The 10 Greatest Big Red Games from the 1980s

Posted on August 13, 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 1980s (sorted by year). Agree? Disagree? Leave your thoughts in the comment section.

September 28, 1980: St. Louis Cardinals 24, Philadelphia Eagles 14

O.J. Anderson rushed for 151 yards and scored two touchdowns as the Cards knocked off previously unbeaten Philadelphia 24-14 at Busch Stadium. Box Score.

It was the Cardinals first win of the season (1-3) and the first in new head coach Jim Hanifan’s career.

“He cried when Dan Dierdorf gave him the game ball,” said Roger Wehrli.

“I was not prepared for an 0-3 start,” said Hanifan. “As a head coach you say, ‘Dammit, there must be something I’m not doing right. There’s something I’ve overlooked.’”

“We’re happy we won, we’re happy for ourselves,” said Dierdorf. “More than that, though, we’re happy for Jim. It hasn’t been easy on him.”

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Big Red Flashback: Cards-Vikings Faced Off in London in 1983

Posted on August 6, 2023 by Dennis Dillon

When the Jacksonville Jaguars play the Atlanta Falcons on October 1 at Wembley Stadium in London, it will mark the 43^rd time the NFL has held a regular-season or preseason game on British soil.

The first time was 40 years ago today (August 6, 1983), when the Cardinals met the Minnesota Vikings in the Global Cup. It was the brainchild of John Marshall, a former Hollywood screenwriter whose International Promotions Limited company sponsored the exhibition game. The Super Bowl had been televised in England for the first time the previous January—viewers stayed up into the wee hours of the morning because of the time difference—and Marshall believed there was interest to be mined in American football.

*Quarterbacks Jim Hart (L) and Tommy Kramer meet at the 50-yard line at Wembley Stadium on August 6, 1983.*

The Global Cup was played on a Saturday. The Cardinals, who had been practicing for a few weeks at training camp at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, flew out of St. Louis on a Global Airlines 707 charter that departed Lambert Field at around 7 p.m. Thursday and arrived at London’s Gatwick Airport at 10 a.m. Friday London time—some nine hours later.

“It was a long, long, long flight,” former Big Red guard Joe Bostic recalled recently.

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Don Coryell Inducted Into the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Posted on August 5, 2023 by Bob Underwood

At long last, Don Coryell is a Pro Football Hall of Famer.

The former Big Red head coach was part of the 2023 Hall of Fame Class who were enshrined this afternoon in Canton, Ohio. Coryell, one of the greatest head coaches in franchise history, compiled a 42-27-1 record during his five seasons in St. Louis (1973-1977).

In 1974, Coryell was named NFL Coach of the Year after leading the Cardinals to the postseason for the first time since 1948 and winning their first of two consecutive NFC East titles.

A falling out with owner Bill Bidwill led to him leaving the Cardinals after the 1977 season and he was soon hired by the San Diego Chargers where his “Air Coryell” offense became one of the most prolific in NFL history.

“We are all so happy for his family,” Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Dierdorf told the St. Louis Post Dispatch. “The family gets to celebrate, as do his former players and his former assistant coaches who are still around. I know ‘better late than never’ is a phrase that some people might want to apply here. But it’s bittersweet. I’m sorry, Don Coryell got elected to the Hall of Fame and you’re euphoric for three or four seconds before it hits you that—God, wouldn’t it have been something if he had still been alive to appreciate it.”

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