Category Archives: In Memoriam

Stormy Bidwill, Former Cardinals Owner, Dies at 97

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Charles “Stormy” Bidwill Jr. passed away on November 3. He was 97 years old.

Charles Jr. and his younger brother Bill were adopted by Charles and Violet Bidwill, owners of the Chicago Cardinals. He went on to attend Georgetown University, where he earned his law degree.

Prior to the 1960 NFL season, Violet Bidwill, who inherited the team after Charles Sr.’s death in 1947, moved the Cardinals from Chicago to St. Louis. The brothers assumed control of the team after their mother’s sudden passing in 1962.

The Cardinals saw immediate success on the field after the boys took over, winning 18 games over the next two seasons and coming within half a game of hosting the 1964 NFL Championship. However, tensions between the two grew in the years that followed.

As his nickname implied, Stormy was emotional and outspoken, while Bill was quiet and reserved—the two couldn’t have been more different. For the most part, however, they kept their differences private and out of the public eye.

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Willis Crenshaw, St. Louis Sports Star, Dies at 84

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St. Louis native and former Cardinals running back Willis Crenshaw passed away on Monday at the age of 84.

Crenshaw grew up in St. Louis’ Central West End, where he became a standout two-sport athlete at Soldan High School before continuing his football career at Kansas State University. The Cardinals selected him in the ninth round of the 1963 NFL Draft, and he went on to spend six seasons with the Big Red (1964–69) as a versatile offensive threat who could run, block, and catch. He finished his NFL career with the Denver Broncos in 1970.

In a 2022 interview with Dennis Dillon, Crenshaw was asked what it was like performing in front of friends and family at Busch Stadium during his time in St. Louis.

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Remembering Luis Sharpe: A Life Beyond Football

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Former St. Louis Cardinals number one draft pick, Luis Sharpe, has died. He was 65.

The Big Red selected Sharpe with the 16th pick in the 1982 NFL draft. The 6-foot-5, 275-pounder was named to three consecutive Pro Bowls from 1987 to 1989 and played 13 seasons in the NFL, all with the Cardinals organization. He also played a season in the USFL with the Memphis Showboats.

Sharpe was born in Havana, Cuba, on June 16, 1960. He and his family fled Cuba for Detroit for a better life when he was six years old.

“We were following the American dream,” Sharpe said in a 1982 interview with the St. Louis Post Dispatch. “My father moved to Detroit and worked in an auto factory.”

At Southwestern High School in Detroit, Sharpe earned All-American honors in sports and academics. He was recruited by over 200 schools and chose UCLA, where he began on the defensive line but soon switched to offense. “It was the best thing that ever happened to me,” he said.

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From Sharecropper to NFL Star: Tootie Robbins’ Journey

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It didn’t take long for James Elbert “Tootie” Robbins to impress Jim Hanifan and the rest of the Big Red coaching staff during his first training camp in 1982.

The Cardinals selected the Windsor, North Carolina native in the fourth round of the NFL draft and had hoped he could provide depth on an aging offensive line. Robbins had other ideas.

“He has played like a first-rounder from Day 1,” Hanifan told the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

The 6-foot-5, 270-pound rookie impressed so much in training camp that the Cardinals shifted future Hall of Famer Dan Dierdorf to center, clearing the way for Robbins to step in as the starting right tackle.

“I knew I could play,” Robbins said. “I just never knew I could become a starter as a rookie.”

“Playing professional football is a dream come true for me. When I got drafted, I told my mom, ‘My dream is coming true.’

The Cardinals started the season with a pair of rookie offensive tackles. First-round pick Luis Sharpe was the other one.

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Former Cardinals Running Back Jerry Latin Passes at 71

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Jerry Latin, who played running back for the St. Louis Football Cardinals from 1975-1978, passed away this morning at the age of 71.

One of the greatest football players to come out of Rockford, Illinois, Latin starred at Rockford East High School and played college ball at Northern Illinois University.

After an injury-plagued senior season in DeKalb, the Cardinals selected Latin with their eleventh round pick in the 1975 NFL Draft.

“I was the last pick by the Cardinals,” Latin said in a 2020 interview in the Rockford Register Star. “I look at a guy like Jim Germany. He was the second-round pick out of New Mexico State,” Latin said. “If I hadn’t gotten hurt, could I have been a second-round pick?”

“I just went there to see what it was all about,” he said of his first training camp. “Then I got on the field and I saw that I hit just as hard as they did. I ran just as fast. I was just as good.”

Latin backed up Pro Bowl running back Terry Metcalf during his stay in St. Louis. But, he got his chance to shine in the 1975 season finale against the Detroit Lions and made the most of it.

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Former Big Red Lineman Herschel Turner passes at 82

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The St. Louis Football Cardinals lost another teammate this morning.

Herschel Turner, who played offensive guard and tackle, passed away at the age of 82.

The Cardinals selected 6-foot-3, 230-lb lineman in the second round of the 1964 NFL Draft out of the University of Kentucky, where he was an All-American offensive guard and tackle.

As a senior, he was named first-team All-Southeastern Conference and participated in the Blue-Gray Game and the Senior Bowl. He logged the most minutes played on UK’s 1962 squad, known as The Thin Thirty. Turner was named Sports Illustrated Lineman of the Week on November 10, 1963. He is a member of the inaugural UK Hall of Fame.

Turner played two seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals and was named the club’s Rookie of the Year in 1964 after starting five games on an injury-depleted offensive line. He received accolades from head coach Wally Lemm after his first start on November 22 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

“Herschel Turner, whom we had taken off the defensive unit and just starting working at offensive tackle last week, had a grade of well over 90. He is the best of our draft choices last year. He really wants to play.”

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Former Cardinals Head Coach Charley Winner, dead at 99

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Charley Winner, who played college football at Washington University and was the head football coach of the St. Louis Cardinals from 1966-1970, passed away on July 18, 2023, at the age of 99.

Winner spent 37 years in the NFL as a coach or executive. However, there were no press releases about his death. Over the weekend, an anonymous user on X, formerly known as Twitter, informed me of the former Big Red coach’s passing. I found a short obituary here.

Charley Winner lived a remarkable life and his passing shouldn’t go unnoticed.

WWII Hero

Charles Height Winner was born in Somerville, NJ, and starred as a two-way player for the Somerset High School football team. Winner stood only 5-feet, 6-inches tall but had great speed. As a running back, he scored 11 touchdowns his senior year and was named first-team All-County.

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Former Big Red Star Ernie McMillan Dies at 86

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Longtime St. Louis Football Cardinals star Ernie McMillan passed away last night at the age of 86.

The Cardinals selected McMillan in the 13th round of the 1961 NFL Draft. The Chicago native played tight end at the University of Illinois before becoming an offensive lineman in the NFL.

It didn’t take long for McMillan to master the offensive tackle position. He played in four Pro Bowls and was twice selected as second-team All-Pro. He was named the team’s Most Valuable Player in 1972 and won the Chuck Drulis Award in 1973.

McMillan was a team captain and inspiration to his Cardinal teammates.

“Ernie McMillan is a professional football player’s football player,” teammate Jackie Smith once said.

Throughout his playing career, McMillan enjoyed working with youth programs and was honored many times for his community service. He often spoke at local churches, schools and organizations such as the YMCA. He also published Proud Magazine, which was designed to give the black community in St. Louis a voice and a focus.

After retiring from football, McMillan served as offensive line coach for the Green Bay Packers and later the Cardinals where he worked under his former coach Jim Hanifan.

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Remembering Pat Fischer: Former Cardinals and Redskins Star

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Another Big Red star from yesteryear has passed.

Pat Fischer, the 5′ 9″ cornerback out of the University of Nebraska has passed away at the age of 84.

Fischer was a jack of all trades in college. His senior season, he started at quarterback and defensive back and was a fabulous kick returner. The Omaha native still holds the Cornhusker record with a career average of 18.3 yards per punt return. He was inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame in 1974.

In 1961, Fischer was the St. Louis Cardinals 17th round draft selection and was given little chance to make the team. However, he impressed coaches with his desire, toughness, and aggressiveness. He not only made the team, but played 17 seasons in the NFL.

After playing special teams for a couple of seasons, Fischer got his chance to start full-time in 1963 and led the team with 8 interceptions. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 1964 and was named first-team All-Pro after picking off 10 passes and scoring three touchdowns.

Fischer’s 29 Big Red interceptions still rank fifth all-time in team history.

He joined the Washington Redskins in 1968, where he played 10 more seasons.

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Former Big Red QB Charley Johnson Passes at 85 Years Old

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The first “great” quarterback of the St. Louis Football Cardinals, Dr. Charley Johnson, passed away at the age of 85 on September 3.

Johnson was the Cardinals’ 10th-round selection out of New Mexico State University in the 1960 NFL draft and took over the starting role from Sam Etcheverry during the 1962 season. He threw seven touchdown passes in season-ending victories over Dallas and Philadelphia and would compile a 30-15-3 record from 1963-1966.

The Big Spring, Texas native twice threw 6 touchdown passes in a game and had another one in which he tossed for 5 scores. He earned a trip to the Pro Bowl in 1963 and led the NFL in passing yardage in 1964 when the Cardinals finished only a half-game behind the World Champion Cleveland Browns in the NFL East Division. During this period, he also found time to finish his Doctorate degree in Chemical Engineering while attending Washington University in St. Louis.

In 1966, Johnson led the Big Red to a 7-1-1 record before going down with a season-ending knee injury against the Giants at Yankee Stadium. The next summer, Johnson was drafted into the U.S. Army, handing over the starting quarterback duties to a young Jim Hart.

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