The Cardinals are a professional Football team based in metropolitan Phoenix. They play their home games in Glendale at the State Farm Stadium. The Cardinals compete in the NFL (National Football League) as part of the Western Conference.
The team has a long history, beginning in 1898 as the Morgan Athletic Club, an amateur team based in Chicago, where they were known as the Chicago Cardinals. The Cardinals are the oldest professional franchise in the USA, after joining the NFL in September 1920. They are also one of the two charter member franchises still in operation alongside the Chicago Bears.
The team moved to St. Louis from 1960 until 1987.
They were often known as the ‘Gridbirds’, ‘Football Cardinals’ or ‘Big Red’ to avoid confusion with the Major League Baseball team with the same name (St. Louis Cardinals). In 1988 the team moved to Tempe, Arizona, a suburb east of Phoenix.
They played their home games at the Sun Devil Stadium for 18 seasons. In 2006 they relocated to Glendale though the training facilities and head office remain in Tempe. Until 2012 the Cardinals completed their annual summer training event at Northern Arizona University. The Cardinals relocated their training camps to State Farm Stadium in 2013. The Cardinals won a couple of NFL championships while based in Chicago. The first was in 1925, though there is some controversy surrounding that. The second came in 1947, around 20 years before the first Super Bowl.
Since winning in 1947, the team suffered many seasons and currently holds the longest active drought of North American sports, at a record 75 seasons.
In 2012, the Cardinals became the first franchise to lose 700 games ever. The team’s all-time record (including regular and playoff seasons) after the 2021 season was 584–787–41 (577–777–41 in the regular season, 7–10 in the playoffs).
They’ve been to the playoffs seven times and won seven times, three victories during the 2008-09 playoff season. During that season, they won the only NFC championship game since the 1970 AFL merger and reached the Super Bowl XLIII in 2009 though they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The team has won a handful of division titles, including 1974, 1975, 2008, 2009, and 2015 since their 1947 championship game.
The Cardinals are the only NFL team who’s never lost a playoff game at home, with a 5-0 record.
Famous Arizona Cardinals trademarks
The Arizona Cardinals are a unique team with a modest trademark portfolio. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular Arizona Cardinal trademarks registered under the Arizona Cardinals Football Club LLC.
Cardinals Helmet logo
One of the first trademarks registered is the Cardinals Helmet logo, which consists of a red cardinal on a helmet from a side-view.
The trademark registration was submitted in 1960 for use in:
- Entertainment services, specifically related to football exhibitions live and on the radio
- T-shirts, jerseys, bibs, coaches caps, jeans, pants, bathing suits, underwear, and other clothing
- Trading cards, posters, football magazines, calendars, books, and other stationery
Cardinals
The Cardinals wordmark is another significant trademark, and it was registered in 1981 following its first use in 1960 and applies to:
- Entertainment services related to football exhibitions live and on the radio
- Jewelry, watches, pins, and other accessories
- T-shirts, jerseys, nightwear, underwear, caps, and other clothing
Arizona Cardinals
This trademark is easily the most important on the list; the team name was trademarked in 1994 for use in:
- Posters, calendars, trading cards, books relating to football, magazines relating to football, notepads, stickers, and bumper stickers
- T-shirts, jeans, bibs, pants, underwear, ponchos, jackets, caps, and other clothing
- Golf bags, golf balls, and other golfing accessories
- Jewelry, watches, pins, and other accessories
- Football helmets
- DVDs, cellphone covers, and other accessories
- Entertainment services, namely, professional football games and exhibitions
Rise Up Red Sea
“Rise Up Red Sea” is a slogan based on the Cardinals fan base (it was said that the cardinals fans in their jerseys looked like a “Red Sea”). The slogan was officially registered in 2011 for use on:
- Football towels
Arizona Cardinals logo
The famous Cardinals logo – consisting of a red cardinal bird, is one of the most recognizable trademarks on this list. The logo features prominently in its branding, merchandise, and advertising. It was first registered in 2005 for use in:
- Football helmets
- Magnetic charge cards
- Decorative magnets
- Pre-recorded DVDs and tapes related to football
- Computer game software, disks, and accessories
- Sunglasses
- Posters, calendars, books, and magazines related to football, stickers, wrapping paper, pens and pencils, pencil cases, and other stationery
- Fleece tops, bottoms and headwear, aprons, ear muffs, woven shirts, tank tops, and other clothing
- Plush toys, stuffed animals, play figures, golf balls, golf bags, and other toys
- Christmas tree ornaments and accessories
- Education and entertainment services related to football games and exhibitions
- Sports and entertainment information online or via commercial services
- Football games broadcast and distributed via TV and radio
Cardinals Cheerleaders
Like many other football teams, the Cardinals have submitted a trademark application for their cheerleading team. The Cardinals cheerleaders have an impressive following in their own right, including a substantial social media following with thousands of Instagram followers. The application was approved in 1990, and the trademark applies to:
- Entertainment services, namely, live performances by a cheerleading group at sporting events
Protect the Nest
Another slogan, and one of the newer trademark applications, is “Protect the Nest“. The trademark filing was approved in 2016 following its first use in 2006. The trademark applies to the following categories:
- Educational and entertainment services related to American Football games and exhibitions
- Providing sports and entertainment news and information via radio, television, satellite, or cable
- Entertainment services including cheering, chanting, singing, and other motivational activities for entertainment
- Ticket reservation and booking services for professional American football games and exhibitions
- Shirts, T-shirts, caps, hats, and sweatshirts
- Towels, banners, and textiles
Bird City Football
This is the only trademark application on this list that hasn’t been approved yet, and Bird City Football is a wordmark that, if approved, will apply to the following categories:
- Education and entertainment services like professional football games and exhibitions; providing sports and entertainment information via a global computer network, a commercial online computer service, cable, satellite, television, and radio
- Arranging and conducting athletic competitions, namely, professional football games and exhibitions; presenting live shows featuring football games, exhibitions, and competitions
Sportsman’s Park
There were various Major League Baseball ballparks in Missouri with the name Sportsman’s Park, and they were concentrated on the same piece of land. The trademark filing for Sportsman’s Park was registered in 2005 for use in:
- Mixed-use real estate development includes office and retail space, hotels, restaurants, entertainment facilities, and residential communities, including houses, apartments, and commercial properties
Wrapping up
Registering your unique branding and intellectual property with the USPTO will keep your brands and investments more secure. The Arizona Cardinals are one of the oldest teams, but they are a modest trademark owner with around 20 trademarks.
These filings include their team name, logo, uniform designs, and two popular slogans. It remains to be seen if the Cardinals will expand this portfolio later on.
