Ollie Matson, a 4x400 Olympic Gold Medalist in the 1952 Helsinki Games, already had plans after achieving huge Track and Field success; he was already the Third Overall Draft Pick by the Chicago Cardinals.

Matson had a strong rookie year with 1,326 All-Purpose Yards, a Pro Bowl, and a First Team All-Pro Selection.  He missed 1953 due to military service but was an even better version upon his return, leading the NFL in All-Purpose Yards in 1954 (1,666) and 1956 (1,524) and never had a season with the Cardinals where he had less than 1,200 APY.  His trophy case was laden over this period with six Pro Bowls and five First Team All-Pros.

Matson was among the few stars that the Cardinals had in the 50s, but his supporting cast was not great.  Chicago only had one winning season while he was there, and the Los Angeles Rams offered seven players and two draft picks for Matson, which they agreed to.  None of the players that the Cardinals received made much of a difference, but Matson's skills declined after he moved west.  Matson left behind 8,544 All-Purpose Yards and 46 Touchdowns.

An All-Decade Player in the 1950s, Matson entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1972.  He was part of the first group when the Cardinals began their Ring of Honor in 2006.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has severed ties with Jann Wenner, who was the mastermind and co-founder behind the institution, and was still on the Board of Directors.  This stemmed from the backlash from comments he made in an interview with the New York Times while promoting his book, where he criticized black female artists.

The statement was very direct:

“Jann Wenner has been removed from the Board of Directors of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation."

Ouch!

In the Times interview, he was pressed on why he only profiled white male rockers, and he retorted that black and female musicians were not “as articulate” as those he wished to profile.  He doubled down on the ignorance:

"For public relations sake, maybe I should have gone and found one Black and one woman artist to include here that didn't measure up to that same historical standard, just to avert this kind of criticism.”

While Wenner apologized for those remarks, his apology was clearly not accepted by his own creation.

The speed of Jackie Smith earned him a late-round selection (10^th Round) in 1963 by St. Louis, who converted the Flanker into Tight End.

Smith was an excellent blocker, but his receiving skills helped transform the position, and he amassed 7,918 Yards with 40 Touchdowns from the air.  He also earned five consecutive Pro Bowl Selections (1966-70).

Notably, Smith also served as the Cardinals Punter for his first three years.

He entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1994.

The Cardinals have been blessed with phenomenal Defensive Backs, haven’t they?

With Patrick Peterson's arrival in 2011, Peterson followed along the Cardinals' tradition of great DBs, and among them all, he had the best rookie year.  Winning the starting job at Right Corner, Peterson was a Pro Bowl Selection for his Punt Returning, having returned four for Touchdowns and leading the NFL in Punt Return Yards.

Peterson moved to the left side as a sophomore, staying there until his departure.  He went to the next seven Pro Bowls, adding two more First Team All-Pros (He was one as a rookie) and was still doing duties as a Punt Returner.  Arizona was up and down during Peterson's tenure, but through his career, they had no worries at Left Corner. 

Peterson’s lengthy tenure with Arizona concluded when he signed with Minnesota in 2021.  With the Cards, Peterson recorded 28 Interceptions and 499 Tackles.