Irv Goode was a beast at the University of Kentucky, which led to his high selection by the St. Louis Cardinals, who nabbed him 12^th Overall in 1961.  Goode accomplished a rare feat as a rookie, earning Rookie of the Year votes (4^th), and though St. Louis was not impressive in the 1960s, the versatile lineman (he played at Left Tackle, Left Guard, and Center) won Pro Bowl honors in both 1964 and 1967.

He would later win a Super Bowl in a reserve capacity with the Miami Dolphins at SB VIII.

Freddie Joe Nunn was selected 18th overall from Ole Miss in the 1985 NFL Draft, bringing exceptional speed and athletic flexibility to St. Louis. During his nine seasons with the Cardinals, he was frequently moved between a traditional 4-3 defensive end and a stand-up outside linebacker. This constant position switching, along with playing for struggling teams in St. Louis and Phoenix, kept him out of the national spotlight. However, when allowed to pursue pass rushes, Nunn proved to be extremely effective.

Nunn demonstrated exceptional quickness right from the start, often leveraging a fast first step to consistently beat boundary tackles and turn the corner. Whether he was positioned with his hand in the dirt or in space, his pure speed enabled him to make impactful tackles early, often before the offensive pockets were fully formed.

Nunn reached his peak in 1988 as the franchise moved across the country. During a season focused solely on rushing the quarterback, he achieved a career-high 14.0 sacks in Arizona's first desert season. He then continued with two solid years, recording 11.0 sacks in 1989 and 9.5 in 1990, cementing his role as the defense’s main disruptor.

Despite off-field legal distractions and a roster that struggled to contend in the NFC East, Nunn’s back-to-back-to-back sack totals anchored the franchise's front seven through the late 1980s and early 1990s.

When Nunn departed for Indianapolis in 1994, he held the Cardinals' official franchise record with 66.5 career sacks—a mark that stood for nearly three decades before Chandler Jones finally surpassed it in 2021.

Before ever taking his first NFL snap, Charley Johnson had already etched his name into college football history. A tenth-round draft choice in 1960 out of New Mexico State, Johnson remains the only player to win back-to-back Sun Bowl MVP awards (1959, 1960) and became the first athlete in NMSU history to have his jersey number retired. After serving as a reserve during his 1961 rookie season, he inherited the starting job in 1962 and quickly proved that his intellect matched his arm talent.

Johnson brought a cerebral approach to the quarterback position. In fact, his off-field intellect was literally academic: while serving as the Big Red's starting signal-caller, he earned both a master's degree and a doctorate in chemical engineering from Washington University in St. Louis. On the field, he weaponized deep vertical routes to receivers like Sonny Randle and Bobby Joe Conrad, establishing St. Louis as one of the NFC's premier big-play offenses.

Johnson hit his absolute peak during the 1963 season. Guiding the Cardinals to a 9-5 record, he led the entire NFL in both completions (223) and passing yards (3,045) while throwing 21 touchdown passes to earn his first career Pro Bowl selection. He followed that performance up in 1964 by leading the Big Red to another 9-3-2 record—just missing the postseason—while throwing for 3,045 yards and 21 touchdowns. In 1963 and 1964, Johnson posted back-to-back 3,000-yard passing seasons, leading the NFL in yardage in '63 and anchoring the franchise's highest-scoring era of the decade.

Johnson's tenure in St. Louis was also marked by unique military service; while actively playing for the Cardinals, he fulfilled a two-year commitment in the U.S. Army Reserve working as a second lieutenant with NASA.

As injuries caught up to him and youngster Jim Hart emerged under center, Johnson was traded to the Houston Oilers in 1970. He later capped his 15-year NFL career by leading the Denver Broncos to their first-ever winning season in 1973. Across nine seasons in a Cardinals uniform, Johnson threw for 14,928 yards and 108 touchdowns in 105 regular-season games.

With the Fifth Overall Pick in the 1981 Draft, the St. Louis Cardinals selected E.J. Junior, who was the second Linebacker taken behind someone you may have heard of; Lawrence Taylor.  Junior did not have Taylor’s career (who could?) but the Cardinals got a lot of good football from the eventual College Football Hall of Fame inductee.

Junior won the starting job during the season and, by the mid-80s, was one of the best interior Linebackers in the NFC.  His best season was in 1984 when he was a First Team All-Pro and began a two-year run of Pro Bowls.  From 183 to 1985, Junior had eight Interceptions and 19.0 Sacks, and though he tailed off afterward, he was still a solid NFL player.

He left the Cardinals behind in 1988, joining Miami as a Free Agent.  The Cardinals were not significant in the 1980s, but this does not detract from Junior's work in St.Louis/Phoenix.