The Arizona Cardinals are the oldest continuously run professional football team in the United States. In 1920 the Chicago Cardinals became charter members of the American Professional Football League, the NFL’s predecessor. The team’s first star was future Hall of Fame halfback Paddy Driscoll, who was known for his drop-kicking prowess. The Cardinals, based in Comiskey Park, captured their first NFL crown in 1925 under head coach Norman Barry. Following the 1925 championship, the Cardinals struggled for two decades, recording only two winning records from 1926 to 1945. One highlight during those years was when star running back Ernie Nevers came out of retirement to join the club in 1929. On Thanksgiving Day of that year he scored all of the team’s 40 points in a victory over the Chicago Bears. World War II (1939-1945) deprived the team of so many players that in 1944 the Cardinals merged with the Pittsburgh Steelers to form a club called Card-Pitt.

The combined squad lost all ten of its games. From 1946 to 1948 head coach Jimmy Conzelman directed the Cardinals to three consecutive winning seasons. In 1947 Conzelman put together the offensive unit of Paul Christman, Pat Harder, Elmer Angsman, and Charley Trippi, which gained the name the Dream Backfield because of its overwhelming offensive production. The Arizona Cardinals are a professional football team in the Western Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) which is part of the National Football League (NFL). Formerly based in Chicago, Illinois, and St. Louis, Missouri, the Cardinals now play at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, and wear uniforms of red, black, and white. The Arizona Cardinals built strong teams during the 1920s, 1940s, and 1970s, capturing a total of two National Football League (NFL) titles and four division crowns during those decades. The team’s championship lineup of 1947 starred the famed Dream Backfield of quarterback Paul Christman, fullback Pat Harder, and halfbacks Elmer Angsman and Charley Trippi. During the 1970s quarterback Jim Hart commanded one of the league’s most potent offenses. The Cardinals organization dates from 1898, when the Morgan Athletic Club played regular games on Chicago’s South Side. The club adopted the name Cardinals in 1901 when team owner Chris O’Brien, a painting and decorating contractor, bought used maroon uniforms from the University of Chicago that had faded to the color of cardinal red. In 1960 the franchise moved to St. Louis, enjoying a solid first season in its new home. Buy Arizona Cardinals Tickets.