Yes, we know that this is taking a while!
As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. We have another one ready, with our Top 50 Arizona Cardinals.
As for all of our top 50 players in football, we look at the following:
1. Advanced Statistics.
2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Football League.
3. Playoff accomplishments.
4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.
The most tenured team in the National Football League, the Arizona Cardinals have taken a long road, traversed multiple cities, and seen more hard times than good.
Formed in 1898 as the Morgan Athletic Club, they would be renamed the Racine Normals for two years before becoming the Racing Cardinals. Twenty years later, they were charter members of the National Football League as the Chicago Cardinals.
In the Windy City, the franchise won two titles, the first in 1925, disputed by the Pottsville Maroons, but there was no NFL Championship Game back then. The second title is undisputed, as with their "Million Dollar Backfield," they won the Championship Game in 1947, the last title they have won.
Taking a backseat to the Bears in Chicago, the Cardinals relocated to St. Louis in 1961. They only made the playoffs thrice in St. Louis and relocated again in 1987, becoming the Phoenix Cardinals. That name would change again to the Arizona Cardinals, and with Kurt Warner as their Quarterback, they made it to their first Super Bowl in the 2008 Season. They did not win but appear to have a permanent home in the desert.
Here is the inaugural top five:
1. Larry Wilson
2. Larry Fitzgerald
3. Charley Trippi
4. Roger Wehrli
5. Dan DIerdo
You can find the entire list here.
We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.
Considered to be the best Offensive Lineman in Cardinals history, Dan Dierdorf was the game’s premier Tackle in the 1970s.
A Cardinal throughout his 13 NFL seasons, Dierdorf settled into the Right Tackle slot in his fourth year. The move was perfect for Dierdorf, who would earn Pro Bowl accolades that year and the next four, with a sixth one in 1980. Dierdorf was named an All-Pro (three First and three Second Team) in all those Pro Bowl seasons. He was so good at his peak that in 1976 and 1977, he did not allow a single sack.
Dierdorf, who was born in Canton, would fittingly enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996.
The Cardinals also honored Dierdorf in 2006 as a member of the inaugural group in their Ring of Honor.