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With only 68 days remaining until the kickoff to the season we take a look at those who have worn the BIG SIX-EIGHT for the Cardinals over the years. What we find is a whopping 14 One-Hit-Wonders* out of the 20 players that have worn today's jersey number. But that trend of players only around for one season (or less) for the team has come to a screeching halt with our current player who wears No. 68 (more on that later).
As usual, we'll list all the players that have worn today's number chronologically making note of those players that mattered along the way while leaving plenty of space for your comments below to fill in the gaps after you vote on who you think has worn No. 68 best for the Cardinals.
The Chicago years
Plato Andros may have been the team philosopher during his 4 seasons with the Cardinals (1947-1950), but we just don't know. What we do know is that the Chicago Cardinals have the distinction of being the only team to have had a player named Plato in the history of the National Football League. Plato played both sides of the ball at guard and 'defensive guard'.
Cliff Patton 1951*
Fred Wallner 1952*
Nick Chickillo 1953*
Bill Lange (1954-1955) is notable for having played for more than one season with the Cardinals wearing No. 68. However, our records of jersey numbers only go back to 1950.
The St. Louis years
Mike McGee (1960-1962) did even better by playing three seasons under the Gateway to the West.
Ed McQuarters 1965*
Frank Roy 1966*
Mike Siwek 1970*
Paul Dickson 1971*
Mike Taylor 1973*
Finally good times for No. 68 when Terry Stieve started at left guard for 6 seasons (1978-1984) and rates the highest valued player for the Cardinals for today's number to date by Pro-Football-Reference.
Charles Vatterott 1987*
Mike Morris 1987*
The Desert years
Joe Wolf (1989-1997) played 5 seasons in 'Phoenix' then moved to 'Arizona' for 4 seasons without having to pack his bags or even leave the frozen tundra of chilly Sun Devil Stadium. Joe started 60 games in the desert over 9 seasons at both left guard and right tackle.
Yusuf Scott 1999-2001
Tony Wragge 2002*
Dante Ellington 2005*
Tom Pestock 2011*
Adam Snyder (2012*) is probably best known from that awesome offensive line that allowed 17 quarterback sacks over the span of 5 days in that memorable season (it was to Kevin Kolb).
But things have taken a turn for the better with our new BIG SIXTY-EIGHT who goes by the name of Jared Veldheer.
The Cardinals have committed to building an offensive line with designs that go far beyond just being 'good'. By acquiring Jared Veldheer, the Cardinals took a huge step in the direction of 'excellence' for a unit we can look forward to with great anticipation of being something very special.
To say that Jared filled a void at the left-tackle position that existed since the Cardinals began play in Glendale would of course be an understatement. But the NFL talking heads won't be understating when they say: 'Hey, what about that 'Big Red Line' out in Arizona!' Won't that be different?
With our new additions there are now likely three or possibly four new starters and each and every one can only be looked at as an upgrade. I can't wait to see these guys in action together and then sit back and watch as we reap the benefits of excellence on the front line.
For a listing of the entire collection of stories in the Countdown to the Season series, all you have to do is click here.