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill who was accompanied by detectives after receiving a death threat prior to the game.

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Cardinals linebacker Bill Koman: Tough, opinionated

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An excellent piece by Mark Tomasik over at RetroSimba on the late Bill Koman who passed away on November 1st. Koman played in 120 straight games for the Cardinals back in the 1960s and was a two-time Pro Bowler.

RetroSimba

Bill Koman was a talented, durable outside linebacker and one of the respected leaders of the Big Red defense of the St. Louis football Cardinals in the 1960s. He also was outspoken and controversial.

Koman died Nov. 1. 2019, at 85. He played 12 seasons in the NFL for the Baltimore Colts (1956), Philadelphia Eagles (1957-58), Chicago Cardinals (1959) and St. Louis Cardinals (1960-67). He owned a real estate development and construction company and built it into a successful business in St. Louis.

Koman is remembered as a devoted family man, business owner and philanthropist.

Will to succeed

William John Koman Sr. was born in 1934 in Ambridge, Pa., located on the Ohio River 16 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. The town was formed by the American Bridge Company and attracted thousands of immigrants to work in the steel mills.

Koman grew up in nearby Aliquippa, Pa., and when he was…

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Sonny Randle and his greatest game for Cardinals

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Great story on former Big Red receiver Sonny Randle’s big day in 1962. No one scored more touchdowns in the decade of the 1960s than Sonny Randle. Great receiver!

RetroSimba

(Updated Nov. 4, 2019)

Among the most proficient teammate combinations in professional sports in St. Louis in the 1960s were Tim McCarver catching Bob Gibson with the baseball Cardinals, Lenny Wilkens passing to Bob Pettit with the NBA Hawks and Charley Johnson throwing to Sonny Randle with the NFL Cardinals.

Randle played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1960-66 after entering the league with the 1959 Chicago Cardinals.

On Nov. 4, 1962, Randle had what the St Louis Post-Dispatch described as “one of the most exceptional pass-catching days” in NFL lore.

Randle had 16 catches for 256 yards and a touchdown for the Cardinals against the New York Giants at Yankee Stadium.

The only NFL player at that time to have more catches in a game was Tom Fears of the Los Angeles Rams with 18 against the Green Bay Packers in 1950.

(Today, the NFL record is held by Brandon Marshall, who…

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