Big Red Draft History: 1966 NFL Draft

Posted on March 15, 2023 by Dennis Dillon

As we move closer to the 2023 NFL Draft (April 27-29), The Big Red Zone is looking back on each of the 28 St. Louis Cardinals drafts (1960-87). This installment focuses on the 1966 Draft, which was held on November 27, 1965, in New York.

Since 1966 was the last year the NFL Draft had 20 rounds, this seems like a good point to stop and evaluate the Cardinals’ drafts from 1960 (their first season in St. Louis) to 1966. In those seven drafts, the Big Red selected 151 players. According to our player ratings, based on what those players contributed to the Cardinals, this is the breakdown:

To say the Cardinals underachieved in those seven drafts would be generous.

In 1966—just like the year before, when they selected quarterback Joe Namath—the Cardinals lost their No. 1 pick in a bidding war with the AFL’s New York Jets. St. Louis chose Oklahoma linebacker Carl McAdams with the eighth overall pick.

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Big Red Draft History: 1965 NFL Draft

Posted on March 14, 2023 by Dennis Dillon

As we move closer to the 2023 NFL Draft (April 27-29), The Big Red Zone is looking back on each of the 28 St. Louis Cardinals drafts (1960-87). This installment focuses on the 1965 Draft, which was held November 28, 1964 in New York.

For the second year in a row, the Cardinals’ draft turned out to be generally disappointing. Except for running backs Johnny Roland and Roy Shivers, both of whom had one more year of college eligibility (at Missouri and Utah State, respectively) and wouldn’t start their NFL careers until 1966, the team received minimal production from its 20 selections.

The Big Red made a play for Joe Namath, taking the Alabama quarterback with their first-round pick (12^th overall), but lost him in a bidding war with the New York Jets, who made him the first overall pick in the AFL Draft. The Cardinals dispatched two representatives to Tuscaloosa, AL to meet with Namath in his dorm room and try to sign him to a contract. Namath told them he wanted a $200,000 annual contract and a Lincoln Continental convertible.

“They said, ‘Oh, my god.’ The two guys fell off the bed,” Namath recalled in a 2021 podcast on The Exchange. “They went into this ‘My god’ motion and then it made me feel like a, I don’t know, a jerk.”

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Big Red Draft History: 1964 NFL Draft

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Dennis Dillon

As we move closer to the 2023 NFL Draft (April 27-29), The Big Red Zone is looking back on each of the 28 St. Louis Cardinals drafts (1960-87). This installment focuses on the 1964 Draft, which was held on December 3, 1963 in Chicago.

1964 St. Louis Cardinals Draft Picks

*From the December 15, 1963 edition of the St. Louis Post Dispatch.*

After the 21-hour and 43-minute selection meeting ended around dawn on December 4, Cardinals team president Stormy Bidwill said, “We think it was a successful draft for us.” He should have rethought that thought. The Big Red couldn’t have gotten less production from the ’64 draft if their scouts had put on blindfolds and thrown darts at their draft board. Only three of their 20 picks made the team’s roster and 14—14!—never even played in the NFL.

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Big Red Draft History: 1963 NFL Draft

Posted on March 9, 2023 by Dennis Dillon

As we move closer to the 2023 NFL Draft (April 27-29), The Big Red Zone is looking back on each of the 28 St. Louis Cardinals drafts (1960-87). This installment focuses on the 1963 Draft, which was held on December 3, 1962, in Chicago.

1963 St. Louis Cardinals Draft

*Hall of Famer Jackie Smith was the Cards 10th round selection in the 1963 draft.*

One year after one of the worst drafts in team history, the Cardinals had one of its best. Eight players made the roster (two more would join it in ’64) and four of those eight (strong safety Jerry Stovall, linebacker Larry Stallings, defensive end Don Brumm and tight end Jackie Smith) started as rookies. “I still can’t believe that a draft could be so productive,” coach Wally Lemm said. “Several of them were among the best players we ever had.”

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Big Red Draft Results: 1961

Posted on March 5, 2023 by Dennis Dillon

As the NFL moves closer to the 2023 Draft (April 27-29), the Big Red Zone is looking back at each of the St. Louis Cardinals’ 28 drafts (starting in 1960). Each installment in the series will include a list of that year’s selections, a rating of each pick based on that player’s contributions to the Cardinals, and notes about some of the players. Feel free to debate. One thing we probably all can agree on: The Big Red had a lot of bad drafts even before George Boone arrived on the scene.

1961 St. Louis Cardinals Draft

*Ernie McMillan and Pat Fischer played a combined 32 seasons in the NFL*

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Big Red Draft Results : 1960

Posted on March 3, 2023 by Dennis Dillon

As the NFL moves closer to the 2023 Draft (April 27-29), the Big Red Zone will look back at each of the St. Louis Cardinals’ 28 drafts, starting in 1960. Each installment in the series will include a list of that year’s selections, a rating of each pick based on that player’s contributions to the Cardinals, and notes about some of the players. Feel free to debate. One thing we probably all can agree on: The Big Red had a lot of bad drafts even before George Boone arrived on the scene.

1960 St. Louis Cardinals Draft

*Larry Wilson, Charley Johnson, and Bob DeMarco all came out of the 1960 Draft and had long careers in the NFL.*

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Big Red Flashback 1960: Cards Draft George Izo Number One

Posted on March 1, 2023 by Dennis Dillon

With the 2023 NFL Draft on the horizon (April 27-29 in Kansas City), the Big Red Zone is looking back at each of the St. Louis Cardinals’s 28 drafts, starting in 1960. Each installment in the series will include a list of that year’s selections, an evaluation of each pick (based on what the player contributed to the Cardinals), and notes about some of the players. We begin the series with a story on the St. Louis team’s first draft pick: quarterback George Izo.

During their time in St. Louis (1960-87), the football Cardinals took 24 shots at drafting quarterbacks. They missed on only 22 of them.

With the exceptions of Charley Johnson and Neil Lomax, the other quarterbacks drafted contributed little to nothing to the Cardinals, played for other teams, or never played a single snap in the NFL. Four of the misfires came in the first round, starting, well, right from the start.

Although the Cardinals were still in Chicago when the 1960 draft was held on November 29, 1959, that is recognized as the first draft class in the team’s St. Louis history. And with their first pick in that draft (No. 2 overall), the Big Red selected Notre Dame quarterback George Izo.

(Izo also was a “territorial selection” of the New York Titans in the 1960 AFL draft. He chose to sign with the Cardinals—for $15,000, including a $2,000 signing bonus—not only because the AFL was just beginning but also because Chicago was geographically close to Notre Dame and he thought he could parlay his college stardom and, hopefully, success in the NFL into a lucrative off-the-field career in Chicago business. He even received a lucrative offer from Chicago radio station WGN. Alas, the Cardinals moved to St. Louis in March 1960.)

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Big Red Draft Guru: George Boone Had No Regrets

Posted on May 2, 2021 by Bob Underwood

“If you are a coach, you coach; if you are a scout, you scout,” Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill once said. “We believe in a policy of separation.”

More times than not, that policy did not work for the St. Louis Football Cardinals.

After the 1973 NFL draft, the Cards promoted Kentucky native George Boone to the position of director of player personnel. From 1974 to 1987 only the Green Bay Packers had fewer collective Pro Bowl appearances among their draft picks.

*George Boone was the Cardinals controversial personnel director from 1973-1991.*

And only three teams saw a higher percentage of their number one draft choices fail to develop into quality players.

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Big Red Characters: “Dr. Doom” John Barefield

Posted on March 23, 2021 by Bob Underwood

Posted by Bob Underwood

John Barefield spent only three seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, but with all due respect to Conrad Dobler, there may not have been a larger character. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound linebacker was the Cards second-round draft pick in 1978 out of Texas A&I University where he was known for wearing quarters in his ears, stalking cemeteries at night, writing poetry about his tackles, and going by the name of Doctor Doom.

*John “Dr. Doom” Barefield played with the Cardinals from 1978-1980 (Photo courtesy of Paul Turner)*

“I know I’m strange. I’ve got a strange mind,” the flamboyant linebacker said at a rookie workout at Busch Stadium in 1978. “I see visions, vibes and things. I was going to leave my Dr. Doom cap back at college, but I found myself putting it back on.”

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Big Red Draft: All-Time Picks by Round

Posted on January 31, 2021 by Bob Underwood

Posted by Bob Underwood

Most people are aware of the historic struggles the St. Louis Cardinals had when it came to the NFL draft. There were some very good drafts over the years (1979-1983 for example), but more times than not, the Big Red left their fans scratching their heads (“They drafted a girl!”).

I thought it would be fun to go back and rank the all-time Big Red draft picks by round. Many on this list were no-brainers, but there were a few very competitive rounds. I’m sure everyone will agree that some of the greatest names in Cardinals history are on this list, including four Cardiac Cards offensive lineman, and all four Hall of Famers. But I also learned something about the Cards top 16th and 20th round picks, Jimmy Lee Hunt and Tom Day. Both were released by the Cardinals and both went on to become stars in the AFL. Hope you enjoy!

ALL-TIME ST. LOUIS CARDINAL DRAFT PICKS BY ROUND

ROUND 1 – ROGER WEHRLI (1969)

Wehrli was a consensus All-American at Missouri when the Cards selected him with the 19th pick in the draft. He went on to a 14 year career in St. Louis that included 3 All-Pro and 7 Pro Bowl selections. He had 40 interceptions, 19 fumble recoveries and was the longtime holder for Big Red kickers. He returned a fake FG for a TD in his final NFL game in 1982. Roger Staubach called him the best cornerback he ever played against. Wehrli was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and the 1970s NFL All-Decade Team.