About Bob Underwood

Digital Content Creator for the St. Louis Football Cardinals (1960-1987) and founder of the Big Red Zone.

Remembering Bill Wilkerson

Posted on June 14, 2020 by Bob Underwood

St. Louis lost a broadcasting icon in 2017 when pioneering sportscaster Bill Wilkerson passed away at the age of 72.

Wilkerson’s career spanned over 4 decades and is most remembered for his work at KMOX radio where he got his start and made his name.

*Bill Wilkerson called Big Red games on KMOX Radio.*

Big Red fans remember Bill calling Cardinals games starting in 1973 and continuing until the team left in 1987. He also served as color commentator for the baseball Cardinals, St. Louis Blues, St. Louis Spirits basketball, and was the longtime play by play voice of the Missouri Tigers.

Continue reading →

Sibling Rivalry: How Bill Bidwill Landed the Cardinals

Posted on June 9, 2020 by Bob Underwood

After ten years of co-owning the St. Louis Football Cardinals, Charles “Stormy” Bidwill had had enough. Either he or his brother Bill had to go.

The Bidwill brothers took over the Cardinals after their mother had suddenly passed away in 1962. Violet Bidwill Wolfner was the first female owner in NFL history and she left most of her multi-million dollar estate, including the football team, to her sons. The brothers already held titles of President and Vice President, but Violet’s husband, Walter Wolfner, essentially controlled the team. After being pushed out after Violet’s death, Wolfner filed a lawsuit claiming the brothers were illegally adopted as babies. This shocked Stormy and Bill who had not known they were adopted until they heard about it in Probate Court.

Judges ultimately ruled against Wolfner, allowing the Bidwills to assume complete control of the Grid Birds in early 1963.

Continue reading →

Bonnie Sloan: First Deaf Player in NFL

Posted on June 1, 2020 by Bob Underwood

“This kid is an athlete. He’s got a real good chance to make our football team,” claimed Cardinals Personnel Director George Boone after drafting Bonnie Sloan in the 10th round of the 1973 NFL Draft.

Not only did the 6’5″, 260 pound defensive lineman make the team, he was the starting defensive tackle in the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The odds are long for any late round draft pick to make it in the NFL. The Cardinals already had three established defensive tackles in Bob Rowe, John Richardson, and Fred Heron, and they drafted Dave Butz with their top pick. But, Sloan had to overcome a larger obstacle. He was deaf.

Sloan was born in Lebanon, TN. His parents discovered that he was deaf when he was almost two years old. He learned to read lips and say words before the age of three and later learned to play football. Sloan earned all-state honors as a tight end and defensive tackle at Litton High School.

“We just thought football would be good therapy for him,” his mother told the New York Times. “We never thought he’d develop as he did.”

Sloan played college ball at Austin Peay where he was named team MVP and earned All-Ohio Valley Conference honors. In four seasons at Austin Peay, Sloan never jumped offside. His college line coach, Ray Thomas, felt that he should have been a fourth round draft choice at the very least.

“His deafness was definitely a factor in his not being taken until the tenth round,” Thomas told the Philadelphia Daily News.

*Bonnie Sloan was All-Ohio Valley Conference lineman at Austin Peay (Photo APSU Athletics)*

Continue reading →

Why the Cardinals Signed Sam Etcheverry

Posted on May 17, 2020 by Bob Underwood

It didn’t take long after the Cardinals moved to St. Louis in 1960 to realize they would need a new quarterback if they wanted to compete for an NFL Championship.

King Hill started the inaugural game in Los Angeles in 1960, but was benched at halftime. Backup QB John Roach was benched at halftime the following week. Hill, Roach and former Notre Dame star George Izo combined to complete only 44% of their passes and throw 25 interceptions in 1960. Some claimed that running back John David Crow threw the ball better than all three quarterbacks.

*Former CFL legend Sam “The Rifle” Etcheverry signed with St. Louis in 1961.*

Continue reading →

How Bing Devine tried coaxing Kirk Gibson to Cardinals

Posted on May 4, 2020 by Bob Underwood

Great flashback to the 1979 NFL draft. The Cards already made some excellent picks when they took a flier on Michigan State All-American wide receiver Kirk Gibson.

RetroSimba

In 1979, Kirk Gibson rejected a chance to play for the St. Louis Cardinals.

That’s because he was committed to playing baseball, not football.

On May 4, 1979, the St. Louis football Cardinals selected Gibson, a wide receiver at Michigan State, in the seventh round of the NFL draft.

A year earlier, June 1978, Gibson had been chosen by the Tigers in the first round of baseball’s amateur draft and signed a $200,000 contract with Detroit. The outfielder spent the summer of 1978 playing for the Tigers’ Class A Lakeland (Fla.) team managed by Jim Leyland before returning to Michigan State for his senior football season.

Gibson established school single-season records for receptions (42) and receiving yards (806) in 1978. He finished his Michigan State football career with four-year totals of 112 receptions, 2,347 yards receiving and 24 touchdown catches, all school records.

Gibson would have been “a certain first-round pick” in the 1979…

View original post 591 more words

Pete Retzlaff matchups vs. Cardinals were NFL classics

Posted on May 4, 2020 by Bob Underwood

RetroSimba

Pete Retzlaff was a Philadelphia Eagles receiver who was difficult to defend because of the precise pass patterns he ran and his reliable hands. Initially a flanker and split end, Retzlaff became a tight end and was instrumental in transforming the position.

During his 11 NFL seasons (1956-66), all with the Eagles, Retzlaff developed a respect for St. Louis Cardinals safeties Jerry Stovall and Larry Wilson. In 1965, Retzlaff told The Sporting News, “St. Louis has the toughest defensive backs. Larry Wilson was real tough when he played me, but now I find Jerry Stovall even tougher to shake. Jerry has to be the most improved player at his position in the league.”

Retzlaff later told the Akron Beacon Journal, “Once, after we’d played in the Pro Bowl, Larry Wilson told me he always said I was the toughest tight end he ever tried to cover.”

Retzlaff had multiple impressive…

View original post 1,164 more words

Big Red Legends: Jim Hart

Posted on April 25, 2020 by Bob Underwood

From undrafted free agent to one of the most prolific passers in NFL history, Jim Hart’s career had more than its fair share of challenges. The Chicago area native had to overcome fan favorite Charley Johnson in the late 60s, the Bob Hollway era in the early 70s, a career-threatening shoulder injury in 1973, and #1 draft pick Steve Pisarkiewicz in 1979. But he could not beat his last challenger, Father Time, which is still undefeated.

*Jim Hart played 18 seasons for the Cardinals. Only two other QBs had more passing yards than Hart when he retired.*

After losing his starting job to Neil Lomax, the Big Red released the 39 year old Hart in 1984. He would retire a year later as the team’s all-time leading passer, throwing for 34,665 yards and 209 TD passes. Only Johnny Unitas and Fran Tarkenton had thrown for more yards than Hart.

Continue reading →

Big Red Legends: Larry Wilson

Posted on March 24, 2020 by Bob Underwood

From a seventh-round draft pick to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Larry Frank Wilson played the game with sheer determination, guts, and maximum effort. He played 13 seasons with the Cardinals, earning 8 Pro Bowl selections and being named to 5 All-Pro teams. He is a member of the 1960s All-Decade Team and remains the organization’s all-time leader with 52 interceptions.

*Larry Wilson takes the field for the final time in 1972.*

EARLY LIFE

Wilson was born and raised in Rigby, Idaho, where he faced adversity as a youngster. His mother died of spinal meningitis when he was just ten years old and his father was a truck driver, so Larry helped rear his younger brother, John. As a teen, Larry worked ten-hour days harvesting potatoes, but his father encouraged him to play sports. Larry was a tremendous all-around athlete, earning 16 letters in high school. He broke the state high jump record and was a very good baseball and basketball player.

Continue reading →

Where are they now: Neil O’Donoghue

Posted on March 19, 2020 by Bob Underwood

A very good article on former Big Red kicker Neil O’Donoghue by Ian McCourt of the Guardian. Neil is currently living a quiet life in Florida and appears to be doing well.

Neil O’Donoghue: From ticket collector in Dublin to NFL field of play

Ian McCourt – @ianmccourt

Fri 9 Sep 2016 05.00 EDTLast modified on Mon 27 Nov 2017 02.59 EST

Neil O’Donoghue playing for St Louis Cardinals — Neil O’Donoghue’s time at St Louis Cardinals was a bumpy one. Photograph: George Gojkovich/Getty Images

Neil O’Donoghue was 17 years old when he was working as a ticket collector in Heuston station, Dublin, while playing part-time for Shamrock Rovers. Never much of a student, prospects were few and far between for him and Ireland seemed small and suffocating. He had already worked as a labourer in London when one day, he was approached by his brother’s friend, who asked him if he was interested in a scholarship to the US. O’Donoghue decided to chance his arm. “My idea was to come over here for a year and have a good time,” he says. “As it turned out, I fell in love with the place.”

Continue reading →

Big Red Legends: Johnny Roland

Posted on March 15, 2020 by Bob Underwood

By Bob Underwood / March 15, 2020

Some consider Johnny Roland the greatest football player in Missouri Tiger history. And if it weren’t for a knee injury suffered late in the 1967 season, he may have become the greatest running back in St. Louis Football Cardinals history.

John Earl Roland was born on May 21, 1943 in Corpus Christi, TX. He was a natural athlete, throwing two no-hitters while playing baseball in middle school. He also ran track and starred in “B” team football his freshman year at Miller High School in Corpus Christi where he ran for a 50-yard touchdown on his first carry. As a high school senior, Roland earned all-state honors rushing for 1224 yards and scored 14 touchdowns.

*Johnny Roland takes a handoff from Terry Nofsinger in a 1966 game.*

BOOMER SOONER DENIED

Roland had over 50 colleges interested in him after his sensational high school career. He signed a letter of intent to play for Bud Wilkinson at Oklahoma in June of 1961, but later decided to attend Mizzou.

“I decided I would rather not live in Oklahoma,” Roland told the St. Louis Dispatch in 1966. “I thought my best opportunities might come in the state where I attended college and I felt I definitely would prefer living in Missouri to living in Oklahoma.”

Although letters of intent were not binding at the time, Oklahoma filed a complaint with the Big Eight Conference charging that Mizzou hid Roland out in a Columbia motel until he enrolled.

“Actually, that’s not true,” Roland recently said. “I was working in Kansas City.”

The complaint was denied and Roland became a Missouri Tiger.

Continue reading →