1975 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season

1975 St. Louis Cardinals season
Owner	Bill Bidwill
Head coach	Don Coryell
Home stadium	Busch Memorial Stadium
Results
Record	11–3
Division place	1st NFC East
Playoffs	Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Rams) 23–35
Pro Bowlers	C Tom Banks G Conrad Dobler T Dan Dierdorf QB Jim Hart RB Terry Metcalf RB Jim Otis RB Mel Gray CB Roger Wehrli K Jim Bakken
←  1974 Cardinals seasons 1976  →

The 1975 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 56th year with the National Football League and the 16th season in St. Louis. The club scored 356 points while the defense gave up 276 points. ^[1] The team appeared in the playoffs for the second consecutive year, by winning the NFC East with a record of eleven wins and three losses (the best finish in the Coryell era). They never returned the playoffs during a full NFL season until 1998, by which time they moved from St. Louis to Arizona.

The team was nicknamed the “Cardiac Cards”, because eight of their games were decided in the final minute of play; the Cardinals went 7–1 in these games. ^[2]

After this season, the Cardinals never reached the top of the NFC East again. They would not again have a division title until 33 years later, after they had moved to Arizona, and later to the NFC West.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1975 NFL Draft

1975 St. Louis Cardinals draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	21	Tim Gray	Safety	Texas A&M
2	46	Jim Germany	Running back	New Mexico State
5	124	Harvey Goodman	Offensive tackle	Colorado
6	152	Larry Jameson	Defensive tackle	Indiana
7	177	Steve Beaird	Running back	Baylor
8	188	John Adams	Defensive tackle	West Virginia
8	202	Louis Lauriano	Defensive back	Long Beach State
10	255	Mike McGraw	Linebacker	Wyoming
11	280	Jerry Latin	Running back	Northern Illinois
12	308	Ben Jones	Wide receiver	LSU
13	333	Steve Lindgren	Defensive end	Hamline
14	358	Ritch Bahe	Wide receiver	Nebraska
15	386	Ron Franklin	Defensive tackle	Boise State
16	411	Mark Miller	Wide receiver	Missouri
17	436	Ken Monroe	Running back	Indiana State
Made roster

Roster

St. Louis Cardinals roster
Quarterbacks 17 Jim Hart 12 Gary Keithley 11 Dennis Shaw Running backs 31 Josh Ashton 34 Steve Jones 32 Jerry Latin 21 Terry Metcalf 27 Eddie Moss 35 Jim Otis FB Wide receivers 85 Mel Gray 30 Gary Hammond 84 Ike Harris 82 Earl Thomas Tight ends 88 J. V. Cain 81 Jackie Smith		Offensive linemen 61 Hank Allison T/G 54 Tom Banks C 51 Tom Brahaney C 72 Dan Dierdorf T 66 Conrad Dobler G 60 Roger Finnie T/G 64 Bob Young G Defensive linemen 79 Bob Bell DE 70 Leo Brooks DT 76 Charlie Davis DT 75 Bob Rowe DT 74 Council Rudolph DE 78 Ron Yankowski DE		Linebackers 57 Mark Arneson 59 Pete Barnes 50 Greg Hartle 53 Steve Neils 67 Larry Stallings 55 Ray White Defensive backs 26 Dwayne Crump CB 41 Clarence Duren FS 33 Tim Gray CB/S 36 Ken Reaves SS 43 Norm Thompson CB 45 Jim Tolbert CB/S 22 Roger Wehrli CB Special teams 25 Jim Bakken K 80 Jeff West P		Reserve lists Practice squad rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 21	Atlanta Falcons	W 23–20	1–0	Busch Memorial Stadium	42,172
2	September 28	at Dallas Cowboys	L 31–37 (OT)	1–1	Texas Stadium	52,417
3	October 5	New York Giants	W 26–14	2–1	Busch Memorial Stadium	44,919
4	October 13	at Washington Redskins	L 17–27	2–2	RFK Stadium	54,693
5	October 19	Philadelphia Eagles	W 31–20	3–2	Busch Memorial Stadium	45,242
6	October 25	at New York Giants	W 20–13	4–2	Shea Stadium	49,598
7	November 2	New England Patriots	W 24–17	5–2	Busch Memorial Stadium	45,907
8	November 9	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 24–23	6–2	Veterans Stadium	60,277
9	November 16	Washington Redskins	W 20–17 (OT)	7–2	Busch Memorial Stadium	49,919
10	November 23	at New York Jets	W 37–6	8–2	Shea Stadium	53,169
11	November 27	Buffalo Bills	L 14–32	8–3	Busch Memorial Stadium	41,899
12	December 7	Dallas Cowboys	W 31–17	9–3	Busch Memorial Stadium	49,701
13	December 14	at Chicago Bears	W 34–20	10–3	Soldier Field	35,052
14	December 21	at Detroit Lions	W 24–13	11–3	Pontiac Municipal Stadium	64,656
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
St. Louis Cardinals (3)	11	3	0	.786	6–2	9–2	356	276	W3
Dallas Cowboys (4)	10	4	0	.714	6–2	8–3	350	268	W2
Washington Redskins	8	6	0	.571	4–4	7–4	325	276	L2
New York Giants	5	9	0	.357	1–7	3–8	216	306	W2
Philadelphia Eagles	4	10	0	.286	3–5	4–7	225	302	W1

NFC Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Minnesota Vikings (1)	12	2	0	.857	5–1	8–2	377	180	W1
Detroit Lions	7	7	0	.500	4–2	6–5	245	262	L1
Chicago Bears	4	10	0	.286	2–4	4–7	191	379	W1
Green Bay Packers	4	10	0	.286	1–5	4–7	226	285	W1

NFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Los Angeles Rams (2)	12	2	0	.857	5–1	9–2	312	135	W6
San Francisco 49ers	5	9	0	.357	3–3	4–7	255	286	L4
Atlanta Falcons	4	10	0	.286	3–3	3–8	240	289	L1
New Orleans Saints	2	12	0	.143	1–5	2–9	165	360	L7

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Atlanta Falcons

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	7	6	7	0	20
Cardinals	7	6	0	10	23

at Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri

• Date: Sunday, September 21
• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 54 °F (12.2 °C), wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

First quarter STL – Terry Metcalf 39-yard run (Jim Bakken kick) – Cardinals 7–0 ATL – Steve Bartkowski 1-yard run (Nick Mike-Mayer kick) – Tied 7–7 Second quarter STL – Jim Bakken 22-yard field goal – Cardinals 10–7 ATL – Dave Hampton 6-yard run (kick failed) – Falcons 13–10 STL – Jim Bakken 39-yard field goal – Tied 13–13 Third quarter ATL – Dave Hampton 1-yard run (Nick Mike-Mayer kick) – Falcons 20–13 Fourth quarter STL – Earl Thomas 8-yard pass from Jim Hart (Jim Bakken kick) – Tied 20–20 STL – Jim Bakken 25-yard field goal – Cardinals 23–20 Falcons Steve Bartkowski 8/16, 81 Yds, INT Dave Hampton 23 Rush, 135 Yds, 2 TD Woody Thompson 3 Rec, 29 Yds Cardinals Jim Hart 12/23, 150 Yds, TD, 2 INT Terry Metcalf 20 Rush, 99 Yds, TD Mel Gray 3 Rec, 65 Yds

Postseason

NFC Divisional Playoff

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	0	9	7	7	23
Rams	14	14	0	7	35

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California

• Game attendance: 72,650
• Referee: Dick Jorgensen
• TV: CBS

Awards and records

• Terry Metcalf, NFL Leader, 2,462 Combined Net Yards ^[3]

Milestones

• Terry Metcalf, Second Consecutive 2000 Combined Net Yards Season (816 Rush Yards, 378 Pass Receiving Yards, 285 Punt Return Yards, 960 Kick Return Yards, 23 fumble return yards) ^[3]

References

1. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN   0-7611-2480-2, p. 298
2. "Hulu.com: 1975 St. Louis Cardinals NFL team highlights". Archived from the original on February 19, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
3. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN   0-7611-2480-2, p. 443

Sources

• Cardinals on Pro Football Reference
• Cardinals on jt-sw.com