The 1987 St. Louis Cardinals season was the franchise's 68th season in the National Football League and the 28th and final season in St. Louis as the team moved to Tempe, Arizona in March 1988. This move left St. Louis without an NFL franchise until the Los Angeles Rams moved there in 1995 to play, only to relocate back to Los Angeles in 2016, once again leaving St. Louis without an NFL team.
| 1987 St. Louis Cardinals season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Bill Bidwill |
| Head coach | Gene Stallings |
| Home field | Busch Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 7–8 |
| Division place | 3rd NFC East |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | QB Neil Lomax T Luis Sharpe FB Ron Wolfley PR Vai Sikahema |
Offseason
editNFL draft
edit| 1987 St. Louis Cardinals draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Kelly Stouffer | QB | Colorado State | Refused to sign with team[1] |
| 2 | 34 | Tim McDonald * | S | USC | |
| 3 | 62 | Rob Awalt | TE | San Diego State | |
| 3 | 70 | Colin Scotts | DT | Hawaii | |
| 4 | 90 | Rod Saddler | DT | Texas A&M | |
| 5 | 118 | George Swarn | RB | Miami (OH) | |
| 5 | 126 | John Bruno | P | Penn State | |
| 5 | 127 | Ilia Jarostchuk | LB | New Hampshire | |
| 6 | 146 | Mark Garalczyk | DT | Western Michigan | |
| 7 | 174 | Tim Peoples | DB | Washington | |
| 7 | 195 | William Harris | TE | Bishop | |
| 8 | 201 | Steve Alvord | DT | Washington | |
| 9 | 229 | Wayne Davis | LB | Alabama | |
| 10 | 257 | Charles Wright | DB | Tulsa | |
| 11 | 285 | Todd Peat | OG | Northern Illinois | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Personnel
editStaff
edit|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
NFL replacement players
editAfter the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled:
Roster
editQuarterbacks (QB)
Running backs (RB)
Wide receivers (WR)
Tight ends (TE)
|
Offensive linemen (OL)
Defensive linemen (DL)
|
Linebackers (LB)
Defensive backs (DB)
|
Reserve
|
Regular season
editSchedule
edit| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 13 | Dallas Cowboys | W 24–13 | 1–0 | Busch Stadium | 47,241 | |
| 2 | September 20 | at San Diego Chargers | L 24–28 | 1–1 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 47,988 | |
| – | September 27 | Indianapolis Colts | canceled | 1–1 | Busch Stadium | ||
| 3 | October 4 | at Washington Redskins | L 21–28 | 1–2 | RFK Stadium | 27,728 | |
| 4 | October 11 | New Orleans Saints | W 24–19 | 2–2 | Busch Stadium | 11,795 | |
| 5 | October 18 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 28–34 | 2–3 | Candlestick Park | 38,094 | |
| 6 | October 25 | at New York Giants | L 7–30 | 2–4 | Giants Stadium | 74,391 | |
| 7 | November 1 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 23–28 | 2–5 | Busch Stadium | 24,586 | |
| 8 | November 8 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 31–28 | 3–5 | Busch Stadium | 22,449 | |
| 9 | November 15 | Los Angeles Rams | L 24–27 | 3–6 | Busch Stadium | 27,730 | |
| 10 | November 22 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 31–19 | 4–6 | Veterans Stadium | 55,592 | |
| 11 | November 29 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 34–21 | 5–6 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 15,909 | |
| 12 | December 6 | Washington Redskins | L 17–34 | 5–7 | Busch Stadium | 31,324 | |
| 13 | December 13 | New York Giants | W 27–24 | 6–7 | Busch Stadium | 29,623 | |
| 14 | December 20 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 31–14 | 7–7 | Tampa Stadium | 32,046 | |
| 15 | December 27 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 16–21 | 7–8 | Texas Stadium | 36,788 | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Game summaries
editWeek 1: vs. Dallas Cowboys
edit| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
| Cardinals | 3 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 24 |
at Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri
- Date: September 13
- Game time: 12:00 p.m. CDT
- Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C)
- Game attendance: 47,241
Week 3: at Washington Redskins
edit| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinals | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Redskins | 7 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 28 |
at RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
- Date: October 4
- Game time: 12:00 p.m. CDT/1:00 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C)
- Game attendance: 27,728
- Referee: Jerry Seeman
- TV announcers (CBS): Tim Ryan and Joe Theismann
- Box score
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Week 8: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
edit| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buccaneers | 7 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 28 |
| Cardinals | 0 | 3 | 0 | 28 | 31 |
at Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri
- Date: November 8
- Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: 58 °F (14 °C)
- Game attendance: 22,449
- Referee: Pat Haggerty
- TV announcers (CBS): Jack Buck and Will McDonough
- Box score
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Days before the game Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill announced that the team would be moving to another city.[2][3] The announcement increased fan apathy, resulting in an official game attendance of only 22,449, the Cardinals' lowest in four years.
Entering the fourth quarter, the Cardinals were down 28–3 to the Buccaneers. St. Louis would score 28 unanswered points in the final quarter to win 31–28. Tampa kicker Donald Igwebuike attempted a 53-yard field goal to tie the game as time expired but the ball bounced off the crossbar. The Cardinals' 25-point fourth quarter comeback is the largest in NFL history.[4]
Week 13: vs. Washington Redskins
edit| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redskins | 10 | 0 | 21 | 3 | 34 |
| Cardinals | 0 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
at Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri
- Date: December 6
- Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
- Game weather: 39 °F (4 °C)
- Game attendance: 31,324
- Referee: Tom Dooley
- TV announcers (CBS): Tim Ryan and Joe Theismann
- Box score
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Week 14: vs. New York Giants
edit| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giants | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| Cardinals | 14 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 27 |
at Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri
- Date: December 13
- Game time: 3:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: 34 °F (1 °C)
- Game attendance: 29,623
- TV announcers (CBS): Dick Stockton and Terry Bradshaw
This would be the Cardinals' final home game in St. Louis as the franchise would relocate to the Phoenix metro area for the 1988 season. This would be the last NFL game played in St. Louis until September 10, 1995 when the Rams, who had relocated to St. Louis from Los Angeles following the 1994 season, hosted the New Orleans Saints. However, the Rams would move back to Los Angeles prior to the 2016 season.
Week 15: at Dallas Cowboys
edit| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinals | 3 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
| Cowboys | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
- Date: December 27
- Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
- Game weather: 35 °F (2 °C)
- Game attendance: 36,788
Entering the final week of the season, the Cardinals needed a win over the Cowboys to secure the NFC's final wild card spot. The Cardinals wound up losing the regular season finale, knocking them out of playoff contention. This would be the final game for the St. Louis Cardinals NFL team. On March 15, 1988, NFL owners approved the Cardinals' move from St. Louis to Tempe, Arizona.[5] Starting with the following season, the Cardinals played as the Phoenix Cardinals before changing the franchise's geographic name to the Arizona Cardinals prior to the 1994 season.[6]
Standings
edit| NFC East | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Washington Redskins(3) | 11 | 4 | 0 | .733 | 7–1 | 9–3 | 379 | 285 | W1 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 7 | 8 | 0 | .467 | 4–4 | 5–7 | 340 | 348 | W2 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 7 | 8 | 0 | .467 | 3–5 | 7–7 | 362 | 368 | L1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 7 | 8 | 0 | .467 | 3–5 | 4–7 | 337 | 380 | W2 |
| New York Giants | 6 | 9 | 0 | .400 | 3–5 | 4–8 | 280 | 312 | W2 |
Awards and records
edit- Luis Sharpe, NFC Pro Bowl selection
- J.T. Smith, NFL Receiving Leader, 91 Receptions [7]
- J.T. Smith, Led NFL, Receiving Yards, 1,117 yards [8]
- Ron Wolfley, Pro Bowl selection
References
edit- ^ Zimmerman, Paul (April 11, 1988). "A lonely road to the NFL". Sports Illustrated. p. 63.
- ^ "NFL: Cowboys Cut Off At Pass by Lions". The New York Times. Associated Press. November 9, 1987. pp. 3 sec C. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
- ^ Eskenazi, Gerald (November 6, 1987). "NFL Matchups: Surprise: Colts and Chargers Spotlighted". The New York Times. pp. 36 sec A. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
- ^ Mizell, Hubert (November 9, 1987). "For 15 minutes, Bucs' play hit an all-time low". St. Petersburg Times.
- ^ Eskenazi, Gerald (March 16, 1988). "N.F.L. Approves Team Shift". The New York Times. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
- ^ "Arizona Cardinals Team History". ProFootballHOF.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. Archived from the original on May 18, 2020. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
- ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 451
- ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 452