1981 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season

The 1981 St. Louis Cardinals season was the 62nd season the franchise was in the league. The team improved on their previous output of 5–11, winning seven games.^[1] Despite the improvement the team failed – for the sixth consecutive season – to reach the playoffs.

1981 St. Louis Cardinals season
Owner	Bill Bidwill
Head coach	Jim Hanifan
Home field	Busch Memorial Stadium
Results
Record	7–9
Division place	5th NFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	None
← 1980 Cardinals seasons 1982 →

After a 3–7 start, including a horrendous 52–10 loss to the Eagles on November 8, Head Coach Jim Hanifan benched Jim Hart for Neil Lomax. The team would win four of its last six games.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1981 NFL Draft

1981 St. Louis Cardinals draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	5	E. J. Junior *	Linebacker	Alabama
2	33	Neil Lomax *	Quarterback	Portland State
3	61	Jeff Griffin	Cornerback	Utah
4	88	Steve Rhodes	Wide receiver	Oklahoma
5	116	John Gillen	Linebacker	Illinois
6	143	Dave Ahrens	Linebacker	Wisconsin
7	171	Kevin Donnalley	Defensive back	North Dakota State
8	198	Mike Fisher	Wide receiver	Baylor
9	226	Stump Mitchell	Running back	The Citadel
10	253	James Mallard	Wide receiver	Alabama
10	263	Jim Joiner	Wide receiver	Miami (FL)
11	281	Mike Sherrod	Tight end	Illinois
12	309	Joe Adams	Guard	Nebraska
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[2]

Undrafted free agents

1981 Undrafted Free Agents of note

Player	Position	College
John Allman	Defensive back	Indiana State
Tom Brazill	Defensive back	Wisconsin–La Crosse
Jim Schletzer	Punter	North Carolina

Personnel

Staff

1981 St. Louis Cardinals staff

Front office President – Bill Bidwill Vice President of Operations – Joe Sullivan Director of Pro Personnel – Larry Wilson Director of Player Personnel – George Boone Head coaches Head Coach – Jim Hanifan Special Assistant to the Head Coach – Leon McLaughlin Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – Harry Gilmer Offensive Backfield – Dick Jamieson Receivers – Emmitt Thomas Offensive Line – Tom Lovat

Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Tom Bettis Defensive Line – Rudy Feldman Defensive Secondary – Bill Atkins Special teams coaches Special Teams – Chuck Banker Strength and conditioning Flexibility and Strength – Don Brown

Roster

1981 St. Louis Cardinals roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 17 Jim Hart 16 Rusty Lisch 15 Neil Lomax Running backs (RB) 32 Ottis Anderson 33 Theotis Brown FB 39 Willard Harrell 40 Randy Love 30 Stump Mitchell 24 Wayne Morris FB Wide receivers (WR) 86 Ralph Clayton 25 Mike Fisher 85 Mel Gray 25 Roy Green 84 Dave Stief 83 Pat Tilley Tight ends (TE) 80 Chris Combs 89 Greg LaFleur

Offensive linemen (OL) 71 Joe Bostic G 51 Tom Brahaney C 64 Randy Clark C 66 George Collins T 60 Barney Cotton G 72 Dan Dierdorf T 62 Dale Markham T 70 Art Plunkett T 68 Terry Stieve G Defensive linemen (DL) 67 Bill Acker DT 69 Rush Brown DT 63 Kirby Criswell DE 73 Mike Dawson DT 75 Curtis Greer DE 76 Stafford Mays DT 82 Bob Pollard DE

Linebackers (LB) 58 Dave Ahrens 52 Charles Baker 59 Calvin Favron 50 Doak Ford 57 John Gillen 54 E. J. Junior 55 Eric Williams Defensive backs (DB) 27 Carl Allen CB 43 Steve Carpenter SS 44 Tim Collier CB 37 Ken Greene SS 35 Jeff Griffin CB 38 Lee Nelson FS 48 Don Schwartz 22 Roger Wehrli CB Special teams 11 Neil O'Donoghue K 18 Carl Birdsong P

Reserve -- Joe Adams G (IR) 61 Ron Coder G (IR) -- Jim Joiner WR (IR) -- James Mallard WR (NF-Inj.) 87 Doug Marsh TE (IR) Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 6	Miami Dolphins	L 7–20	0–1	Busch Memorial Stadium	50,351
2	September 13	at Dallas Cowboys	L 17–30	0–2	Texas Stadium	63,602
3	September 20	Washington Redskins	W 40–30	1–2	Busch Memorial Stadium	47,592
4	September 27	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 10–20	1–3	Tampa Stadium	65,850
5	October 4	Dallas Cowboys	W 20–17	2–3	Busch Memorial Stadium	49,477
6	October 11	at New York Giants	L 14–34	2–4	Giants Stadium	67,128
7	October 18	at Atlanta Falcons	L 20–41	2–5	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	51,458
8	October 25	Minnesota Vikings	W 30–17	3–5	Busch Memorial Stadium	48,039
9	November 1	at Washington Redskins	L 21–42	3–6	RFK Stadium	50,643
10	November 8	Philadelphia Eagles	L 10–52	3–7	Busch Memorial Stadium	48,421
11	November 15	Buffalo Bills	W 24–0	4–7	Busch Memorial Stadium	46,214
12	November 22	at Baltimore Colts	W 35–24	5–7	Memorial Stadium	24,784
13	November 29	at New England Patriots	W 27–20	6–7	Schaefer Stadium	39,946
14	December 6	New Orleans Saints	W 30–3	7–7	Busch Memorial Stadium	46,923
15	December 13	New York Giants	L 10–20	7–8	Busch Memorial Stadium	47,358
16	December 20	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 0–38	7–9	Veterans Stadium	56,656
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Dallas Cowboys(2)	12	4	0	.750	6–2	8–4	367	277	L1
Philadelphia Eagles(4)	10	6	0	.625	4–4	7–5	368	221	W1
New York Giants(5)	9	7	0	.563	5–3	8–6	295	257	W3
Washington Redskins	8	8	0	.500	3–5	6–6	347	349	W3
St. Louis Cardinals	7	9	0	.438	2–6	4–8	315	408	L2

References

1. 1981 St. Louis Cardinals
2. "1981 St. Louis Cardinals Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved July 29, 2024.