September 12, 2004
The Arizona Cardinals were out of town but in a familiar place. St. Louis, Missouri had been home to the Cardinals for 27 years from 1960 to 1987 but owner Bill Bidwill had taken the team to the desert in 1988 and was in the process of building their new nest, State Farm Stadium, where the Cardinals continue to play.
The 2003 edition of the Cardinals had been an indisputable disaster. The team had finished last in the NFC West for the third year in a row with a 4-12 record that also won them the third overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. One of the only highlights of the season was the emergence of rookie Anquan Boldin as a true superstar, finishing the year with 1,377 yards which accounted for 42% of the entire team’s offensive output through the air.
After four years at the helm, head coach Dave McGinnis was canned and the Cardinals hired former Vikings head coach Dennis Green to turn the team around.
In what was almost undeniably the best move the franchise ever made, Green pushed for his former Vikings ballboy, Larry Fitzgerald, to be the No. 3 pick and join Boldin in the wide receiver room. Fitzgerald had just finished an incredible sophomore season at Pittsburgh setting several school records and winning the Biletnikoff Award for best receiver in college football, as well as runner-up in the Heisman race.
Now, going into the 2004 season, Green hoped that the combo of Boldin/Fitzgerald with QB Josh McCown, who had shown some promise in the disastrous 2003 season, would be enough to start getting the Cardinals on the right track. Unfortunately, a right knee injury in training camp sidelined Boldin for the first six weeks of the season. It was time for the rookie to show that he was the right choice at No. 3.
Larry Fitzgerald’s First Play of the 2004 Season Was…Weird
The Cardinals won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball.
The kickoff from Jeff Wilkins was fine but an offensive holding call on Michael Stone (if you remember that name, you’re a real one) put the Cards in a tough spot on the 9-yard line.
Now, get ready for one of the oddest reading experiences of your sports life. I guarantee you will remember all of these names, but they are going to feel really, really out of place.
Rookie center Alexander Stepanovich hiked the ball to McCown, who handed the ball off to future HOF running back Emmitt Smith. Going forward a couple of yards to really sell it, Smith stopped and tossed the ball back to McCown.
Looking downfield, McCown tossed a beautiful ball to rookie Larry Fitzgerald who was being covered by none other than Arizona Cardinals’ legend, Aeneas Williams. Fitz went up and made the 37-yard grab before being tossed down to the dirt by a 36-year old Williams who was playing in the last season-opener of his illustrious career.
Emmitt Smith was also in the last season of his career. He had spent 13 years with the Dallas Cowboys and during that time established himself as one of the best running backs to ever play the game. His 18,355 career rushing yards are still the most any player has ever had in the history of the NFL and that record looks to be safe for many years to come being almost 2,000 yards ahead of second place.
Aeneas Williams was drafted in the 3rd round of the 1991 NFL Draft by the then-Phoenix Cardinals. He spent 10 seasons with the team and during that time established himself as one of the best cornerbacks to ever play the game. Williams racked up 46 interceptions as a Cardinal and was a 6x Pro Bowler with two 1st Team All-Pro selections. After the 2000 season, Williams was traded to the Rams for 2nd and 4th round picks, where he would play with Kurt Warner who would go on to be yet another Cardinals/Ram legend.
The man that Williams tackled, Larry Fitzgerald, is the greatest player in the history of the Cardinals franchise. He spent his entire 17-year career with the Cards and his franchise-record 17,492 yards and 121 touchdowns will very likely never be broken. Second all-time in many receiver categories to Jerry Rice, Fitz is in an elite pantheon of football players that only come around once or twice in a generation.
And the fourth player involved in this play? Josh McCown had a long NFL career full of starts and stops and bounced around from team to team as a journeyman quarterback. After his rookie deal expired with the Cardinals after the 2005 season, McCown spent time with the Lions, Raiders, Panthers, Bears, Buccs, Browns, Jets, and Eagles.
The first play of the 2004 Cardinals season was a weird one.
A flea-flicker from Emmitt Smith to Josh McCown and a 37-yard pass to a rookie Larry Fitzgerald (1st of his career) who was tackled by former Cardinal great, Aeneas Williams.
— Kyler Burd (@AZCard_BurdsEye) July 4, 2023
And then what?
After that promising start to the game, the Cardinals drive fizzled out after two incompletions to Fitzgerald.
The game ended with the St. Louis Rams taking the 17-10 win and sending the Cardinals back to their new Arizona home with a loss.
Fitzgerald had a respectable 70-yard game, but with Boldin out from a right knee injury, it wasn’t enough to give the Cards the win they needed for Dennis Greens’ first season with the squad.
The Cardinals finished that season with two more wins than the year before, 6-10, which would sadly be the best record during the Green era from 2004-2006.
From the Players
Speaking over ten years later to Sports Illustrated’s Peter King, Fitzgerald recalled his first reception:
“I remember everything about it. You remember your first catch forever. When I got to the line, my heart was beating like it had never beaten before. Now, whenever I see Aeneas, and I see him pretty often, I always remind him he was the first.”
The man who tossed the ball, Josh McCown, remembered the play as well, noting that the team had been practicing this play for several weeks in advance of the season-opener.
“The dome was rocking. I approached the line of scrimmage, against what had been a very stout Ram defense. As I got into the cadence I saw the safeties began to rotate—they were going to bring pressure. I knew with the noise there was no chance to check out of the play. Heck, my first opening day … I’m not sure I knew what to check to anyway. We snap the ball and they bring pressure. Emmitt’s one of the most intelligent players I’ve had the privilege of playing with. He takes the handoff. As he turns to flick the ball back to me, he pitches it and veers to his left and helps block a defender coming free. I catch the ball, give it a quick spin to try and get the laces right. And I throw it as far as I can. I remember as I let it go thinking that might not be far enough. But Larry, like he’s done a thousand other times now, went up over two defenders, one of which was Williams, and made the grab.”
Fitzgerald also reminisced on the impact that being around a legend like Emmitt Smith had on his early football days. He “followed him around” throughout his rookie season. He “ate what he ate” and “learned to study film like he did.”
Apparently, the lessons that a young Fitz took from one of the best running backs to ever do it, stuck with him and contributed to his own legendary career.
Although his first reception was full of interesting characters, it was nowhere near the last.
Over the next 17 years, Fitzgerald caught the ball 1.431 more times.
Happy 4th of July to all Arizona sports fans!
In Week 17 of the 2019 season, @LarryFitzgerald passed 17,076 career receiving yards with this 12-yard toss from @K1
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/TTf71DZnk4
— AZSPORTS Underground (@AZSports_UNDGND) July 4, 2023
