The Arizona Cardinals hold the distinguished status of being the oldest continuously run professional football franchise currently operating in the National Football League. Originally established in Chicago all the way back in the late nineteenth century as the Morgan Athletic Club before transitioning through various titles like the Racine Cardinals, the organization eventually joined the professional ranks as a charter member when the league was formalized in the early 1920s. While other historic franchises such as the Chicago Bears share a similarly deep foundational heritage as primary charter members, and organizations like the Green Bay Packers boast long-term operational continuity in a single home market, the Cardinals retain the ultimate historical timeline advantage tracing back their roots further than any other active team in modern professional football history.