This National Football League charter franchise, which subsequently moved and played in St. Louis before relocating again as the Arizona Cardinals, trained on the Lake Forest College campus. As the Chicago Cardinals, they regularly worked out here from 1951-59 and played in Comiskey Park on the city’s South Side.

After moving its home base to St. Louis in 1960, the Cardinals kept the pre-season portion of their training on the LFC campus until 1972. The Cardinals moved to Phoenix in 1988. Among the NFL greats to practice on the LFC facilities were Pro Football Hall of Famers Ollie Matson, Charley Trippi, Dick “Night Train” Lane, Larry Wilson, and Jackie Smith.