Working Against History: The Cardinals Soar To New Heights

Sport fans are all familiar with the struggles of the Chicago Cubs. One hundred years of baseball. No titles. The list of devastation borders on cruel and unusual punishment: The Curse of the Billie Goat; Ruth’s “called shot” in the ’32 Series; the black cat at Shea during the Fall of ’69; the heartbreaking loss to the Padres in ’84; Steve Bartman; and, of course, their latest disappointment this past post season. Call them cursed. Call it plain bad luck. Either way, the Cubbies have saddled their loyal fans with one very unenviable distinction. It’s a place atop the worst list in sports: Longest drought without a championship. For the Cubs it’s been a century and counting. So, next time you see a Cubs fan on the street, buy him a beer; he deserves it.

So, who’s next on this horrid list, you ask? You’ll find them on the opposite spectrum of the sports world. While the Cubs have been consistently competitive for much of their unfortunate history, still boasting one of the most passionate fan bases around, the same can’t be said for the runner up. With one week of Super Bowl XLIII coverage in the books, you probably know the answer. And it probably didn’t surprise you either. The Arizona Cardinals are the type of team you expect to see on this list. The words ‘Cardinals’ and ‘championship’ are about as polar opposite as the words ‘Wooden’ and ‘loser’. For as weird as it is to have a storied team like the Cubs atop the list, it seems naturally fitting to see the Cardinals second. If a Cub fan deserves a beer, a Cardinal fan deserves a six-pack.

The List:

Chicago Cubs – last title – 1908
Arizona Cardinals – last title – 1947
Sacramento Kings – last title – 1951
Detroit Lions – last title – 1957
Chicago Blackhawks – last title - 1961

As a charter member of the NFL, and the oldest continuously running professional football team in America, the Cardinals have had time on their side. Luck, on the other hand, has been a different story.

Formed in 1898, the Cardinals have called three cities home in their 110-year existence: Chicago, St. Louis and now Phoenix. That’s one more city than the franchise has championships. Those came in 1925 and 1947. As they’ve zigzagged across America, their time in the league has transpired in relative obscurity. Sure, there have been highlights. Four-time Pro Bowl quarterback Jim Hart was probably their best signal-caller before Kurt Warner, leading the Cards to seasons of 10-4, 11-3 and 10-4 from 1974-76.

And then there were the Cardiac Cards of the late 1990’s, led by Arizona State product Jake Plummer. Prior to this post season, the Cardinals franchise highpoint was a wild card round victory over the Dallas Cowboys in 1998. It marked the franchise’s only other playoff victory outside of their 1947 NFL title game victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. However these were very slight glimpses of light in an otherwise dark and ominous history of ineptitude.

Since the Packers won Super Bowl I in 1967, the Cardinals have experienced 29 losing seasons. Most of that time was spent playing professional football in a college stadium. For years games were blacked out throughout their home state, as Sun Devil Stadium sat half empty. Before realignment the NFL haphazardly dumped them in the NFC East. This forced them to travel twice a year to New York, Philadelphia, Washington and Dallas, despite being located on the other side of the country. They were the division whipping stick for decades, currently a combined 77 games under .500 against those old division foes.

Moves like drafting Arkansas kicker Steve Little ahead of future Hall-of Famer Ozzie Newsome and SB MVP Doug Williams with the 15th overall pick in the 1978 draft helped enhance their laughing-stock image. And, of course, none of us will ever forget the loss of Pat Tillman. Like no other, this franchise has been hard struck with countless years of awful football and even worse luck.

In typical Cardinal fashion, even their 1925 title is a widely debated matter. Back in those early days of the NFL, the league championship was awarded to the team with the best record. In 1925, that team was the Pottsville Maroons. However, in what has become one of the longest-standing controversies in NFL history, then Commissioner Joseph Carr suspended the Maroons, stripping them of the championship, for playing a previously arranged game at the conclusion of that NFL season with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish All-Stars in Philadelphia.

The Maroons’ participation in this game, won 9-7 by Pottsville, violated league rules, therefore handing the 1925 NFL title, by default, to the Chicago Cardinals. At the time the Cardinals refused to accept the title, yet history officially acknowledges them as the 1925 champions. In 1963, the NFL appointed a special commission to examine the issue. That committee voted 12-2 in favor of upholding Commissioner Carr’s decision. The matter appeared closed, but it wasn’t. Only five years ago, at the 2003 NFL owner’s meetings, the matter of the 1925 NFL championship resurfaced. This time the league voted 30-2 in favor of the original ruling.

To this day a strong contingent of Pottsville supporters still cry foul over that infamous 1925 season. They point to the season finale, where the Maroons beat the champion Cardinals 21-7 and to their win over Notre Dame. At the time top college teams were considered better than the emerging pro teams; and Notre Dame’s All Star squad was as good as any. If nothing else, it’s an interesting crevice in NFL history and another blemish on the timeline of Cardinals football.

The Arizona Cardinals’ history book might as well have been written by their arch rival. It’s that bad. 110 years; two championships, one disputed; five all-time playoff wins; and a 61-year title drought. As Pittsburgh enters Super Bowl XLIII as one of the most successful teams in North American sports, the Cardinals enter the game as virgins, not only to the Super Bowl, but to success in general. As Pittsburgh looks to pace the NFL with their record-breaking sixth Super Bowl title, the Cardinals are simply looking for a moment. A moment that is long, long overdue. It’s one that might not erase a century of losing, but it would certainly be worth the wait. For a team that has already accumulated more playoff victories in the past month than they had in their entire 110 years of existence, the Cardinals are hoping to have their name stricken from one list and added to another: The list of Super Bowl champions.