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The original was posted on /r/nfl by /u/GeorgeHalasLover on 2025-07-26 15:15:11+00:00.
As some of you on here know, I have covered a number of defunct franchises here, but I have decided to cover the Cardinals because they are not only the oldest NFL franchise but also because they are so disconnected from their Chicago roots that they are essentially a separate team that deserves a spotlight.
Just a forewarning to Cards fans who read this I will be mentioning the curse that supposedly began after the 1925 Championship controversy, but I am not blaming you guys for that, it was solely the fault of the Bidwill’s.
Originally founded in 1898 as Morgan Athletic Club by Chris O’Brien as a semi-pro team. They got their name from receiving the old uniforms of University of Chicago and when someone saying that they were maroon O’Brien exclaimed that they were “cardinal red”. They later changed their name to the Racine Cardinals not because they had relocated to Racine, Wisconsin, but because their stadium in Chicago was located on Racine Street.
In the years leading up to the formation of the NFL they played against other would-be NFL franchises such as the Decatur Staleys, Chicago Tigers, and Hammond Pros.
Owner Chris O’Brien was present at the famous hupmobile dealership meeting that founded the league and posted the entry fee of $100. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the person keeping track of minutes during the meeting was unfamiliar with Chicago area football an incorrectly recorded them as being from Racine, Wisconsin, and they formally changed their name in 1922 when an actual Racine franchise entered the league in 1922.
The 1920 season also marked the first game between the Cardinals and Staleys (who later became the Bears) in which the teams split the series and have the oldest rivalry in professional football. They are also the only two franchises from the inaugural season to still exist in the present.
The Cardinal’s victory over the Bears ensured that they would not be league champions as they finished with a 5-1-2 record which was good enough for 2nd place behind the 6-0-3 Akron Pros. (In the early years of the league the champion was decided by win percentage and the playoffs weren’t created until 1932.)
The 1921 season was another significant moment on the radar of the Bears-Cardinals rivalry as the franchise moved to the north side of Chicago where they played under the name of the Staleys before becoming the Bears in 1922. Chicago was also the first city two have multiple franchises in it having both the Bears and Cardinals.
The 1922 and 1923 seasons were successful for the Cardinals as they finished with back-to-back 8-win seasons and split their series with the Bears during this time. These games were extremely heated as the Bears-Cardinals games decided 4 championship winners over the course of the first 6 seasons of the league.
The 1925 season was perhaps the most significant for the Cardinals as they finished with an 11-2-1 season which was good enough for 1st place but weren’t awarded the championship due to the 1925 Championship controversy that followed.
After the regular season ended, O’Brien hastily scheduled two games against the Milwaukee Badgers and the Hammond Pros which was allowed by the NFL at the time as they had very open-ended seasons.
After winning both games, NFL commissioner Joseph Carr came after them after he found out that one of their players had hired 4 Chicago high schoolers to play for the Badgers which was against the league rules at the time.
To make things even more interesting the 2nd place team, the Pottsville Maroons were suspended after playing an exhibition game against Notre Dame at a field in Philadelphia which violated the boundaries of the Frankford Yellow Jackets even though the NFL had given them permission earlier in the season to play against them.
At first the NFL awarded no championship in 1925 but later offered it to O’Brien who humbly declined on the basis that the Maroons had beaten them fair and square earlier in the season. It wasn’t until 1933 that the Cardinals now under the Bidwill’s argued that the championship was theirs. This has said to be the beginning of the Cardinals curse as they only won a championship in 1947 and are the oldest sports franchise to never win a championship in the modern era. (Sorry Cards fans)
Despite the heartbreaking course of events of 1925, the rest of the decade was not a complete wash for the franchise as they had 4 Hall of Famers play for them in likes of Paddy Driscoll, Ernie Nevers (more about him later), Duke Slater, and Guy Chamberlin.
In 1926 the NFL instituted an unofficial ban on African American players, following the example of the M L B, with the sole exception of Duke Slater who played for the Cardinals from 1926-1931 and was a three time All-Pro during his time with the team.
The Cardinals followed up their 1925 season with three consecutive sub .500 seasons before finally hitting 6 wins in 1929. A big reason for the team’s improvement was the acquisition of legendary back Ernie Nevers who scored 18 touchdowns which was absolutely unheard of for the time when it wasn’t unusual for games to end 6-3.
This was also the season where put up the legendary 60-point game against the Bears where he scored every point for the Cardinals and combined 6 rushing touchdowns with two extra points to set a now NFL record of most points scored in a game. (Alvin Kamara later tied his single game rushing touchdown record in 2020.)
By the time Slater retired in 1931, he had been named an All-Pro 6 times and had started 97 out of the 99 games he participated in and never missed a game for an injury.
The remainder of the Cardinals time on the south side was dismal with the prime exception of the 1947 NFL Championship and the “million-dollar backfield” featuring Paul Christman, Charley Trippi, Elmer Angsman, and Pat Harder. Over time the Cardinals became Chicago’s other team, frequently losing to their crosstown rival Bears and only selling out Comiskey Park during rivalry week.
Despite the shock of the southside faithful, many were unsurprised when they chose to relocate to St. Louis for the 1960 season.
One of the most underrated and overlooked players on the Cardinals during the '20s was Paddy Driscoll who played and coached for them from 1920-1925. Hailing from Evanston, Illinois he played at Northwestern and later joined the Great Lake Naval Academy and met George Halas who he would later become lifetime friends with.
Driscoll was the first first team All-Pro QB in NFL history for the 1920 team. Driscoll was an excellent QB and kicker and was the NFL’s leading scorer in 1923 and was named to another All-Pro team. 1924 was another great season for him as he drop kicked a 55 yard field goal, a record which stood until 1953. During the infamous 1925 season he was the NFL’s 2nd leading scorer.
He left the Cardinals in 1926 to join his old friend Halas and the Bears for a salary of $10,000 which was the 2nd highest in the league only behind Red Grange. That season he led the NFL in scoring for the 2nd time and broke his own record of most field goals scored in a season while receiving yet another 1st team All-Pro nod.
He served as assistant coach of the Bears for 15 seasons and won 4 championships during that timespan. He was later inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1965, and George Halas is quoted as saying that Driscoll was “the greatest athlete I ever knew”. He later died in 1968 at the age of 73.
Even as a Bears fan myself I have to say that Cards fan have had a difficult history after the 1920s and I sometimes wonder what the Bears-Cardinals rivalry was like. Despite the Bidwill’s claiming the 1925 Championship and this creating the “curse” I wholeheartedly believe that you guys deserve a Super Bowl and I would love to see this happen in the near future.
Thank you again for taking the time to read this and feel free to comment which defunct team I should cover next!
The Gridiron Uniform Database- Cardinals Uniforms
Player Characteristics - Google Sheets-Spreadsheet I have made with rosters for defunct teams for a video game I am currently developing, the Cardinals at the end between the Rockford Barons and Chicago Staleys