Cardinals’ Mt. Rushmore split between St. Louis, Arizona

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Like the Rams, the Cardinals have been in three cities. Like the Rams, the Cardinals’ Mt. Rushmore comes from two of them.

We unveiled during Friday’s Pro Football Talk on NBCSN the four most significant figures in the 90-plus year history of a franchise that has had 44 head coaches.

From the St. Louis phase, we picked defensive back Larry Wilson and offensive lineman Dan Dierdorf.  From the Arizona phase, it’s receiver Larry Fitzgerald and safety Pat Tillman.

PFT Planet replaced Wilson with quarterback Kurt Warner, who led the team to its only Super Bowl appearance and whose value has been demonstrated in the three seasons since he retired.

For more discussion and analysis and debate and a look at the entire voting breakdown, give the video below a click.

18 responses to “Cardinals’ Mt. Rushmore split between St. Louis, Arizona

  1. I was wondering if Jackie Smith should be there rather than Pat Tillman. As a person, soldier, role model of character and human being who also played in the NFL, he should be on a Mount Rushmore of NFL HEROS, or something along these lines, along with other veterans who died in combat during an interruption of their careers. Though it has been quite a while since his playing days, “Big Red” should be on The Cardinal’s Mount Rushmore. RIP Pat Tillman.

  2. 1. These Mount Rushmores should be city-based, not team-based.

    2. Pat Tillman was a great patriot, but not a great football player. Yet it was Larry Wilson who PFT replaced with Kurt Warner? Neither Tillman nor Warner belong on this list.

  3. I’m an Iraq vet so take this for what it’s worth but Tillman was a great american and selfless by being a svcmember and that is what he should be remembered for. He was a player true but hardly of the football legend of those others. Tillman highlights what it means when any american volunteers and dies in service – that he gave up LIFE and whether you’re a famous or a nobody its always a big deal and worthy of remembrance. Putting him on cards Mt Rushmore is silly – his significance has basically nothing to do with the cardinals or football really and he didn’t do much in the nfl. It seems trite.

  4. Cardinal fan here for 40 plus years.

    Larry Wilson, HoF, is a lock. The original St. Louis Cardinal. Defined strong safety. There is NO way Pat Tillman as a football player approaches Larry Wilson, period. Any inclusion of Tillman is simply based on patriotic pride overtaking football knowledge. We are voting on football players, not whether or not you look up to them or for any sacrifices an individual makes to his country.

    Dierdorf, HoF, is a lock. Fitzgerald is a lock.

    From there, you could have a number of players: Jim Hart, Roger Wherli (HoF), Adrian Wilson and Jackie Smith (HoF).

    I voted for Hart. I could concede Warner…

  5. Florio – WOW- your type of thinking would have kept Gayle Sayers out of the HOF if you do not think that Kurt Warner in his 3 minimal years did not have a bigger impact than you are giving him credit for.

  6. As someone who has lived in Arizona his whole life, and more importantly since the Arizona Cardinals were the Phoenix Cardinals for a brief moment hopefully my opinion on this has a little weight. First and foremost, Pat Tillman was a fantastic player at ASU and a decent player while with Arizona. With that being said, there’s no way in hell he’s going on the Cardinals Mount Rushmore. Here’s mine and i’m 39 so the OLD Cardinals are probably being skipped.

    1 – Kurt Warner. He brought Arizona back to winning. And around here, he’s god. He will ALWAYS be a Cardinal around here. He’s the Cardinals equivalent of Luis Gonzalez. He’ll never have to pay for a drink or meal out here.

    2 – Michael Bidwell. Michael started with Kurt and has gradually done more for the franchise that his father had since he owned the team. Michael got the stadium deal done the Cardinals needed and has paid out money to those who deserved it for the most part. No longer are the Cardinals that cheap franchise they used to be. Away from here people might think that, but the fans here know it’s not like that any longer.

    3 – Larry Fitzgerald. He has been and will end up being the greatest player this team has ever seen. And the sad part is that he’s been robbed of doing even better by the quarterbacks not named Warner and a few years of Bill Bidwell’s fingerprints on things.

    4 – Dan Dierdorf. I was going back and forth here between Roy Green, Neil Lomax, and Dierdorf. But Dan was a fantastic lineman on a crappy team and parlayed it into the hall of fame. I figure when the list is said and done, we need a HoF player from today and yesteryear and Fitz and Dierdorf are perfect for it.

  7. Agree they should be city-based.

    Also agree Tillman was a patriot. But putting him there instead of Roger Wehrli??? This is a joke.

    Tillman played 4 years — Wehrli 14 years.
    Tillman was a 1-time All-Pro — Wehrli was a 5-time All Pro AND a 7-time Pro-Bowler.
    Tillman had 3 interceptions — Wehril had 40.

    Just no comparison.

  8. What folks easily forget in the emotional moment regarding Tillman was he was already being moved out of the starting lineup in favor of Adrian Wilson. Tillman had already lost a step and he was never the speedster to begin with.

    Yes, Tillman died in military action on behalf of us all, but with regards to football, his stay at the top was short-lived and the transition to replace him as a starter with Adrian Wilson was already underway.

    As for those of you who argue against Warner being there in favor of old timers, show us where these old timers got the Cards into the title game and turned around a doormat franchise to where the ownership now hungers for wins and football success?

    Its all about winning, and Kurt Warner led the Cards to heights so foreign to them that the ownership and fans now dare to dream of returning to the Super Bowl and winning one day; dreams they never dared to dream before in Cards history. Now THAT is a legacy Warner gave birth to, not anyone else. And the proof to what Warner met to the Cards is how Graves and Whisenhunt were undressed as frauds after Warner walked out the door because they arrogantly refused to get linemen who could protect him.

  9. Should have been Larry Wilson, Dan Dierdorf, Larry Fitzgerald and Adrian Wilson. Adrian didn’t get any love but he’s the Cards 2nd all time leading tackler and is one of only six players in NFL history with 25/25 sacks and interceptions. Beast.

  10. I live in Phoenix and we still have hope Warner will come back from retirement. That’s how desperate we are for a winner before and after Kurt left. For the first time ever Kurt gave this town hope. Its all about winning and a dream and he gave this town that and more.

  11. If you split it up by city, rather than trying to cram 90 years of history into four players, this would be easier.

    For Arizona, you could just add Aeneas Williams, then you have Warner, Fitzgerald, Tillman, Williams.

  12. Oh now I get it, its not really based on performance on the field. But in all honesty the ground rules did say “most significant figures” not “best players” in franchise history so shame on me for putting in the time and thought of breaking down football production and achievements. Silly me.

    Look, there is no doubt Tillman is a national hero like all American servicemen killed in action but by that token then Bob Kalsu (Bills), Jack Lummus/Al Blozis(Giants) should be on their teams’ Mt. Rushmore. Pat is a hero of mine and gave up everything to serve but look up those names……..whats the difference? Were they any less heroic?

  13. Why is everybody upset that others voted for Pat? For a franchise that had NOTHING during its time in Arizona that fans and the team could be proud of, Tillman’s decision provided something the fans and nation could respect. As a Cardinals fan, his personal sacrifice was something I am tremendously proud of.

  14. I’m very proud of Pat and his legacy too and wish I have half the guts he did but I just assumed this contest was for football achievements. But in the grand scheme of things I do get it, his actions and sacrifice transcends the game.

  15. Some people just should not be writing or “reporting” on pro football. What exactly did Tillman do “for” the Cardinals organization? Stop and ask yourself that for a second. I know it sounds like I’m being a jerk, but seriously…in the HISTORY of the Cardinals, where would you rank his pro football contribution compared to that of Larry Wilson? Kurt Warner? Roger Wehrli? Aeneas Williams? Are you seriously going to tell Aeneas Williams that his football career was less productive than that of Pat Tillman’s football career?

    Football contribution…which you want us all to consider this to be a “football site”? If this isn’t, just tell us now straight out instead of creating some bunch of offseason filler content that mocks our favorite franchises.

  16. As a Disabled Veteran and as a ASU Alumni (with Pat) his status is iconic but, it transcends the Cardinals. In my humble opinion, his sacrifices deserve a place that, with all due respect, this Mt. Rushmore recognition could never adhere too. Those of us who knew Pat would tell you that, Pat would never want the recognition or accolades for what he has done himself in retrospect, he is far too humble for that and this makes him a great american. I believe he would have preferred to be remembered as a teammate with his brothers in real life, on the gridiron and the battle field. Maybe, we should remember and praise him for that!

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