Tag: Jim Hart

17 days till the Cardinals’ season opener against the Bills

There hasn’t been even a decent No. 17 on the Cardinals in a long time.

The Arizona Cardinals are three days away from their final preseason game. They are five days away from final cutdown day, when they must reduce the roster to 53 players.

And until they take the field on September 8 at Highmark Stadium on the road against the Buffalo Bills, they are 17 days away.

Receiver Dan Chisena currently wears No. 17. He probably will not make the roster. He has not yet made any real impact on the team.

In fact. No. 17 has been a dud of a number for some time. The most important player to wear it was quarterback Jim Hart. He played for the Cardinals from 1967-1983.

But the last guy to really have any sort of impact was quarterback Dave Brown, who was the Cardinals’ backup quarterback from 1998-2001 while Jake Plummer was the guy.

Brown was 3-4 in seven games as a starter.

He wasn’t a great No. 17 but he was the last guy to have any sort of reasonable impact with No. 17.

The countdown continues tomorrow.

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Commanders limited partner Mitchell Rales flying Sonny Jurgensen in for Sunday’s opener

Rales sent his private plane to pick up Sonny, Billy Kilmer, Jim Hart so they can attend the season opener.

Sunday is the beginning of a new era for the Washington Commanders. It’s the first game under the new ownership group, led by managing partner Josh Harris. The Commanders host the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday from FedEx Field and several of the team’s legends will be in attendance.

You can add three more to that list, thanks to one of Harris’ limited partners Mitchell Rales.

Per Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post, Rales sent his private plane to Florida to pick up Sonny Jurgensen, Billy Kilmer, Jim Hart and their wives ahead of Sunday’s game. With Jurgensen’s current health, flying commercial was not an option, so Rales wanted to ensure one of the most iconic players in franchise history would be present Sunday.

Rales, Harris and Mark Ein all grew up Washington fans, admiring Jurgensen and Billy Kilmer. The team has already announced that John Riggins, Robert Griffin III and Champ Bailey are coming back. When Harris first took over in July, Hall of Fame cornerback Darrell Green was at Commanders Park, expressing optimism for the future.

Jurgensen, 89, spent 11 of his 18 seasons with Washington. After his playing career ended, Jurgensen joined the team’s broadcast booth, forming a legendary trio with fellow Hall of Famer Sam Huff and Frank Herzog. Jurgensen finally had his No. 9 jersey officially retired last season.

Kilmer, 84, spent the final eight seasons of his 18-year NFL career with Washington. He is a member of Washington’s Ring of Fame and one of the 80 greatest players in franchise history.

Hart played 19 seasons in the NFL. He spent his final season [1984] in Washington after playing for the Cardinals for the first 18 seasons. The Cardinals were in St. Louis when Hart played.

Kudos to Rales for this amazing gesture, ensuring Jurgensen and Kilmer, who’ve given so much to the franchise, will be “home” for Sunday’s game.