Category Archives: Players

Big Red Draft History: 1977 NFL Draft

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Do 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 1977 Draft, which was held May 3-4 in New York.

In March 1977, the Cardinals brought in Steve Pisarkiewicz for a pre-draft visit at Busch Stadium. The former University of Missouri quarterback spent the day being quizzed about defensive coverages, getting a physical evaluation, and throwing passes on the field. The visit wrapped up with a dinner at the stadium club, where Cardinals Director of Operations Joe Sullivan and head coach Don Coryell dined with Zark, his mom, and his McCluer High football coach. 

“It was a great day, actually,” Zark recalls in an April 2023 interview with the Big Red Zone. At least until the end.

During dinner, Pisarkiewicz recalls, “Coryell leaned over to me—I’ll never forget—and said, ‘Hey, Steve, I want to thank you for coming in and spending the day with us. I know being from St. Louis you’re probably a longtime Cardinals fan. I just want to wish you luck in your career. We’re not going to go after a quarterback this year, but we wanted to get some information on you and we’re glad you came in. All the best to you.’” 

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Former St. Louis Cardinals Linebacker Mark Arneson Dies at the age of 73

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Durable… hard-working… aggressive. Those are just some of the words that describe the football career of Mark Arneson who played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1972-1980. The former linebacker passed away this morning at the age of 73.

Arneson was a three-sport star (football, track, and wrestling) at Palo Verde High School in Tucson, AZ, and played college ball at his hometown University of Arizona.

The 6-foot-2 inch, 210-pound linebacker was a 2-time All-Western Athletic Conference performer and became the first Arizona Wildcat to earn first-team All-American honors.

The Big Red selected Arneson with their second pick (#32 overall) in the 1972 NFL draft. He was chosen to play in the College All-Star game later that summer in Chicago and would miss a couple of weeks of his rookie training camp.

“I have mixed feelings about the All-Star Game,” he told Jeff Meyers of the St. Louis Post Dispatch. “On one side it’s a pain in the neck. I should be in camp. That’s the most important place for me.”

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Big Red Draft History: 1973 NFL Draft

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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 1973 Draft, which was held January 30-31 in New York.

After his first draft as head coach of the Cardinals, Don Coryell gave his stamp of approval to the team’s first four picks: Purdue defensive tackle Dave Butz, Texas-El Paso quarterback-punter Gary Keithley, Bowling Green guard Fred Sturt, and Long Beach State running back Terry Metcalf.

“We drafted the great defensive lineman, the young quarterback with super potential, the fine offensive lineman, and the darting-type runner,” Coryell told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Only one of those four players worked out.

Butz played in only 13 games before departing St. Louis over a money issue. Keithley stuck around for just one season. And Sturt never played for the Cardinals.

Metcalf was the exception. An exciting multipurpose player who played five seasons for the Big Red, Metcalf became one of the linchpins of the Cardiac Cards with his ability to run, catch and return kicks.

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Big Red Draft Results: 1962 NFL Draft

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As we move closer to the 2023 NFL Draft (April 27-29), The Big Red Zone is looking back on all of the 28 St. Louis Cardinals drafts (1960-87). This installment focuses on the 1962 Draft, which was held December 4, 1961 in Chicago. Although the Cardinals had 21 picks, it was arguably their least productive selection meeting. Wally Lemm, who was in his first season as the team’s head coach in 1962, summarized it succinctly. “We came up with only one player, Irv Goode, who helped us,” Lemm said in the 1975 book “Big Red,” written by St. Louis Globe-Democrat sports editor Robert L. Burnes.

1961 St. Louis Cardinals Draft

Irv Goode played 10 seasons in St. Louis and earned two trips to the Pro Bowl.
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Steve Jones: Big Red Super Sub

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Steve Jones experienced both good times and hard times in his National Football League career.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound running back was a 5th-round draft choice of the Los Angeles Rams in 1973 but was slowed by a hamstring injury and traded to St. Louis in training camp.

During his brief stay with the Cardinals, Jones impressed some coaches, but there was no room in a crowded backfield that included Terry Metcalf, Jim Otis, Donnie Anderson, Ken Willard, and Eddie Moss.

“I was beginning to pick up the St. Louis system,” Jones told The News and Observer in a 1973 interview. “They liked the way I was playing. And I know Larry Wilson was upset when I was put on waivers.”

After being release by St. Louis, Jones signed with the Buffalo Bills but didn’t see much action playing behind O.J. Simpson.

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Big Red Flashback 1960: Cards Draft George Izo Number One

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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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Niko Noga: One Tough Samoan

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He has an “unusual background,” head coach Jim Hanifan said after the Cardinals drafted a little-known linebacker in the eighth round of the 1984 NFL draft.

That man was University of Hawaii star Falaniko “Niko” Noga, who was born in American Samoa in 1962. He said that being born with him was something that is given to all Samoans at birth.

“It’s an instinct that comes from way back,” he told the St. Louis Post Dispatch in a 1985 interview. “I think our people have big monsters in them. We believe that we can do anything to anybody. When you realize you have that monster in you, you have to find something to use it for. I found football.”

The 6-foot-1, 235-pound rookie quickly caught the eye of head coach Jim Hanifan. He excelled on special teams and introduced himself to the home fans in an October 1984 game against the Chicago Bears.

Noga broke open a close game when he barrelled through the Bears’ line and blocked Dave Finzer’s punt with just over 6 minutes remaining in the contest.

“As soon as I saw him drop the snap, I put on my engine and was gone,” Noga said after the game. “The play wasn’t designed to block a punt. But when I saw what had happened, I knew what I had to do. I just wanted to get there.

“That’s the best hit I’ve had in the National Football League,” the rookie added.

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Former Big Red Legend Conrad Dobler Dead at the Age of 72

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Conrad Dobler, who Sports Illustrated once anointed “Pro Football’s Dirtiest Player,” has passed away at the age of 72 according to his family and former teammates.

Dobler played college ball at Wyoming and was a 5th round draft choice in 1972 by the St. Louis Football Cardinals where he played six seasons. He was traded to the New Orleans Saints in 1978 where he added toughness to a historically losing organization before finishing his career in Buffalo in 1980 and 1981.

“Our hearts go out to the family, friends and former teammates of Conrad Dobler,” Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill said in the team’s statement “He was the kind of tough, physical and fierce player that you love to line up with as a teammate and hate to line up against as an opponent. On the field, Conrad was a big reason for the success of the Cardiac Cards of the 1970s. Away from it, he brought authentic joy and caring to everyone who had the privilege of being his friend and that is what I will remember most.”

“Conrad was like a brother to me,” former teammate and friend Dan Dierdorf said during an interview with Gabe Kuhn on 92.3 ESPN Radio in Memphis. “He was just one year younger than I and we played side-by-side for six years. He was family.”

Dierdorf said that Dobler loved his reputation as the dirtiest player in football. “But deep down inside, he was a giant pussycat. He was as soft as a guy could be and I’ll miss him desperately.”

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Big Red Legends: Sonny Randle

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Ulmo Shannon “Sonny” Randle was born in Washington, DC, on January 6, 1936, to Ulmo S. and Lillian D. Randle. Sonny attended Fork Union Military Academy where he excelled in track and field but didn’t play football until his senior season.

Randle enrolled at the University of Virginia, walked on, and eventually earned a scholarship. In 1958, Sonny was an honorable mention All American when he caught 47 passes and was the country’s top kick returner, averaging 24.1 yards.

The Chicago Cardinals drafted Randle in the 19th round in 1958, but the speedster struggled to adapt in the NFL catching only 15 passes his rookie season.

However, with the help of teammates Dick “Night Train” Lane and Jimmy Hill, Randle learned how to get “open” and would become one of the great receivers over the next decade.

St. Louis Bound

The Cardinals relocated to St. Louis in 1960 and opened the season with a 43-21 win over the Los Angeles Rams. Sonny caught 7 passes for 159 yards and scored three long touchdowns. “Randle had a phenomenal game,” head coach Pop Ivy stated after victory.

Sonny didn’t stop there. By season’s end, he set franchise records with 62 receptions and 15 touchdowns (still tops in Cardinals history). He was named to the Pro Bowl and first-team NFL All-Pro.

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Photo Gallery: Big Red Fan Event in St. Louis

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This gallery contains 44 photos.

Big Red alumni, friends, and fans came together for a fun afternoon on Sunday at Circa Pub & Grill in Des Peres, MO. Jackie Smith, Mel Gray, Johnny Roland, Irv Goode, Eddie Moss, Ron Yankowski, Bob Rowe, former assistant trainer … Continue reading →