Chris O'Brien (American football)

Christopher O'Brien (c. 1881 – June 3, 1951) was a Chicago, Illinois painting and decorating contractor as well as a pro football franchise owner. He is mostly known as the owner of the Chicago Cardinals (later known as the St. Louis Cardinals, and now the Arizona Cardinals), and has been called the "Father of Professional Football in Chicago". O'Brien was also a co-founder of the American Professional Football Association (renamed the National Football League in 1922) by representing the Cardinals (then called the Racine Cardinals) at the September 17, 1920, league meeting at Ralph Hay's Hupmobile dealership in Canton, Ohio.

In 1898, O'Brien organized the Morgan Athletic Club. He and his brother Pat also played on the squad. Chris then changed the club's home games to nearby Normal Field, prompting the new name the Normals. That same year O'Brien gave the team its longstanding moniker when he, finding a bargain, bought used football jerseys from the nearby University of Chicago. Because the jerseys had long since faded from Chicago's traditional maroon color, O'Brien declared, "That's not maroon, it's Cardinal red!" He renamed the team the Racine Cardinals, because Normal Field was located on Racine Avenue in Chicago.

Football in the Chicago area was mostly amateur in the early 1900s, with opponents almost impossible to book, let alone find. This caused O'Brien to suspend the team from 1906 until 1913. By 1917, O'Brien was able to buy new uniforms as well as hire a coach, Marshall Smith. That year the Cardinals won the Chicago City Championship. However, World War I forced the Cardinals to suspend operations again in 1918. After the war, the Cardinals were reorganized, and have played without interruption since then.

In 1919, Ralph Hay and George Halas saw the popularity of O'Brien's Cardinals in the Chicago area as a boost to the new league. O'Brien saw this an opportunity to keep costs down and prevent players from jumping from team to team. He traveled to Canton, Ohio in September 1920 and represented Racine (Chicago) at the league meeting. O'Brien's attendance made the Cardinals a charter member of the new league.

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