In the third quarter he picked off another pass which led to a Cardinals touchdown. From a seventh round draft pick to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. When he looked back on his career, he often mentioned how lucky he had been and gave credit to those who mentored him.
The next day, the Buffalo Bills, the AFL team that had drafted Wilson, matched that salary offer, but declined to pay anything up front. Larry picked off three Rudy Bukich passes. These stories had to be coaxed out of Wilson, because didn’t enjoy talking about himself. And I got to see him intercept that pass with the two broken hands!!! For Larry, it was always about everyone else and what he could do for them. Wilson became a safety only after he failed at cornerback in his first preseason game. We have a lot of great ball players on this team. Larry Wilson intercepts a Bill Nelson pass while playing with two broken hands in 1965. But Dee Ann would have to drive home by herself. 1959, when he was drafted in the seventh round, halfback and cornerback at the University of Utah, 52 interceptions and 800 career interception-return yards. They moved me to safety, and then things started rolling in the right direction.”. Start the day smarter. “Larry Wilson is not able to do the things that he did three or four years ago,” Wilson said during the 1972 season. He will always be Mr. Cardinal.
The little legend became a big legend in 1965. He returned the interception for a touchdown, helping the Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-17. Larry Wilson, the Hall of Fame St. Louis Cardinals defensive back who helped transform the position of safety into that of a more aggressive, blitzing defender, died on Thursday at his home in Scottsdale, Ariz. Bidwill offered Larry Wilson a contract that included a $7,500 salary, including a $500 advance. The way I think about the Bears, even though I wasn’t with the Cardinals in their Chicago years, is that the Bears are always among the best teams in the league.”, “He’s unreal,” Jim Bakken said after the game. “As a matter of fact, zero. “Lying awake the night before the game, I was thinking there was no way he could catch one with his hands wrapped up to protect his fractures, but I knew he was going to get one.”. Wilson had broken the middle fingers on each hand in a previous game during the 1965 season. It might have been the best money Bidwill ever spent. “He was someone who truly lived his faith and demonstrated it daily in the kindness he showed every single person he met. That pretty much sums up Larry Wilson. Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article. He also won the first George Halas Award for Defensive Player of the Year.
The first one led to the Cards second touchdown. The Cardinals won 24-23 to finish 4-9-1 for the second consecutive year. Subscribe to azcentral.com today. He is a member of the 1960s All Decade Team and is still the organization’s all-time leader with 52 interceptions. If he was fierce on the field, Wilson was easygoing and humble off it. I think that’s the greatest thing — getting some place that you can call your own, finally.”. “He always has played like that. Johnny Unitas was the Colts quarterback. Larry Frank Wilson played the game with sheer determination, guts, and maximum effort. “Larry Wilson personifies what made the NFL great,” Bidwill said then. Wilson's memorabilia has not gone unnoticed either. Trailing 17-0 in the second quarter, Wilson intercepted a Frank Ryan pass and returned it 96 yards for a touchdown. The Big Red were scheduled to play their last exhibition game in San Francisco and then open the season in Los Angeles the following week. He was drafted by the Chicago Cardinals, played for the St. Louis Cardinals, and was General Manager of the Arizona Cardinals. Money was raised to erect a bronze statue of Wilson outside of Busch Stadium next to Stan the Man’s. He (Hill) took me under his wing. Wilson had broken the middle fingers on each hand in a previous game during the 1965 season. Only 6-feet and 190 pounds, Wilson was fearless and tough. They called the safety blitz the “Wildcat.”, “It turned out to be a lot of fun,” Wilson said.
On offense, he was both a receiving and running threat out of the backfield. A week later the Cardinals played in front of a national television audience on a Monday night Halloween encounter with their old rivals the Chicago Bears. The Cardinals offered no bonus, but a $9500 salary that was contingent on him making the team. His number 8 jersey was retired by the team, and Wilson is in the ring of honor at State Farm Stadium. Plus, I got to put those casts he wore in the Big Red display case in the Hall of Fame in the “new” stadium.
As durable as any player in the league, Wilson started nearly every one of the 169 games in which he played over 13 seasons. Enjoyed this article about my former high school football team member, he was and is the best athlete and man I have known.
His signature became the safety blitz. He knew his time as a player was coming to an end. Many fans still ask, “Did Larry Wilson really intercept a pass with two broken hands?” The answer is yes. 8, in action against the Cleveland Browns in an undated photo. Wilson, who played halfback and cornerback at the University of Utah, was converted into a free safety. When the Cardinals moved to Arizona in 1988, Wilson became vice president and general manager, positions he held until 1993. “That was, and is, Larry Wilson,” Bill Bidwill once said. Larry “Wildcat” Wilson is known as Mr. Cardinal.