1981 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season

American football team season August 2023 March 2026 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) St. Louis Cardinals 1981 7–9 5th NFC East Jim Hanifan Bill Bidwill Busch Memorial Stadium Did not qualify None Cardinals seasons The 1981 St. Louis Cardinals season was the 62nd season the franchise was in the league. The team improved on their previous output of 5–11, winning seven games.1981 St. Louis Cardinals Despite the improvement the team failed for the sixth consecutive season to reach the playoffs. After a 3–7 start, including a horrendous 52–10 loss to the Eagles on November 8, Head Coach Jim Hanifan benched Jim Hart for Neil Lomax. The team would win four of its last six games. Offseason NFL draft 1981 NFL draft 1981 St. Louis Cardinals 1 5 E. J. Junior Linebacker Alabama yes yes 2 33 Neil Lomax Quarterback Portland State yes yes 3 61 Jeff Griffin Cornerback Utah no yes 4 88 Steve Rhodes Wide receiver Oklahoma 5 116 John Gillen Linebacker Illinois yes 6 143 Dave Ahrens Linebacker Wisconsin yes 7 171 Kevin Donnalley Defensive back North Dakota State 8 198 Mike Fisher Wide receiver Baylor yes 9 226 Stump Mitchell Running back The Citadel yes 10 253 James Mallard Wide receiver Alabama 10 263 Jim Joiner Wide receiver Miami (FL) 11 281 Mike Sherrod Tight end Illinois 12 309 Joe Adams Guard Nebraska no https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/crd/1981_draft.htm 1981 St. Louis Cardinals Draftees Pro Football Reference July 29, 2024 Undrafted free agents + 1981 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeJohn AllmanDefensive backIndiana StateTom BrazillDefensive backWisconsin–La CrosseJim SchletzerPunterNorth Carolina Personnel Staff 1981 St. Louis Cardinals President – Bill Bidwill Vice President of Operations – Joe Sullivan Director of Pro Personnel – Larry Wilson Director of Player Personnel – George Boone Head Coach – Jim Hanifan Special Assistant to the Head Coach – Leon McLaughlin Quarterbacks – Harry Gilmer Offensive Backfield – Dick Jamieson Receivers – Emmitt Thomas Offensive Line – Tom Lovat Defensive Coordinator – Tom Bettis Defensive Line – Rudy Feldman Defensive Secondary – Bill Atkins Special Teams – Chuck Banker Flexibility and Strength – Don Brown Roster 1981 St. Louis Cardinals 17 Jim Hart American football 16 Rusty Lisch 15 Neil Lomax y 32 Ottis Anderson 39 Willard Harrell 40 Randy Love 30 Stump Mitchell y 24 Wayne Morris American football 86 Ralph Clayton 85 Mel Gray wide receiver 25 Roy Green S 83 Pat Tilley 80 Chris Combs tight end 89 Greg LaFleur y 71 Joe Bostic G 51 Tom Brahaney C 64 Randy Clark American football C/G 66 George Collins American football T 60 Barney Cotton G 72 Dan Dierdorf T 62 Dale Markham T 70 Art Plunkett y T 68 Terry Stieve G 69 Rush Brown DT 63 Kirby Criswell DT 73 Mike Dawson defensive end DT 75 Curtis Greer DE 76 Stafford Mays DE 82 Bob Pollard DE 79 Bruce Radford DE 58 Dave Ahrens y MLB 52 Charles Baker American football OLB 59 Calvin Favron OLB 57 John Gillen American football y MLB 54 E. J. Junior y OLB 55 Eric Williams linebacker OLB 43 Steve Carpenter American football SS 44 Tim Collier CB 35 Jeff Griffin y CB 46 Charles Johnson defensive back CB 38 Lee Nelson American football SS 22 Roger Wehrli CB 42 Herb Williams American football FS 18 Carl Birdsong y P 11 Neil O'Donoghue K 65 Joe Adams y G IR no 27 Carl Allen cornerback CB IR 61 Ron Coder G IR 50 Doak Field y American football LB IR 37 Ken Greene S IR 28 Jim Joiner y no WR IR 56 Tim Kearney American football LB IR 29 James Mallard y no WR NF-Inj. 87 Doug Marsh TE IR 48 Don Schwartz S IR 84 Dave Stief WR IR 74 Ken Times DT IR Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 6 Miami Dolphins L 7–20 0–1 Busch Memorial Stadium 50,351 2 September 13 at Dallas Cowboys L 17–30 0–2 Texas Stadium 63,602 3 September 20 Washington Redskins W 40–30 1–2 Busch Memorial Stadium 47,592 4 September 27 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 10–20 1–3 Tampa Stadium 65,850 5 October 4 Dallas Cowboys W 20–17 2–3 Busch Memorial Stadium 49,477 6 October 11 at New York Giants L 14–34 2–4 Giants Stadium 67,128 7 October 18 at Atlanta Falcons L 20–41 2–5 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 51,458 8 October 25 Minnesota Vikings W 30–17 3–5 Busch Memorial Stadium 48,039 9 November 1 at Washington Redskins L 21–42 3–6 RFK Stadium 50,643 10 November 8 Philadelphia Eagles L 10–52 3–7 Busch Memorial Stadium 48,421 11 November 15 Buffalo Bills W 24–0 4–7 Busch Memorial Stadium 46,214 12 November 22 at Baltimore Colts W 35–24 5–7 Memorial Stadium 24,784 13 November 29 at New England Patriots W 27–20 6–7 Schaefer Stadium 39,946 14 December 6 New Orleans Saints W 30–3 7–7 Busch Memorial Stadium 46,923 15 December 13 New York Giants L 10–20 7–8 Busch Memorial Stadium 47,358 16 December 20 at Philadelphia Eagles L 0–38 7–9 Veterans Stadium 56,656 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Standings References 1981 St. Louis Cardinals