The Arizona Cardinals hold a distinction no other NFL franchise can claim: they are the oldest continuously run professional football club in the United States, tracing their lineage back to an amateur squad formed in Chicago in 1898—more than two decades before the league itself was founded.
From Morgan Athletic Club to Chicago Cardinals
The franchise began in 1898 on the South Side of Chicago as the Morgan Athletic Club. After undergoing several name changes, including the Racine Normals named after Racine Avenue, team founder Chris O’Brien purchased used jerseys from the University of Chicago in 1901. Those maroon jerseys had faded significantly, prompting O’Brien to describe the hue as “cardinal red.” The moniker stuck, transforming the Racine Normals into the Chicago Cardinals. In 1920, the Cardinals became charter members of the American Professional Football Association, which was renamed the National Football League a year later. Alongside the Chicago Bears, they remain one of only two surviving franchises from the league’s original eleven founding teams.
Championships in Chicago and St. Louis
Records show the Cardinals secured their first NFL championship in 1925 under controversial circumstances that still generate debate among football historians. Rival Pottsville Maroons held the league’s best record that season but were suspended and stripped of contention by league commissioner Joseph Carr after playing an unauthorized game in Philadelphia. The NFL reaffirmed the Chicago Cardinals as the 1925 champions during two subsequent reviews. The franchise waited until 1947 for its second title, captured by an offensive backfield featuring Paul Christman and Charley Trippi known as the “Dream Backfield.” That 1947 championship stood as the organization’s final title success for over half a century.
Team owner Violet Bidwill Wolfner moved the franchise from Chicago to St. Louis in 1960. While the team rarely contended for titles during its 28 years along the Mississippi River, quarterback Jim Hart spearheaded an entertaining squad in the 1970s dubbed the “Cardiac Cards” for their knack for dramatic, close contests. The St. Louis teams reached the postseason in 1974 and 1975 but failed to secure a championship before owner Bill Bidwill relocated the club to Tempe, Arizona, in 1988.
Decades of Patience in the Desert
Initially playing home games at Sun Devil Stadium on the Arizona State University campus, the franchise endured a difficult two-decade stretch, reaching the playoffs only once between 1988 and 2007. To better reflect the entire state, team management changed the geographic moniker from Phoenix Cardinals to Arizona Cardinals in 1994. The fortunes of the organization shifted when the club moved into the newly constructed State Farm Stadium in Glendale—featuring a retractable roof and rolling natural grass field—and signed veteran quarterback Kurt Warner.
In the 2008 NFL season, Warner threw for 4,583 yards and 30 touchdown passes, guiding the Cardinals to their first division title since 1975. Arizona defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 32-25 in the NFC Championship Game to reach Super Bowl XLIII. Though wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald caught two touchdowns—including a 64-yard catch-and-run—the Cardinals fell 27-23 to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Larry Fitzgerald Ranks Second in NFL Receiving History
Fitzgerald developed into the definitive face of the franchise. By the time he finished his playing career in 2020, he accumulated 1,432 receptions and 17,492 receiving yards, ranking second in NFL history behind only Jerry Rice in both categories. The Cardinals honored his tenure by inducting him into the team’s Ring of Honor and retiring his uniform number 11.
In the years following the departures of Warner and Fitzgerald, the franchise has oscillated between rebuilding phases and occasional playoff appearances under leadership groups featuring quarterback Kyler Murray and wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. Competing in the rugged NFC West alongside the San Francisco 49ers, the Cardinals continue to balance their historic roots as American football’s oldest active organization with the ongoing pursuit of their first Lombardi Trophy.
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