1987 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season

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
OwnerBill Bidwill
Head coachGene Stallings
Home fieldBusch Stadium
Results
Record7–8
Division place3rd NFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersQB Neil Lomax
T Luis Sharpe
FB Ron Wolfley
PR Vai Sikahema

Offseason

NFL draft
Main article: 1987 NFL Draft
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

Staff
1987 St. Louis Cardinals staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams – Marv Braden

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – LeBaron Caruthers

NFL replacement players

After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled:

1987 St. Louis Cardinals replacement roster

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

  • 54 Phil Forney
  • 53 Bill Altena
  • 50 Tony Buford
  • 52 Jimmie Carter
  • 58 Terence Mack
  • 57 Pete Noga
  • 55 Paul Savage

Defensive backs

Special teams

Roster
1987 St. Louis Cardinals roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists
  • 71 Joe Bostic G (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 14 Greg Cater P (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • -- Tim Peoples DB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule
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.

Week 1: vs. Dallas Cowboys
Week 1: Dallas Cowboys at St. Louis Cardinals
Period 1 2 34Total
Cowboys 0 6 0713
Cardinals 3 0 02124

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
Week 3: St. Louis Cardinals at Washington Redskins
Period 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 0 7 7721
Redskins 7 7 14028

at RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Game information

Week 8: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 8: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at St. Louis Cardinals
Period 1 2 34Total
Buccaneers 7 7 14028
Cardinals 0 3 02831

at Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri

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. New York Giants
Week 13: New York Giants at St. Louis Cardinals
Period 1 2 34Total
Giants 7 3 7724
Cardinals 14 13 0027

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 14: vs. Washington Redskins
Week 14: Washington Redskins at St. Louis Cardinals
Period 1 2 34Total
Redskins 10 0 21334
Cardinals 0 14 3017

at Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri

Game information

Week 15: at Dallas Cowboys
Week 15: St. Louis Cardinals at Dallas Cowboys
Period 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 3 7 0616
Cowboys 0 14 0721

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
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
  • 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
  1. Zimmerman, Paul (April 11, 1988). "A lonely road to the NFL". Sports Illustrated. p. 63.
  2. "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.
  3. Eskenazi, Gerald (November 6, 1987). "NFL Matchups: Surprise: Colts and Chargers Spotlighted". The New York Times. pp. 36 sec A. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  4. Mizell, Hubert (November 9, 1987). "For 15 minutes, Bucs' play hit an all-time low". St. Petersburg Times.
  5. Eskenazi, Gerald (March 16, 1988). "N.F.L. Approves Team Shift". The New York Times. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  6. "Arizona Cardinals Team History". ProFootballHOF.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. Archived from the original on May 18, 2020. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  7. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 451
  8. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 452
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