1979 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season

American football team season August 2023 March 2026 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) St. Louis Cardinals 1979 5–11 5th NFC East Bud WilkinsonLarry Wilson (interim) Bill Bidwill Busch Memorial Stadium Did not qualify G Bob YoungRB Ottis AndersonCB Roger Wehrli Cardinals seasons 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. Offseason NFL draft 1979 NFL draft 1979 St. Louis Cardinals 1 9 Ottis Anderson Running back Miami (FL) yes yes 2 35 Theotis Brown Running back UCLA yes 2 46 Calvin Favron Linebacker Southeastern Louisiana yes 3 64 Joe Bostic Offensive tackle Clemson yes 4 89 Roy Green Defensive back 1978 Henderson State Reddies Henderson State yes yes 5 118 Steve Henry Defensive back 1978 Emporia State Hornets Emporia State yes 5 130 Mark Bell Wide receiver Colorado State yes 6 144 Thomas Lott Running back Oklahoma yes 7 173 Kirk Gibson Wide receiver Michigan State no 8 199 Larry Miller Linebacker BYU yes 9 228 Bob Rozier Defensive end California yes 10 255 Jerry Holloway Tight end 1978 Western Illinois Leathernecks Western Illinois no 12 309 Rick McBride Linebacker Georgia no no Personnel Staff 1979 St. Louis Cardinals Owner – Bill Bidwill Vice President of Operations – Joe Sullivan Director of Pro Personnel – Larry Wilson Head Coach – Bud Wilkinson Interim HC – Larry Wilson Quarterbacks/Receivers – Harry Gilmer Offensive Backfield – Jim Sweeney Offensive Line – Duane Putnam Special Assistant – Leon McLaughlin Defensive Coordinator – Tom Bettis Defensive Line – Rudy Feldman Defensive Secondary – Fred Glick Special Teams – Jerry Thompson Flexibility and Strength – Don Brown Roster 1979 St. Louis Cardinals 17 Jim Hart American football 14 Mike Loyd y 15 Steve Pisarkiewicz 32 Ottis Anderson y 33 Theotis Brown y 40 Randy Love y 24 Wayne Morris American football 86 Jimmy Childs 85 Mel Gray wide receiver 84 Dave Stief 83 Pat Tilley 80 Bill Murrell y 87 Richard Osborne American football 54 Tom Banks American football C 71 Joe Bostic y T 51 Tom Brahaney C 61 Chuck Brown American football y C/G 66 George Collins American football G 65 Brad Oates T 68 Terry Stieve G 62 Keith Wortman T 64 Bob Young offensive lineman G 76 Charlie Davis defensive tackle NT 73 Mike Dawson defensive end DE 82 Bob Pollard DE 79 Jim Ramey y DE 70 Keith Simons NT 78 Ron Yankowski DE 50 Kurt Allerman ILB 57 Mark Arneson OLB 58 John Barefield OLB 52 Sean Clancy American football OLB 59 Calvin Favron y OLB 60 Chris Garlich y ILB 53 Steve Neils OLB 55 Eric Williams linebacker ILB 27 Carl Allen cornerback CB 25 Roy Green y SS 37 Ken Greene SS 48 Steve Henry American football y CB 38 Lee Nelson American football CB 45 Perry Smith American football CB 23 Ken Stone American football FS 22 Roger Wehrli CB 12 Steve Little American football K/P 81 Mark Bell wide receiver y WR IR 72 Dan Dierdorf T IR 39 Willard Harrell RB IR 56 Tim Kearney American football LB IR 46 Jeff Lee American football y WR IR 26 Thomas Lott y RB IR 89 Gary Parris TE IR 36 Rod Phillips American football RB IR 63 John Zook DE IR Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 August 2, 1979 at Houston Oilers L 7–9 0–1 Houston Astrodome 46,252 2 August 9, 1979 Atlanta Falcons W 42–17 1–1 Busch Memorial Stadium 39,705 3 August 18, 1979 at Kansas City Chiefs L 3–20 1–2 Arrowhead Stadium 43,214 4 August 25, 1979 Chicago Bears W 10–7 2–2 Busch Memorial Stadium 43,541https://www.profootballarchives.com/1979nflstl.html 1979 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) Pro Football Archives October 28, 2023 Regular season In his NFL debut, Ottis Anderson had 193 rushing yards.Sports Illustrated, Oct. 27, 2008, p.24, Vol. 109, No. 16 Schedule Week 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 Awards and records Ottis Anderson, Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year Milestones References Cardinals on Pro Football Reference Cardinals on jt-sw.com St. Louis Category:Arizona Cardinals seasons