The 1979 St. Louis Cardinals season was the franchise's 60th year with the National Football League and its 20th season in St. Louis. Bud Wilkinson would be fired in Week 13 after starting 3–10; Larry Wilson, a Pro Football Hall of Fame safety for the Cardinals from 1960 to 1972, would take over as interim head coach and lead the Cardinals to a 2–1 record to finish the season. Wilson would not return for the 1980 season but would return as vice president and General Manager nine years later when the Cardinals had moved to Phoenix.
1979 St. Louis Cardinals season | |
---|---|
Owner | Bill Bidwill |
Head coach | Bud Wilkinson Larry Wilson (interim) |
Home field | Busch Memorial Stadium |
Results | |
Record | 5–11 |
Division place | 5th NFC East |
Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Pro Bowlers | G Bob Young RB Ottis Anderson CB Roger Wehrli |
Offseason
editNFL Draft
edit1979 St. Louis Cardinals draft | |||||
Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 9 | Ottis Anderson * | Running back | Miami (FL) | |
2 | 35 | Theotis Brown | Running back | UCLA | |
2 | 46 | Calvin Favron | Linebacker | Southeastern Louisiana | |
3 | 64 | Joe Bostic | Offensive tackle | Clemson | |
4 | 89 | Roy Green * | Defensive back | Henderson State | |
5 | 118 | Steve Henry | Defensive back | Emporia State | |
5 | 130 | Mark Bell | Wide receiver | Colorado State | |
6 | 144 | Thomas Lott | Running back | Oklahoma | |
7 | 173 | Kirk Gibson | Wide receiver | Michigan State | |
8 | 199 | Larry Miller | Linebacker | BYU | |
9 | 228 | Bob Rozier | Defensive end | California | |
10 | 255 | Jerry Holloway | Tight end | Western Illinois | |
12 | 309 | Rick McBride | Linebacker | Georgia | |
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
|
Roster
editQuarterbacks (QB)
Running backs (RB)
Wide receivers (WR)
Tight ends (TE)
|
Offensive linemen (OL)
Defensive linemen (DL)
|
Linebackers (LB)
Defensive backs (DB)
|
Reserve
|
Preseason
editWeek | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | August 2 | at Houston Oilers | L 7–9 | 0–1 | Houston Astrodome | 46,252 |
2 | August 9 | Atlanta Falcons | W 42–17 | 1–1 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 39,705 |
3 | August 18 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 3–20 | 1–2 | Arrowhead Stadium | 43,214 |
4 | August 25 | Chicago Bears | W 10–7 | 2–2 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 43,541 |
Regular season
editIn his NFL debut, Ottis Anderson had 193 rushing yards.[2]
Schedule
editWeek | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 2 | Dallas Cowboys | L 21–22 | 0–1 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 50,855 | Recap |
2 | September 9 | at New York Giants | W 27–14 | 1–1 | Giants Stadium | 71,370 | Recap |
3 | September 16 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 21–24 | 1–2 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 50,416 | Recap |
4 | September 23 | Washington Redskins | L 7–17 | 1–3 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 50,680 | Recap |
5 | September 30 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 0–21 | 1–4 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 48,160 | Recap |
6 | October 7 | at Houston Oilers | W 24–17 | 2–4 | Astrodome | 53,043 | Recap |
7 | October 14 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 20–24 | 2–5 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 48,367 | Recap |
8 | October 21 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 13–22 | 2–6 | Texas Stadium | 64,300 | Recap |
9 | October 28 | Cleveland Browns | L 20–38 | 2–7 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 47,845 | Recap |
10 | November 4 | Minnesota Vikings | W 37–7 | 3–7 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 47,213 | Recap |
11 | November 11 | at Washington Redskins | L 28–30 | 3–8 | RFK Stadium | 50,868 | Recap |
12 | November 18 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 13–16 | 3–9 | Veterans Stadium | 70,235 | Recap |
13 | November 25 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 28–34 | 3–10 | Riverfront Stadium | 25,103 | Recap |
14 | December 2 | San Francisco 49ers | W 13–10 | 4–10 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 41,593 | Recap |
15 | December 9 | New York Giants | W 29–20 | 5–10 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 39,802 | Recap |
16 | December 16 | at Chicago Bears | L 6–42 | 5–11 | Soldier Field | 42,810 | Recap |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |
Standings
editNFC East | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
Dallas Cowboys(1) | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 6–2 | 10–2 | 371 | 313 | W3 |
Philadelphia Eagles(4) | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 6–2 | 9–3 | 339 | 282 | W1 |
Washington Redskins | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 5–3 | 8–4 | 348 | 295 | L1 |
New York Giants | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 1–7 | 5–9 | 237 | 323 | L3 |
St. Louis Cardinals | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 2–6 | 4–8 | 307 | 358 | L1 |
Awards and records
edit- Ottis Anderson, Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year[2]
Milestones
editReferences
edit- ^ "1979 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL)". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
- ^ a b Sports Illustrated, Oct. 27, 2008, p.24, Vol. 109, No. 16