Warner, Cards seek first NFL title since 1947
by John Hahn
Published on January 17, 2009 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
My recollection of an Oregon neighbor in the â80s and â90s has been everlasting.
Sunday's NFC championship game in Glendale, Arizona, between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Arizona Cardinals reminded me of my friend.
His body was a bit shorter, a bit hunched over, but thicker than his playing weight of 225 from 1947. Still, he had magnetic charisma that made him one of the most affable, demonstrative and, sometimes, persistent individuals I've known.
Putting all that aside, Jacob C. "Jake" Colhouer of Lake Oswego played four seasons in the National Football League, three of those with the Chicago Cardinals.
Jake was a part of the 1947 NFL champion Cardinals, who defeated the Eagles, 28-21, in Chicago's Comiskey Park. The following year, the two teams met again for the NFL title at Philadelphia's Shibe Park, and the Eagles prevailed, 7-0, in what was to be known as the "Blizzard Bowl."
Playing both offensive guard and nose tackle, Jake was not akin to the current Cardinals guard Reggie Wells (6-4, 308) or today's nose Bryan Robinson (6-4, 304).
Paul Christman was no Kurt Warner either. But Charlie Trippi, the All-America out of Georgia and NFL Hall of Famer, headed the "Million Dollar Backfield" that would compare to any of today's running tandems or trios.
Trippi was the first $100,000 NFL player, getting that over 4 years. He was everything. A running back, defensive back, quarterback and ran back punts and kickoffs. Unlike today's specialists on a 54-man roster, 33 to 36 men in the â40s had to play many positions.
Christman, you old timers may remember was a commentator for the NBC's old AFL games in the late 1960s. The College Football Hall of Fame inductee (Un. of Missouri) was with the Cards for five seasons. In 1947 he passed for 2,191 yards and 17 touchdowns. He passed away in 1970 at the age of 61.
Warner, the "poster child" of the Arena Football League and winner of two league MVP awards (Super Bowl win with the St. Louis Rams), has resurrected his career at 37 leading the Cardinals to the NFC title game.
But Trippi, along with Elmer Angsman, Pat Harder and Marshall Goldberg rushed for a total of 16 TDs in 12 regular-season games.
Jake was 76 when we lost him in 1998 to a tumor in his chest, but he was literally a tough ole bird like his teammates. "More men lost their teeth in fights over beers than they did on the field," he once told me. That was especially true on those long train rides across county to play the San Francisco 49ers or the Los Angeles Rams.
He even mentioned how the team had lost two men to blood clots. "One died of a blood clot in the brain and another had a clot in his leg that traveled to his heart."
For the hardiness of the game in those days, players weren't paid much. The most Jake (a 9th round, 71st overall player taken in the NFL draft out of Oklahoma A&M...now Oklahoma State) made was $5,000 in one season. For the NFL championship game he received $1,000, a game ball and wristwatch.
Today, the NFL's conference champions will receive $37,500 each and the Super Bowl winner will get $78,000 and loser $40,000.
It wasn't until 1997 that Jake and the 22 other members, who were still living, received a championship ring. Jake and his wife, Ilene, were invited to a presentation dinner, hosted by William Bidwell (current Cardinals' owner) in Chicago, prior to Arizona playing the Chicago Bears in an NFL pre-season game on August 15.
When Bidwell visited Jake's table at the dinner, the adopted son of Charles Bidwell and long-time owner of the Cardinals, leaned over and welcomed Jake. The always-colorful Colhouer said: "Billy, you remember when we tied you up in the locker room." Bidwell laughed heartedly about the incident.
"It didn't just happen once," Jake remembered. "Billy was I think 10 years old and he was a pain sometimes, especially bothering us before the game. So, we took tape, tied his hands and feet together until we came back in the locker room at halftime."
Jake added that the current 1997 Cardinals were at that dinner and were dispersed at each table along with the old timers.
Can the current Cardinals get "the monkey of their back" and capture the NFC championship and get to the Super Bowl after 61 years without a title of any kind?
Trippi, now 86 and living in Florida, will be watching.
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from January 17, 2009
- Warner, Cards seek first NFL title since 1947 - OSC Original by John Hahn
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
