The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons.
The roots of the Chicago Cardinals can be traced back to 1898, when Chris O'Brien established an amateur Chicago-based athletic team, the Morgan Athletic Club. O'Brien later moved them to Chicago's Normal Park and renamed them the Racine Normals, then adopting the maroon color from the University of Chicago uniforms.
In the 1900s, the Cardinals became part of a professional circuit in Chicago. The Racine Cardinals, along with the Chicago Bears, were founding members of the National Football League in 1920.