Big Red Flashback: Vai Sikahema Returns Two Punts for TDs in 1986 Game

Posted on December 21, 2020 by Bob Underwood

“Thank goodness for little return people,” Big Red head coach Gene Stallings said after the Cardinals defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21-17 to close out the 1986 season.

The “little return people” Stallings was referring to was 5 foot 8 inch Vai Sikahema who had just become the fifth player in NFL history to return two punts for TDs in one game.

The Cardinals and Buccaneers were arguably the two worst teams in the NFL in 1986 and they certainly lived up to that billing on this cold Sunday afternoon at Busch Stadium. The teams combined for 15 punts, 6 turnovers, and 500 total yards.

*Vai Sikahema returning a punt 71 yards for a touchdown. He would return another 60 yards for a TD minutes later.*

The Cardinals struggled on offense, turning the ball over three times and missing three easy field goals. They converted on only one of 10 third down plays and entered Tampa territory nine times, coming away with only one offensive touchdown.

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Former Cardinal Vai Sikahema honored for work as TV news anchor

Posted on July 15, 2020 by Bob Underwood

Congrats to former Big Red kick returner Vai Sikahema for being inducted into the Emmy MidAtlantic Silver Circle Society for his 25 years of dedicated work in television news. Sikahema was a two-time Pro Bowl kick returner for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1986 and 1987. He was a 10th round pick out of BYU in ’86.

Arizona Cardinals fan might not remember Vai Sikahema’s days with the team because they were a long time ago. He was drafted when the team was still …
Former Cardinal Vai Sikahema honored for work as TV news anchor

The Top 100 St. Louis Football Cardinals (60-51)

Posted on August 27, 2019 by Bob Underwood

With the NFL celebrating its centennial season in 2019, the league will soon be announcing its top 100 players of all-time. I thought it would be fun to look back and rank the Big Red’s top 100 players who played in St. Louis.

The Cardinals moved from Chicago after the 1959 season and played 28 years in St. Louis before Bill Bidwill moved to the desert in 1988. Several great players played under the arch during this period including four Hall of Famers.

These rankings are only based on the player’s time spent in St. Louis. Consideration was given to the player’s statistics, All-Pro/Pro Bowl selections, team leadership, and impact in the community. It is next to impossible to compare eras, so many of these picks were very difficult.

The Top 100 St. Louis Football Cardinals of All-Time: 60-51

60. JOE BOSTIC (G)

Joe Bostic played guard for nine seasons in St. Louis.

As former St. Louis Post Dispatch columnist Kevin Horrigan once wrote, “Joe Bostic was never a star, never an All-Pro, never a Pro Bowler. He was just a pretty good player, mostly on some pretty bad teams.” Bostic was the Cardinals 3rd round draft pick out of Clemson in 1979 and became a fixture on the Big Red offensive line for nine seasons. The North Carolina native made his first NFL start against the Pittsburgh Steelers playing across L.C. Greenwood. He was named to the NFL All-Rookie team in 1979. Bostic’s best season came in 1984 when he started all 16 games to help lead the Cardinals to a 9-7 record.

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