Tag Archives: Arizona Cardinals

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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Where Are They Now? Former Big Red Running Back Willis Crenshaw

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Imagine what it would be like to play for the professional football team in the city where you were born and raised.

Willis Crenshaw didn’t have to imagine it. He lived it.

Crenshaw, who grew up in St. Louis’ Central West End, was a two-sport star for Soldan High School and a football player at Kansas State University for three years. The Cardinals selected Crenshaw in the ninth round of the 1963 NFL draft. A multi-talented offensive back who could run, block and catch, Crenshaw played six seasons for the Big Red (1964-69) before finishing his NFL career with the Denver Broncos (1970). 

What was it like playing in front of family and friends at Sportsman’s Park and, later, Busch Stadium—venues located only a few miles from his neighborhood?

“I felt fortunate to be able to do that because there were a lot of guys who wished that was their situation,” Crenshaw said. “The whole thing was just an amazing experience for me.”

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Big Red Legends: John David Crow

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There was no better all-purpose running back in the late 1950s/early ’60s than the Cardinals’ John David Crow. The 6-foot-2-inch, 220-pounder was strong, had quick feet, great balance, was an excellent receiver, a fantastic blocker, and may have been the best passer on the team for a couple of seasons.

“He’s big and strong and tough,” Chicago Cardinals head coach Frank “Pop” Ivy told the Chicago Tribune about his star running back in 1959. “I’ll tell you, he’s what we call a wiggler. It’s an almost indefinable quality. When the opposing defense is tight, he’ll bull his way into a hole, then suddenly wiggle through for extra yardage.”

Legendary football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant once called John David Crow “the finest player” he ever coached. Crow won the Heisman Trophy while playing for Bryant at Texas A&M in 1957. Later that year, the Chicago Cardinals selected him as the second overall pick in the 1958 NFL Draft.

The rookie scored his first career touchdown when he recovered a fumble in the end zone against the New York Giants in the 1958 season opener. The following week he dashed for an 83-yard touchdown on the first play of the game and later added another score in a 37-10 win over Washington.

“He used that wiggle I was talking about,” Ivy explained after the game. “After he got into the secondary, he had no blocking at all. He was strictly on his own. He wiggled past a couple of defensive backs, and then simply outran everybody to the goal line.”

Crow scored a 91-yard touchdown a week later and was well on his way to rookie of the year honors, but a knee injury would slow him down and limit him to only 8 games his freshman season.

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Big Red In Memoriam

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Dedicated to the former, players, executives, and broadcasters who were part of the St. Louis Football Cardinals family.

CARL ALLEN
TAZ ANDERSON
MARK ARNESON
BILL BIDWILL
VIOLET BIDWILL
GEORGE BOONE
LEO BROOKS
RUSH BROWN
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Emotional Moments from Jackie Smith’s Hall of Fame Induction

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(Editor’s Note: This is a reprint of a story written by Howard Balzer on August 3, 1994 about Jackie Smith’s induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame)

MAKING A HALL by Howard Balzer

Canton, Ohio—Friends, fans and family.

On another sun-splashed Saturday in the city where professional football was born, a new class of the game’s greats was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Friends, fans and families came from far and wide to honor them and show their love. Emotions were high as even the most stone-faced among them broke down. No matter what was said beforehand, the new Hall of Famers become overwhelmed by the moment, by the hospitality of the volunteers, by the fans lined deep on the sidewalks waving during the parade Saturday morning.

For Jackie Smith, the weekend was a whirlwind of non-stop action. He seemed to be operating on adrenaline alone, overcome by what is happening, surrounded by friends, fans and family.

Friends: They came from everywhere, including teammates Charley Johnson, Jim Hart, Larry Stallings, Bill Koman, Terry Miller, Steve Jones, Tim Kearney, Kurt Allerman.

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Cardinal Great Larry Wilson Passes Away at 82

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It’s been a rough couple of weeks for St. Louis sports fans. We lost baseball Hall of Famer Lou Brock on September 6 and on Friday we learned of the passing of former Big Red great Larry Wilson.

Wilson played college ball at the University of Utah and was the Chicago Cardinals 7th round draft choice in the 1960 NFL draft. He went on to a 13 year Hall of Fame career in St. Louis.

The Rigby, Idaho native played in 8 Pro Bowls and was named first team All-Pro five times. He was selected to the NFL 1960s All-Decade Team, the 75th Anniversary Team, and the NFL 100 All-Time Team. Wilson was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1966 and is the all-time Cardinals leader in interceptions with 52. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1978.

Wilson was a member of the Cardinals organization as a player, coach, and executive for over 40 years. He was inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor in 2006.

Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill had this to say about Wilson.

“Besides my father, Larry Wilson was the most influential male figure in my life. He was someone who truly lived his faith and demonstrated it daily in the kindness he showed every single person he met. Any of us lucky enough to be in his orbit – whether that was for a few minutes or four decades – was always better off from the experience. I will remember Larry Wilson first as a fantastic person but then obviously as one of the greatest players the National Football League has ever seen. It’s fitting that his passing coincides with the league’s 100th birthday because his toughness and the way he revolutionized his position make him one of our game’s most unforgettable figures. Whether on the field playing with casts on both hands or brightening the lives of every person he knew, Larry’s selflessness defined who he was and how we will all remember him.”

Larry Wilson is survived by Nancy, his wife of 40 years, as well as daughter Christie, son Larry Jr., numerous grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Historic Moments in Missouri Governor’s Cup Rivalry

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The Missouri Governor’s Cup was awarded to the winner of the annual meetings between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Chiefs.

The first Governor’s Cup game was played two seasons after the NFL/AFL merger agreement in 1966. The contest was played on August 17, 1968, at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City in front of 47,462 fans. The Chiefs held on for a 13-10 victory.

The Chiefs pretty much dominated the Governor’s Cup series with a preseason record of 13-6-1. The Chiefs held 3-1-1 regular season advantage over the Big Red as well.

Here is a summary of the 20 preseason Missouri Governor’s Cup games played between the Chiefs and Cardinals.

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Mainichi Star Bowl: The NFL’s First Game Outside North America

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The St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Chargers became the first teams to play an NFL game outside of North America on August 16, 1976.

The game was called the Mainichi Star Bowl and was sponsored by the Mainichi Daily News, an English-language newspaper in Tokyo. However, a lettuce farmer from California, Frank Takahashi, was the sole promoter of the game. A self-described “football nut,” Takahashi footed the entire bill for the exhibition contest.

“If we have a sellout, I will break even,” Takahashi told Doug Grow of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in a 1976 interview.

Unfortunately, it was not a sellout, and Takahashi reportedly lost tens of thousands of dollars to bring the NFL to Japan.

Regarding the game, Jim Hart’s 60-yard touchdown pass to Ike Harris helped give the Cardinals a 20-10 victory. It was the second victory of the preseason for St. Louis.

The Cards and Chargers played the first NFL game outside of North America in 1976.
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They Called Him Dirty: Conrad Dobler

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(Editor’s Note: Former St. Louis Post Dispatch columnist and Cards beat writer Jeff Meyers wrote this story a few years ago on Big Red guard Conrad Dobler and has been kind enough to share it here in the Big Red Zone)

As his autobiography “They Call Me Dirty” suggests, Conrad Dobler inflicted a world of hurt during his 10 years as a leg-whipping, eye-gouging, gut-punching, head-slapping and  — famously — finger-biting offensive lineman in the brutal world of professional football.

Dobler dished it out but also took his share of hits. Knee and shoulder injuries put him on the operating table and broken fingers mangled his hands. Perpetual pain became part of his job description. Pain management was assigned to the coach. Playing with pain was the order of the day.

“Coaches get you motivated, they train you mentally to go out there and play through the pain,” the former All-Pro guard said. “It starts in training camp when you have to practice with injuries, You’ve heard the old saying: ‘Can’t make the club in the tub.’ The goal of the coaches is to get us in ‘playing shape,’ which means to reach a higher threshold of pain. You learn to live with it and say ‘it is what it is.’ ”

Conrad Dobler was named “Pro Football’s Dirtiest Player” by Sports Illustrated in 1977.
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J.V. Cain: Triumph and Tragedy in a Football Career

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Desperate for defensive line help in the 1974 NFL draft, Big Red personnel director George Boone shocked everyone when he selected tight end James Victor Cain with the 7th overall pick in the draft.

“We didn’t feel we could pass up a guy like that,” Boone told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch after the Cardinals picked the Colorado All-American.

The Big Red already had a pretty good tight end in future Hall of Famer Jackie Smith, so they worked Cain out at both tight end and wide receiver during his first training camp. And it didn’t take long for the tall, rangy Houston native to make an impression with his new teammates in St. Louis.

“You seldom see a wide receiver hit people all over the field the way J.V. does,” reserve quarterback Bill Bynum said. “He’s so big and strong that he can get down into the pattern quickly and doesn’t have to worry about having trouble releasing from the linebacker.”

“Cain is just super,” head coach Don Coryell said. “He catches everything. That’s what I like about him. He’s a tremendous athlete.”

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