The Arizona Cardinals have the honor of being the oldest continuously-run franchise in professional football in the United States. The team started out as the Morgan Athletic Club, from the South Side of Chicago. Chris O'Brien acquired the team soon after its formation. They began playing their games at Normal Field and changed their name to the Normals.
After getting a deal on used, faded maroon jerseys from the University of Chicago in 1901, the team got its permanent nickname, the Cardinals, when O'Brien stated, "That's not maroon, it's Cardinal red."
In 1906, due to lack of competition, the team was disbanded. O'Brien reorganized the team in 1913. By 1917, a new coach was hired, they got new jerseys, and they were the champions of the Chicago Football League. In 1918, team games were suspended because of the Spanish Flu Pandemic and World War I. Later that year, they started playing again and have continued ever since.
They were a charter member of the American Professional Football Association, started in 1920, which cost a franchise fee of $100. In 1922, the association became the National Football League and they became the Chicago Cardinals, playing out of Comiskey Field. In 1960, the team moved to St. Louis, Missouri, and became the St. Louis Cardinals. They stayed there for 28 years.
In 1987, the team moved to Arizona, where they played their home games at Arizona State University's Sun Devil Stadium. Their name was changed to the Phoenix Cardinals. The last name change came in 1994 to the Arizona Cardinals as a way to increase statewide fan base.
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