Eight Days Until the Arizona Cardinals Kickoff the Season

I'm going to take a moment to share with Cardinals fans my first and all-time favorite football hero. We all have our own favorites and this is my personal tribute to mine. Also hoping you enjoy a little Cardinals history along the way.

Larry 'Wildcat' Wilson, whose jersey number '8' has long since been retired by the Cardinals, was not only a first-ballot Hall Of Fame Free Safety, Larry was the only Cardinal elected to the NFL's All-75th Year Team.

Wilson was also named NFL First-Team All-Pro 6 times, represented the Cardinals on 8 Pro Bowl teams and is credited with seven defensive touchdowns and a safety.

At least one interception in seven consecutive games, en route to a 10 pick season (14 games back then) led the NFL in 1966 - good enough to earn Larry Wilson the first-ever George S. Halas Trophy for Defensive Player of the Year.

According to NFL Films. "Larry Wilson was the embodiment of courage and toughness for St. Louis - number '8' was not only the symbol of the Cardinals - with his hawk-like profile he looked like the Cardinal symbol itself."

Drafted as a 7th round, undersized running back from Rigby, Idaho, Larry was asked to try his luck on defense, and soon became the leader of what would be described today as an outrageously aggressive defense, that in 1970 recorded three consecutive shutouts!

Wilson is also credited as the 'innovator of the safety blitz'.

"The Cardinals utilized Wilson's aggressiveness by creating a new tactic - the Safety Blitz. It was a devastating weapon, an innovation that changed NFL defenses forever, and Larry Wilson was it's cutting edge ... every modern-day safety owes his game to Larry Wilson". The play was code-named 'Wildcat', after Wilson's nickname.

Wilson is also renowned for not only playing, but intercepting a pass with two broken hands encased in casts!

NFL Films President Steve Sabol: "Longfellow has a line in one of his poems, 'In life, a man must be either the anvil, or the hammer' - but Larry Wilson was both! ... in the history of the sport - None Tougher!". As well as, "With or without teeth or hands, no one played free safety with the wild-west abandon of Wilson - he terrorized enemy quarterbacks."

Jerry Kramer, a guard for the Green Bay Packers and author of 'Instant Replay', called Wilson "the finest football player in the NFL". Kramer described Wilson's play during a 1967 game, "he fired up their whole team ... his enthusiasm was infectious."

Wilson's 52 career interceptions (12 and 14 game seasons) are still the Cardinals all-time record. Just as impressive were his sack totals and tackles for losses. Sadly, in those days sacks were not recorded as statistics, but had they been, unquestionably Larry Wilson would be the only member of the 50-50 club.

Fellow Hall Of Famer Bobby Mitchell describes: "I never thought of Larry having great speed or great quickness - but he was always there! And after he got there - he'd hit you - HARD!"

"Pro Football's Best Free Safety", proclaimed NFL Films who also labeled Larry as "The master of the safety blitz - there'll never be another one like him".

Of course most of you never had the pleasure of seeing Larry play, but I'm sure today's Cardinal's fans would have taken to him like Steve Keim takes to a buffet. The ultimate ball-hawk, whether stuffing the run, sacking the quarterback, or intercepting a deep pass, it seemed number '8' would always be closing in to make a play.

Upon his retirement in 1972, Cardinals fans raised $80,000 to erect a statue of Larry outside Busch Stadium to stand beside Stan "The Man" Musial. Wilson humbly declined the honor and asked that the money instead be donated to the Children's Hospital of St. Louis. Five years later however, Larry Wilson had his likeness cast in bronze - at the Pro Football Hall Of Fame.

Please take a few minutes to watch this documentary that any true Cardinals fan should enjoy and gain greater appreciation for number '8' on the Cardinal's Ring Of Honor.

The greatest Cardinal to ever snap on a chin-strap - Larry Wilson.

For more history of the Big Red, visit The St. Louis Football Cardinals

* The term 'Greatest Cardinal Ever' is the opinion of the author of course, who can't imagine who else it could be.