Worst ever Cardinal squads

[74_75_78_79_]

Yes, the Cards sadly have had such a longstanding rep, pre-'08, of being a losing franchise. However, there are not all that many seasons off top of my head where the Cards were "the worst" team in the league W/L-wise. Never really a #1 draft pick the following season nor #2 (nor #3). Maybe a 4-12 season here and there, but mostly 5-11 or 6-10 finishes in this 16-game era. No recall of 3-13 or 2-14. Albeit their time in Chi-town, or StL, or now on the desert, what are some of the not just plain "bad" Cardinal teams but most futile (bottom-of-barrel or at least real close) that you know of?

[rhickok1109]

Yes, the Cards sadly have had such a longstanding rep, pre-'08, of being a losing franchise. However, there are not all that many seasons off top of my head where the Cards were "the worst" team in the league W/L-wise. Never really a #1 draft pick the following season nor #2 (nor #3). Maybe a 4-12 season here and there, but mostly 5-11 or 6-10 finishes in this 16-game era. No recall of 3-13 or 2-14. Albeit their time in Chi-town, or StL, or now on the desert, what are some of the not just plain "bad" Cardinal teams but most futile (bottom-of-barrel or at least real close) that you know of?

They had some pretty bad years in Chicago before and after their 1947 championship season. They lost all 10 of their games in 1943 and again in 1944 (as the merged Card-Pitt team) and they had single-victory seasons in 1939, 1945, and 1953. It seems to me that their troubles must have been mostly on defense, because they had some pretty good offensive players. Charlie Trippi, Ollie Matson, Paul Christman, and Johnny Olszewski come to mind.

[BD Sullivan]

The Cards have had the top pick four times: 39. 40, 45 and 58. The 45 pick resulted in Charlie Trippi and the 58 pick garnered King Hill. In the latter case, they had tied the Pack in '57 for worst record at 3-9.

[TanksAndSpartans]

I'm actually currently reading "When Football Was Football" - really well done book, great research, lots of history in there. That being said, there are some parts that make me cringe - the actual chapter on the '25 season was great, but the later references to the "ecstasy" of winning the title may have been my biggest cringe, plus the whole chapter on "Jimmy Conzelman" - yes I get it he was a renaissance man, the emphasis on non-league games to put a positive spin on some of the losing seasons - so much losing - got repetitive after a while (esp. 26- 45) - can't blame the author for that though - it was what it was. The pre 1920 material alone made it worth reading, then throw in the great coverage of the '25 season, plus the non-football stories of the many players who served in WW2 and my criticisms are more than offset. In terms of the OP, I don't think it was the intention of the book, but after reading it I would say any rep they have as a losing franchise is pretty well deserved.

[Ronfitch]

The Cards have had the top pick four times: 39. 40, 45 and 58. The 45 pick resulted in Charlie Trippi and the 58 pick garnered King Hill. In the latter case, they had tied the Pack in '57 for worst record at 3-9.

The King Hill pick was the bonus pick of '58, the last year of the Bonus Lottery (it ran from '47 to '58). The Cards also got John David Crow that year, as the second overall pick of the draft.

In the latest Coffin Corner (Vol. 39, Issue 2), John Maxymuk has a nice article about the Bonus Lottery.

[JohnH19]

The 1971 & 72 Bob Hollway squads were pretty bad underachievers mostly because of Hollway. Another example of an effective coordinator who made a poor head coach.

[Todd Pence]

Tbe ones under John Paul II.

[rhickok1109]

The Cards have had the top pick four times: 39. 40, 45 and 58. The 45 pick resulted in Charlie Trippi and the 58 pick garnered King Hill. In the latter case, they had tied the Pack in '57 for worst record at 3-9.

The King Hill pick was the bonus pick of '58, the last year of the Bonus Lottery (it ran from '47 to '58). The Cards also got John David Crow that year, as the second overall pick of the draft.

In the latest Coffin Corner (Vol. 39, Issue 2), John Maxymuk has a nice article about the Bonus Lottery.

A kind of interesting thing about King Hill is that his backup at Rice was Frank Ryan, who had much better success as a pro QB. I think the difference was that Hill was a better all-around player but Ryan was the better passer.

I remember in the 1958 Cotton Bowl against Navy, when Rice was trailing late in the game, Ryan came in at QB and Hill moved to wide receiver.

[JohnH19]

Hill also punted. He was one of those backup QBs that had a long but mostly ineffective career.

[BD Sullivan]

Hill also punted. He was one of those backup QBs that had a long but mostly ineffective career.

I recall the story when he played for the Eagles in 1963, that he came out to his car after the 11/24 game against the Eagles and found the back window of his car smashed. The reason? He had Texas license plates--two days after the JFK assassination.