Cardinals Hall of Fame running back Charley Trippi dies at age 100

Charley Trippi once considered what it would’ve been like to play in the modern-day NFL.

“I would love that opportunity,” he said. “I wouldn’t worry about the money part. I just enjoyed competing.

“Maybe I’d be playing better with better football players and have better linemen, probably.”

Trippi, the Hall of Fame running back who was the first overall pick in the NFL draft in 1947 and helped the Cardinals win a championship in his rookie season, passed away at his Georgia home Tuesday. He was two months shy of his 101st birthday.

Trippi was part of the Cardinals’ initial batch of Ring of Honor inductees when State Farm Stadium opened in 2006 (he was honored in a ceremony for the ROH in 2012) and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968.

Trippi was also a guest of the team when they played in the Super Bowl in the 2008 season.

“Charley Trippi will always enjoy a special place in the history of the National Football League, the Cardinals franchise and especially in the hearts of our family,” Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill said in a statement. “My grandfather signed him to be part of the ‘Million-Dollar Backfield’ and he was a key part of the Cardinals NFL championship team of 1947, my grandmother’s first as owner and on which my dad was a ballboy. I had the pleasure of getting to know Charley in more recent years and hearing his stories from such an important time for the Cardinals and the NFL.

“Our condolences go out to the Trippi family and especially to the University of Georgia community to which he had such a strong connection.”