Category Archives: Players

Big Red Flashback: Dierdorf’s Last Game

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Date: December 18, 1983

Place: Busch Memorial Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri

Temperature: 10 degrees at kickoff, with a -20 degree windchill by game’s end.

Dan Dierdorf, who played for the St. Louis Cardinals for 13 seasons (1971-1983), had announced at midseason that he would retire at the end of the 1983 campaign. The former second-round draft choice out of Michigan had planned to take a few snaps at his old right tackle position during the season finale against the Philadelphia Eagles, but the weather almost changed his mind.

Head Coach Jim Hanifan and Dan Dierdorf

The temperature at kick-off was only 10 degrees and it continued to drop throughout the afternoon. By game’s end the windchill was -20 F.

“I’ve been playing football for 23 years, and ever since I started, I’ve had a picture of my last game. But I never saw it snowing and five degrees.”

After being honored during a brief pre-game ceremony, in which former teammate Conrad Dobler and Cardinal head coach Jim Hanifan said a few words, Dierdorf bundled up in his Big Red parka and red stocking cap and stood shivering on the sidelines.

“I was so cold I could hardly move,” he said. “It’s really tough to stand around all day and then try to go into the game. I wasn’t planning on playing at all because it was so cold.”

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St. Louis Cardinals Alumni Christmas Gathering 2024

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Several St. Louis Football Cardinals alumni attended their annual Christmas Party at Wentes Restaurant in Chesterfield, Missouri on December 16.

The alumni congratulated Willard Harrell on his upcoming induction into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, and many shared memories of Ernie McMillan, Pat Fischer and Charley Johnson, who recently passed away.

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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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The Next Great Quarterback

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Marino, Montana May Have To Make Room For Neil Lomax

(Editor’s Note: This is a reprint of a Dennis Dillon article from the September 23, 1985 edition of The Sporting News)

Over the years, quarterbacks have formed the Ursa Major in the National Football League’s galaxy of stars.

In the 1960s, Johnny Unitas and Bart Starr were the luminaries. Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubach and Fran Tarkenton shown as brightly as anyone in the next decade. Thus far in the ‘90s, indelible prints have been left by Joe Montana and Dan Marino.

But a new star is rising. He began his ascent gradually, then shot into the constellation last year.

That star is the St. Louis Cardinals’ Neil Lomax, the latest in the NFL’s lineage of passing princes.

Lomax clearly exhibited credentials last season, throwing for 28 touchdowns and 4,614 yards and compiling the NFL’s fourth-best passer rating (92.5). He was fifth in completion percentage (.616) and sixth in yards per attempt (8.24).

Montana and Marino wound up as the leading men in Super Bowl XIX and, afterward, a Pepsi commercial. Lomax then adjourned to less-than-cosmopolitan West Linn, Oregon, where he spent a predominantly quiet off-season clutching golf clubs and fishing rods.

And there’s the disparity. Montana and Marino have become celebrities off the field. Lomax’s star? After the season, it sets rather inconspicuously in the Pacific Northwest.

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The 10 Greatest Big Red Games from the 1980s

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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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The 10 Greatest Big Red Games from the 1970s

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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.’ ”

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

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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.

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Big Red Draft History: 1983 NFL Draft

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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 1983 Draft, which was held April 26-27 in New York.

The Cardinals went into the 1983 NFL Draft with some uncertainty about their secondary.

Roger Wehrli had retired after the 1982 season, bringing to an end a 14-year Hall of Fame career. Carl Allen had bolted from the Cardinals and signed with the USFL. And Jeff Griffin was still recovering from a broken arm he suffered during the final game of the ’82 season, a 41-16 playoff loss to Green Bay.

Leonard Smith was the Cardinals first round pick in the 1983 NFL Draft

Who was going to start at left cornerback opposite Wayne Smith?

In an effort to answer that question, the Big Red loaded up on defensive backs in the draft, targeting the cornerback position in the first, second, fourth and sixth rounds. 

With their first-round pick (17th overall), the Cardinals took McNeese State’s Leonard Smith, who many scouts had rated as the second-best cornerback in the draft after Tim Lewis (picked 11th overall by Green Bay) despite having played at Division I-AA McNeese State in the Southland Conference.  

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