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.
Continue readingWith NFL training camp upon us let’s take a look at some of the greatest games in Big Red history. Below are my top 10 games from the 1960s. Agree? Disagree? Leave your thoughts in the comment section.
September 23, 1960: St. Louis Cardinals 43, Los Angeles Rams 21
Six months after relocating from Chicago the Big Red played one of their greatest games of the decade when they beat the Los Angeles Rams 43-21 at the L.A. Coliseum. Box Score. John David Crow scored the first touchdown in St. Louis Cardinals history, John Roach passed for four touchdowns, three of them to Sonny Randle, and the Cards defense forced six Rams turnovers, a safety, and had 8 QB sacks in the victory.
“Randle had a phenomenal night,” head coach Pop Ivy said after the game. “It was nice to see Crow going again, too. That was a remarkable run on that screen pass.”
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The 16th annual Jim Hart Celebrity Golf Classic was held at the beautiful Legends Golf Club in Eureka on Monday, June 26. The tournament benefits Sunnyhill, Inc., a non-profit organization committed to creating the best quality of life for both … Continue reading
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Johnny Roland celebrated his 80th birthday at Sawmill BBQ Pub & Grill in Des Peres, MO on Friday, May 26.
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 (12th 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 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
On this date (November 16) in 1970, before a Cotton Bowl crowd of 69,323 and a nationwide audience watching Monday Night Football on ABC, the Cardinals beat the Dallas Cowboys, 38-0.
It was the third consecutive shutout for the Big Red—they had blanked the Houston Oilers, 44-0, and the Boston Patriots, 31-0, in their previous two games—who became the first NFL team to shut out three opponents in a row since the 1935 New York Giants. The victory improved their record to 7-2 and kept them in first place in the NFC East Division.
For the Cowboys, who fell to 5-4, it was the first time in their 11-year history (147 games) that they were whitewashed.
Running back Johnny Roland and cornerback Roger Wehrli, a pair of University of Missouri products, were the Cardinals’ linchpins that night.
Roland returned a first-quarter punt 74 yards for a touchdown and rushed for two more TDs (10 and 3 yards) in the fourth quarter.
Recalling his punt return, Roland, 79, said recently, “(Punter Ron Widby) kicked a low line drive and I was able to field the ball clean. I didn’t have Mel Gray-type speed, but for a big guy I was able to move pretty good.”
Wehrli, playing in only his second NFL season, intercepted two passes, broke up five others, and made three unassisted tackles. The A.P. selected him as the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Week.
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Posted by Bob Underwood The 15th annual Jim Hart Celebrity Golf Classic benefiting Sunnyhill, Inc. was held on Monday, June 6 at The Legends Country Club in Eureka, MO. Jim Hart, Roger Wehrli, Jackie Smith, Jim Bakken, Johnny Roland, Mel … Continue reading
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Several St. Louis Football Cardinals alumni met for their annual Christmas Party on Sunday, December 19 at Circa Pub & Grill in Des Peres, MO. Circa is owned by former quarterback Jamie Martin who played 16 seasons in the NFL, … Continue reading
A golf outing and Memorial were held last week in honor of longtime Cardinals and Rams coach Jim Hanifan who passed away last November at the age of 87.
Many of Hanifan’s former players and fellow coaches attended the Thursday Memorial Service including Dan Dierdorf, Jackie Smith, Dick Vermeil, Carl Peterson, Luis Sharpe, Adam Timmerman, and dozens of others.
Dierdorf and Vermeil gave eulogies, Jackie Smith sang Danny Boy, and countless stories were told by friends and family into the night.
On Wednesday, the first annual Jim Hanifan Memorial Top Golf outing was held to benefit Cherish. Many former players were in attendance such as Mel Gray, Johnny Roland, Joe Bostic, Irv Goode and Willard Harrell. A good time was had by all.
Hanifan’s daughter Kathy, son Jim, and grandson Austin were in town to participate in the celebration of his life.
Hanifan was the offensive line coach for the Cardinals from 1973-1978 and was head coach from 1980-1985. He later returned to St. Louis and became the offensive line coach for the Rams under Dick Vermeil in 1997 where he would remain until 2002. A couple of years later he moved to the Rams radio booth and became a beloved straight-shooting sidekick of Steve Savard. Hanifan remained in St. Louis until his death in 2020.
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