The 1987 St. Louis Cardinals season was the franchise's 68th season in the National Football League and the 28th and final season in St. Louis as the team moved to Tempe, Arizona in March 1988. This move left St. Louis without an NFL franchise until the Los Angeles Rams moved there in 1995 to play, only to relocate back to Los Angeles in 2016, once again leaving St. Louis without an NFL team.
Offseason
NFL draft
Personnel
Staff
NFL replacement players After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled:
1987 St. Louis Cardinals replacement rosterQuarterbacks Shawn Halloran Shane Lamb Gregg Tipton Sammy Garza
Running backs Derrick McAdoo Vai Sikahema Larry Cowan Broderick Sargent Don Goodman Robert Mimbs Eric Drains
Wide receivers Roy Green J. T. Smith Clarence Collins Troy Johnson Gill Stegall Kenny Nash Lonnie Turner Ron Brown Fred Lane
Tight ends William Harris Bob Keseday Offensive linemen Ray Brown Tom Welter Charlie Vatterott Victor Perry Joe Bock Ron Pasquale Keith Radecic
Defensive linemen Curtis Greer Mark Garalczyk Gary Dulin Ron Bohm Victor Burnett Jim Pauciello Anthony BurkeLinebackers Phil Forney Bill Altena Tony Buford Jimmie Carter Terence Mack Pete Noga Paul Savage
Defensive backs Dwayne Anderson Travis Curtis Leonard Smith Mark Jackson Terrence Anthony Richard Atkinson Mark Mathis Ken Sims Tony Mayes Ed Scott Jeff Colter Garcia Lane
Special teams Jim Gallery K Jason Staurovsky K Greg Cater P Mark Royals P Mike Crow P
Roster
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 13 Dallas Cowboys W 24–13 1–0 Busch Stadium 47,241 2 September 20 at San Diego Chargers L 24–28 1–1 Jack Murphy Stadium 47,988 – September 27 Indianapolis Colts canceled 1–1 Busch Stadium 3 October 4 at Washington Redskins L 21–28 1–2 RFK Stadium 27,728 4 October 11 New Orleans Saints W 24–19 2–2 Busch Stadium 11,795 5 October 18 at San Francisco 49ers L 28–34 2–3 Candlestick Park 38,094 6 October 25 at New York Giants L 7–30 2–4 Giants Stadium 74,391 7 November 1 Philadelphia Eagles L 23–28 2–5 Busch Stadium 24,586 8 November 8 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 31–28 3–5 Busch Stadium 22,449 9 November 15 Los Angeles Rams L 24–27 3–6 Busch Stadium 27,730 10 November 22 at Philadelphia Eagles W 31–19 4–6 Veterans Stadium 55,592 11 November 29 at Atlanta Falcons W 34–21 5–6 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 15,909 12 December 6 Washington Redskins L 17–34 5–7 Busch Stadium 31,324 13 December 13 New York Giants W 27–24 6–7 Busch Stadium 29,623 14 December 20 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 31–14 7–7 Tampa Stadium 32,046 15 December 27 at Dallas Cowboys L 16–21 7–8 Texas Stadium 36,788 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: vs. Dallas Cowboys
Week 3: at Washington Redskins
Week 8: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Days before the game Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill announced that the team would be moving to another city. The announcement increased fan apathy, resulting in an official game attendance of only 22,449, the Cardinals' lowest in four years.
Entering the fourth quarter, the Cardinals were down 28–3 to the Buccaneers. St. Louis would score 28 unanswered points in the final quarter to win 31–28. Tampa kicker Donald Igwebuike attempted a 53-yard field goal to tie the game as time expired but the ball bounced off the crossbar. The Cardinals' 25-point fourth quarter comeback is the largest in NFL history.
Week 13: vs. Washington Redskins
Week 14: vs. New York Giants
This would be the Cardinals' final home game in St. Louis as the franchise would relocate to the Phoenix metro area for the 1988 season. This would be the last NFL game played in St. Louis until September 10, 1995 when the Rams, who had relocated to St. Louis from Los Angeles following the 1994 season, hosted the New Orleans Saints. However, the Rams would move back to Los Angeles prior to the 2016 season.
Week 15: at Dallas Cowboys
Entering the final week of the season, the Cardinals needed a win over the Cowboys to secure the NFC's final wild card spot. The Cardinals wound up losing the regular season finale, knocking them out of playoff contention. This would be the final game for the St. Louis Cardinals NFL team. On March 15, 1988, NFL owners approved the Cardinals' move from St. Louis to Tempe, Arizona. Starting with the following season, the Cardinals played as the Phoenix Cardinals before changing the franchise's geographic name to the Arizona Cardinals prior to the 1994 season.
Standings
Awards and records Luis Sharpe, NFC Pro Bowl selection J.T. Smith, NFL Receiving Leader, 91 Receptions NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, , p. 451 J.T. Smith, Led NFL, Receiving Yards, 1,117 yards NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, , p. 452 Ron Wolfley, Pro Bowl selection
References
External links 1987 St. Louis Cardinals at Pro-Football-Reference.com