Wehrli gets surprise call from hall
ST. LOUIS — It was a natural assumption for Roger Wehrli to make. The Pro Football Hall of Fame had forgotten about him and the window to get a call from Canton was about to slam shut on the St. Louis Cardinals cornerback a quarter-century after he stopped playing.
"After I retired, you go years when you're introduced at banquets and they'll say 'future Hall of Famer,"' Wehrli said. "As the years went on it got to be 'should-be Hall of Famer.'
"But it was my 20th year of eligibility and I pretty much thought it had possibly passed me by."
Don Coryell, famous as the architect of the high-scoring, high-wire Cardiac Cards in the mid-1970s, knows his teams couldn't have won without a strong defense. He has no idea why Wehrli, his shutdown cornerback, had to wait so long.
"He was overdue, I'll tell you that," said Coryell, 82. "He's a great one. He's everything you would want in a professional football player.
"He was our best cornerback, best cover man, hell of a return man, too."
Wehrli, 59, was a five-time All-Pro in 14 seasons with the Cardinals from 1969-82. He broke in as a starter as a rookie, was a member of the NFL's 1970s all-decade squad, and once intercepted three passes by Roger Staubach in a 1975 victory over the Cowboys.
The good news came in Wehrli's final year of eligibility before going into the seniors pool. Typically, there were no complaints about all of those yearly snubs. He's just happy to be in this exclusive club.
"It's really kind of beyond words or beyond explanation," Wehrli said. "It's just wonderful and you're proud to be able to call yourself a Hall of Famer, to know that you're in there with the guys that were heroes to you when you were growing up, heroes even when you're playing.
"It just makes you feel humble, thankful and proud all in the same sentence."
As partial payback, Wehrli will be honored in ceremonies in two cities: St. Louis on Sept. 16 before a Rams-49ers game and Glendale, Ariz., on Oct. 14 before a Panthers-Cardinals game.
The Rams have honored former Cardinals stars on their wall of fame inside the Edward Jones Dome. Owner Bill Bidwill moved the franchise to the desert after the 1987 season, leaving St. Louis without a team until the Rams arrived in '95.
"It's a little bit odd, obviously," said Wehrli, who lives in St. Louis and has kept a low profile in his home state since retiring. "I guess the positive side to it, I get to have two celebrations. The Rams have been very cordial to the old Cardinal players that are here."
The Cardinals' lack of postseason success likely was the biggest factor that held Wehrli back. The Cardinals posted double-digit wins in three straight years in the mid-1970s and won two NFC East championships under Coryell.
But they did not win a playoff game and had no home playoff games during his years with the team. Super Bowl victories catch your attention, and the Cardinals never came close. Eight of his 14 seasons ended with a losing record.
"That's certainly the down side of our years here in St. Louis," Wehrli said. "We really felt like we had a great team going there in the mid '70s.
"As players, we looked at it like we could have really brought a championship home to St. Louis at that point."
Wehrli's routine excellence came to be accepted on a team loaded with more colorful stars. He's the fourth member of the Cardiac Cards to make it to the Hall, following safety Larry Wilson, tight end Jackie Smith and offensive tackle Dan Dierdorf, and in all probability the last.
Wilson, whose calling card was the safety blitz, will introduce Wehrli at his induction in Canton, Ohio, on Saturday.
"It's wonderful to be a part of that group, joining them there in the Hall of Fame," Wehrli said.
