1899: The Cardinals’ First Season

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Before player drafts, salary caps, and heck, even before the National Football League, we had the Cardinals! On this episode of “When Football Was Football,” we’ll chronicle the very first season of the NFL’s oldest team—the Arizona Cardinals. Along the way, we’ll discover some surprising facts about the early activities of the club.

Back in 1899, things were different in the virtually unknown world of pro football. Rules were different, rosters were unsettled, and player payments were both sparse and irregular.

But it was in 1899 that the team we know today as the Arizona Cardinals emerged as a rag-tag neighborhood club that played its first games with no uniforms, very little padding, and certainly minimal recognition. If we were to boldly state that the players played for the love of the game, that statement would be very, very accurate!

The club was loosely organized. There were no player contracts, no rigid practice sessions, and certainly no home stadium. After all, the players were mere teenagers who loved playing this new game called football and would go anywhere, within reason, to find some gridiron action!

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Clancy Was The Organizer Of The Bunch

The founders of the initial organization, called the Morgan Athletic Association, were brothers Pat and Chris O’Brien, along with their neighbor, Tom Clancy. While all three of these kids played on the team, Clancy was the organizer of the bunch, carefully locating opponents, as well as possible team members.

However, as the years eased by, Clancy slipped away from the club to pursue his career as a member of the Chicago police force, while the O’Brien brothers continued to be involved in different aspects of the team as it moved through several name changes over the next few years.

Eventually, under the name of the Racine Cardinals, the squad became a member of the newly formed American Professional Football Association (soon to become the National Football League) in 1920.

But let’s retain our focus on the 1899 season…

Many have indicated over the years that the game of football has changed, from its basic formations to its entertaining offenses. A quick check of the rules from 1899 demonstrates that there have been some significant alterations to the game we love. While the basic objective of scoring touchdowns to win a game has not changed, the methods for pursuing that goal certainly have been transformed.

In 1899, the running game was responsible for most, if not all, scoring successes. This was due to the absence of the forward pass throughout the very early years in competitive football. The ball itself was much larger than it is now and rather clumsy to throw. In addition, the rules at that time frowned on the forward pass, pretty much negating the option of that offensive weapon.

So, if we were to witness a football game on the south side of Chicago in 1899, we would view two opposing lines standing toe-to-toe as the backs struggled to attack the mass of humanity in an effort to gain a first down. And this was another glaring change in the game: in 1899, only five yards were needed for a first down, but a team was allowed just three downs to achieve that goal.

The Game Was Boring....

As such, the game was…slightly boring, especially when teams would punt on first down in an effort to secure better field position in the wacky exchange of kicks! Part of this strategy was deemed necessary since the field itself was 330 feet long and a robust 160 feet wide.

And what about scoring? Kicking was a dominant part of that game with field goals and touchdowns both earning the same amount of points (five). But the method of kicking was also a sign of the times. Teams relied on an accurate drop kicker (rather than a placekicker) to secure those valuable field goal points.

So what stadium did the soon-to-be Cardinals utilize on the south side of Chicago? Instead of a stadium with fixed bleachers, concession stands, and comfortable dressing rooms, the Morgan Athletic Association tipped off its 1899 season in a…vacant lot!

Located at 52nd and Morgan Streets, this patch of prairie was called “The Woods” and the field was simply roped off to keep spectators (if there were any!) off the field.

Pants Are Strongly Sewed and Well-Padded

Players wore their own uniform ensembles during the game and if one could afford shopping at the Fair Store in downtown Chicago, football pants could be purchased for just 49 cents. An advertisement for the retailer gushed: “Pants are made of six-ounce duck, strongly sewed, and well-padded. Worth $1!”

 Tom Clancy, the unknown founder of the Cardinals, handled most of the business and scheduling arrangements for the team. The season kicked off on October 15 with an easy 29-0 win over the neighboring Shermans.

While it was a resounding victory for the Morgans, the local media was not overly impressed with the South Side Sun proclaiming: “The game was very monotonous on account of the playing of the Shermans who were unable to cope with the center rush or end runs of the Morgans.”

 For historical purposes, here are the names of the starters for the first game ever played by the organization now known as the Arizona Cardinals: Chris O’Brien (LE), Clancy (LT), Wimmerskirts (LG), Pat O’Brien (C), Breen (RG), Tetz (RT), Kendrick (RE), Ward (LH), Daley (QB), Green (RH), and Kennedy (FB).

Chris O’Brien started at end for the winners, while his brother Pat sparkled as the center for the hard-rushing Morgans. Only one substitute was used by the victors as the two teams battled through a pair of 25-minute halves. 

Game Was Won On A Fluke

Two weeks later, the Morgans dropped their only game of the 1899 season in an 11-6 loss to the Dearborn Athletic Association, with Chris O’Brien moving over to right tackle and Pat O’Brien starting at fullback. The South Side Sun reported the Morgans were ahead 6-5, but then:

“The game was won on a fluke, the Morgans fumbling the ball on the Dearborns’ ten-yard line, enabling the latter to make a touchdown, and by kicking goal clinched the game.” If there was any solace for the losers, the South Side Sun had the scoop: “The Morgans are the first team that ever scored on the victors and [they should] naturally feel highly elated!”

Cigarette Fiends and Players Arrested Gunpoint!

The game of football was experiencing some positive growing pains in 1899 with a few games that might seem highly unusual today. For example, the University of Notre Dame defeated Englewood High School of Chicago 29-5.

A new powerhouse from the Rush Medical College in Chicago scheduled games with Northwestern, Iowa, and Notre Dame. Then, according to the Chicago Times-Herald, there was a mysterious club called the Chicago Tigers whose players were arrested at gunpoint after a game in Crown Point, Indiana by “Sheriff Lawrence until they would pay their hotel bill and other expenses in Crown Point.”

And finally, there was the poor Evanston (IL) High School team that was disbanded after Principal Boltwood of the school accused the players of being “cigarette fiends!”

The Morgan Athletic Association squad went back to work and reeled off five straight victories, all by shut-out during the month of November. On November 5, the Morgans edged the Palmetto Athletic Club 6-0, followed by a 5-0 defeat of the Garfield Juniors on November 12.

A highlight of that streak was when the team grabbed two victories on the same day. On November 18, the Morgans defeated the Dearborn Athletic Association 6-0 and followed that up with an 11-0 win over the Kensingtons. The victory over the Dearborns avenged the only loss of the year for the Morgans whose record now sat at 6-1.

Morgans Win Twice In One Day

The dual home wins on November 18th were applauded by the local Sun newspaper which stated: “The Morgan AA defeated two crack teams, the Dearborns and the Kensington Tigers at the Morgan grounds. The Dearborns came on the gridiron with a record of having never been defeated. Score: 6-0. After a short rest, the Morgans tackled the Kensingtons.

These players are ex-college and high school players and, for a while, the Morgans had a tough proposition to solve, but when they solved it, they had things their way. For the Morgans, Noonan made a sixty-five-yard run, and Green, Corcoran, and O’Brien were always found where the ball was. Score: 11-0.”

In the fifth game of the November winning streak, the Morgans tangled with the Englewoods on November 26 and eased to a 37-0 victory. The Sun newspaper shared that: “This is the first defeat that Englewood has suffered since its organization two years ago.”

The final game of the season, once again against the Kensingtons, was covered by the Chicago Tribune, a very impressive accomplishment for a prairie league team. Although the contest ended in a scoreless deadlock, the Tribune managed to share some subtle praise for both sides:

“The Pullman team had much the better of the mass playing, while the Morgan boys excelled in end runs and open plays. Although the ball was almost constantly in Kensington territory, the heavy line and good defense of that team prevented a score.”

Morgans Netted A Snug Sum Of Money

The South Side Sun provided a more detailed discussion of the season finale and included a brief mention of the financial results of the game: “From the moment the game began until it ended, the boys from the interior [the Morgans] showed their country friends that it would be useless to try and score.

During the entire game, the Kensingtons only had the ball thrice in their possession. Twice the Morgans held them for downs and once they were forced to punt. At no stage of the game was the Morgans’ goal in danger. From a financial standpoint, the game was a success, netting the club [the Morgans] a snug sum of money.” It was estimated by the Tribune that 700 attended the ball game.

And so, the Morgan Athletic Association concluded its first season of football in 1899 with an outstanding 6-1-1 record. They outscored their opponents 99-11 and managed seven shut-outs during the eight-game schedule.

It was an auspicious beginning for the organization that has managed to survive to this day despite experiencing two world wars, the great depression, a stock market crash, and a multitude of changes to the game of football itself.

Thank you for joining us on “When Football Was Football” for a look back at the inaugural season of the NFL’s oldest team, here on the Sports History Network! 

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Author and Host - Joe Ziemba

Joe Ziemba is the host of this show, and he is an author of early football history in the city of Chicago.  Here, you can learn more about Joe and When Football Was Football, including all of the episodes of the podcast.

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