 Wolfe in 1950 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born: | (1890-09-12)September 12, 1890 Kansas City, Kansas, U.S. | ||
| Died: | April 25, 1971(1971-04-25) (aged 80) | ||
| Career history | |||
As a staff member / executive: | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
Arch Wolfe (September 12, 1890 – April 25, 1971) was an American professionalfootball executive, best known for his association with theChicago /St. Louis Cardinals of theNational Football League (NFL) from 1933 until his death in 1971. He was the general manager of the team from 1936 to 1946.
Wolfe was born on September 12, 1890, inKansas City, Kansas, later moving toKansas City, Missouri.[1][2] His father died when he was nine years old and two years later he moved with his 13 siblings toChicago, Illinois.[2] He worked with a rug-cleaning business owned by futureChicago Cardinals executiveCharles Bidwill.[2]
When Bidwill bought the Chicago Cardinals franchise in theNational Football League (NFL) in 1933, Wolfe was given a position on the team.[2] Early on, his duties included recording finances, serving as a traveling secretary, and, according to theSt. Louis Post-Dispatch, acting as a "fight referee" – "Once he hopped the rail and sped out onto the field to separate a fuming Cardinal from an official whose calls had proved highly irritating. Wolfe figured it was better to risk his hide jumping into the way of what could be flying fists rather than lose a ball player in a key game."[2] He served in the position of business manager and, starting in 1936, acted as theirgeneral manager.[2][3]
In his first season as general manager, the Cardinals compiled a record of 3–8–1.[3] He ultimately served in that role for 11 seasons; he oversaw the team as they merged with thePittsburgh Steelers to createCard-Pitt in 1944 and helped them to a winning season with a 6–5 record in 1946, his last season in the position and only year with a winning record.[3][4] Overall, the Cardinals compiled a record of 26–88–5 with Wolfe as general manager.[3] One year after he was removed from his general manager position, the Cardinals won the1947 NFL Championship Game over thePhiladelphia Eagles, their first title since 1925, and, as of 2023, their last.[3][4] Wolfe remained with the Cardinals for many years as their business manager, still working 9-to-5 hours at old age to handle his roles of collecting team profits and arranging team travel; he noted that "with the size of the checks today, I need a bodyguard. ...In the old days I could have put the game receipts in my pocket and people would have thought I was carrying around change."[5] He was known for his knowledge of the team's history and was "frequently called upon to come up with some trivia long forgotten."[5][6][7]
Outside of the NFL, Wolfe served as an executive in several other sports with teams owned by Bidwill, including with theChicago Bruins basketball team, aNegro league baseball team, and at horse and dog racing tracks.[2] He also was the president of theNational Girls Baseball League from 1944 and added the position of commissioner from 1949 until his resignation in 1952.[8][9][10]
Wolfe was married to Lee Wolfe; she predeceased him in 1964.[11] He died on April 25, 1971, at the age of 80.[5]
