The 10 Greatest Big Red Games from the 1970s

Posted on July 29, 2023 by Bob Underwood

With NFL training camp upon us, let’s look at some of the greatest games in Big Red history. Below are my top 10 games from the 1970s. Agree? Disagree? Leave your thoughts in the comment section.

November 16,1970: St. Louis Cardinals 38, Dallas Cowboys 0

Perhaps one of the greatest Big Red performances of all time occurred on a Monday at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. Keith Jackson, Don Meredith and Howard Cosell were in town for Monday Night Football and the Cardinals put on a dominating performance with a 38-0 win over the Cowboys. Box Score.

Johnny Roland scored three touchdowns and Roger Wehrli picked off two passes and batted down five others in the victory.

“It was one of the first big games I had as a Cardinal,” said Wehrli, who still has a VHS tape of the contest. “At the end of the game, Meredith is just kind of blabbering all over himself and doesn’t know what to say,” Wehrli said. “Howard Cosell says, ‘Johnny Roland and Roger WEHR-li. From Miss-OURI. The Dallas Cowboys might need to go to Missouri to find some players.’ ”

Continue reading →

The 10 Greatest Big Red Games From the 1960s

Posted on July 23, 2023 by Bob Underwood

With NFL training camp upon us let’s take a look at some of the greatest games in Big Red history. Below are my top 10 games from the 1960s. Agree? Disagree? Leave your thoughts in the comment section.

September 23, 1960: St. Louis Cardinals 43, Los Angeles Rams 21

Six months after relocating from Chicago the Big Red played one of their greatest games of the decade when they beat the Los Angeles Rams 43-21 at the L.A. Coliseum. Box Score. John David Crow scored the first touchdown in St. Louis Cardinals history, John Roach passed for four touchdowns, three of them to Sonny Randle, and the Cards defense forced six Rams turnovers, a safety, and had 8 QB sacks in the victory.

“Randle had a phenomenal night,” head coach Pop Ivy said after the game. “It was nice to see Crow going again, too. That was a remarkable run on that screen pass.”

Continue reading →

How Miller Farr Regained His Confidence After Trade to St. Louis

Posted on July 21, 2023 by Bob Underwood

Miller Farr was a two-time first-team All-Pro cornerback for the Houston Oilers in the late 1960s. But a single play in a 1969 exhibition game shattered the Pro Bowler’s confidence and he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals less than a year later.

Farr passed away on Tuesday at the age of 80.

The Beaumont, Texas native was a high school track and football star and primarily played running back at Wichita State but was selected as a cornerback in the first round of the 1965 AFL redshirt draft by the Denver Broncos. He was released mid-season, signed by San Diego, and then traded to Houston prior to the 1967 season.

Farr blossomed into the one of the finest cornerbacks in the AFL with the Oilers. He led the league with 10 interceptions and scored three touchdowns in 1967 and only surrendered two touchdown passes in three seasons.

Although he earned a trip to the Pro Bowl in 1969, Farr didn’t play as well as he had the previous year, and he blamed getting beat on the last play of the last preseason game against the Baltimore Colts.

Continue reading →

Big red Draft History: 1987 NFL Draft

Posted on July 16, 2023 by Dennis Dillon

The Big Red Zone concludes its series looking back on each of the 28 St. Louis Cardinals drafts (1960-87). This installment focuses on the 1987 Draft, which was held April 28-29 in New York.

Undeterred by three previous failed attempts at finding an elite quarterback in the first round of the NFL Draft (George Izo, 1960; Joe Namath, 1965; and Steve Pisarkiewicz, 1977) the Cardinals took one more swing in their final draft in St. Louis and selected Kelly Stouffer with their first-round pick in 1987.

In three seasons at Colorado State, Stouffer passed for 7,142 yards and 36 touchdowns. He was a first-team All-Western Athletic Conference pick as a senior. And he was named the most outstanding offensive player in the East-West Shrine All-Star Game.

Despite that resume, several other quarterbacks had been rated higher than Stouffer, and many NFL scouts were surprised that the Big Red deemed him worthy of the sixth selection overall.

“We wouldn’t have taken him if we didn’t think he was,” said George Boone, the Cardinals’ director of personnel. “He may be even better than that. But time is going to determine that one.”

Continue reading →

Big Red Draft History: 1986 NFL Draft

Posted on July 9, 2023 by Dennis Dillon

The Big Red Zone continues its series by looking back on each of the 28 St. Louis Cardinals drafts (1960-87). This installment focuses on the 1986 Draft, which was held April 29-30 in New York.

Going into the 1986 NFL Draft, Gene Stallings knew defensive end was a priority for the Cardinals.

The team Stallings had inherited after succeeding Jim Hanifan as the team’s head coach had put up some disturbing defensive numbers in 1985: 34 touchdown passes allowed (most in the NFL), 13 interceptions (fewest), and 32 sacks (second to last). Only 13 of those sacks came from defensive ends.

*The Big Red selected Michigan LB Anthony Bell and UCLA kicker John Lee with their first two picks in the 1986 NFL Draft.*

More concerning was the uncertainty about Curtis Greer, the Big Red’s best pass rusher. Greer, who had started every game but one in the previous four seasons and had led the team with seven sacks in ’85, had undergone surgery immediately after the season for a knee that had bothered him most of the year. There was no guarantee Greer would be ready to go when the ’86 season started. (In fact, after having some cleanup surgery during training camp, he missed the entire season).

Continue reading →

Big Red Alumni Participate in the 16th Annual Jim Hart Celebrity Classic

Gallery

Posted on July 1, 2023 by Bob Underwood

This gallery contains 28 photos.

The 16th annual Jim Hart Celebrity Golf Classic was held at the beautiful Legends Golf Club in Eureka on Monday, June 26. The tournament benefits Sunnyhill, Inc., a non-profit organization committed to creating the best quality of life for both … Continue reading →