The Los Angeles Rams began as the Cleveland Rams in 1936 as part of the second American Football League (AFL). The league initially had eight teams. However, after one season, the Rams moved to the National Football League (NFL), a more financially solvent organization. For a reported $10,000 owner Homer Marshman had himself the tenth franchise in the NFL.
At the time, college football had a much bigger audience than the professional game. Cleveland took on the “Rams” moniker after the Fordham Rams, a college football powerhouse of the time. Vince Lombardi, the future head coach of the Green Bay Packers had attended Fordham on a football scholarship starting in 1933. He famously became known as a member of Fordham’s “Seven Blocks of Granite.”
The Rams won their first championship in 1945. Key players on the team included quarterback Bob Waterfield and receivers Jim Benton and Ray Bauschard. The team played their home games in Cleveland Municipal Stadium starting in 1937. When the Rams struggled to secure a long-term lease at Municapal Stadium, they moved to Los Angeles after the 1945 season. Running back Fred Gehrke designed the Rams horns on the helmet, widely acknowledged as the first designed and painted helmet in football.
Los Angeles Dons merge with the Los Angeles Rams
The Rams played in Los Angeles alongside the All-America Football Conference’s (AAFC) Los Angeles Dons at Los Angelese Memorial Coliseum from 1946 – 149. When the AAFC folded at the end of the 1949 seasons, three teams joined the NFL. The Dons stayed in Los Angeles and became part of the Ram organization. Part of the terms of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum lease contract with the Rams was a precondition of integrating the team with at least one African-American. The Rams signed Kenny Washington to their team in March, 1946. Fellow African-American Woody Strode also played for the organization in 1946.
The Rams would win another championship in 1951. Key players included quarterbacks Norm Van Brocklin and Bob Waterfield, as well as receivers Tom Fears and Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch. Hirsch had 1,485 receiving yards with 17 touchdowns. The popularity of the Ram wide-open offense led the Los Angeles Rams to become the first pro football team to have all their game televised.
The “Fearsome Foursome”
The 1960s defined the “Fearsome Foursome” defensive line of Rosey Grier, Merlin Olsen, Deacon Jones and Lamar Lundy as key players for the franchise. Quarterback Roman Gabriel played eleven seasons for the Rams dating from 1962 to 1972. George Allen served as head coach from 1966 yo 1970, and the team finished either first or second in their division during those years. Gabriel was the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the league in 1969 as he threw for 2,549 yards and 24 touchdowns.
In 1972 Robert Irsay purchased the Rams for $19 million and then traded the franchise to Carroll Rosenbloom for his Baltimore Colts and cash. The Rams won seven straight NFC West championships between 1973 and 1979 but came up short each time and failed to win a league championship until 1979.
The Rams played in their first Super Bowl in 1979 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers, perhaps considered by many as the team of the decade, capped of their run with their fourth Super Bowl victory, 31-19.
Following the season, owner Georgia Frontiere, (widow of Carroll Rosenbloom) moved the franchise from their longtime home of the Coliseum to Anaheim Stadium. One reason for the move was the NFL’s blackout rule, which forbade televising games in the team’s local market if 85% of tickets were not sold out 72 hours beore kickoff. Being that Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum seated 92,604 people, most games were blacked out.
The Eric Dickerson era
The 1980s Rams were marked by the running of Eric Dickerson. Rookie of the Year in 1983, Dickerson rushed for 2,105 yards in 1984. Dickerson was the first to achieve this, standard. To date a total of eight players have rushed for more than 2,000 yards in a season.
In 1995 the team moved to St. Louis. Led by Kurt Warner, the Rams won Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000. “The Greatest Show on Turf” included key players quarterback Warner, receivers Isaac Bruce and Tory Holt as well as running back Marshall Faulk. The team was coached by Dick Vermeil, who had been an assistant coach under George Allen while in Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Rams currently play in the National Football Conference (NFC) West Division along with the Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks.
In 2022 the Rams were Super Bowl victors again, as Matthew Stafford led the Rams to a 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI. Key players included Aaron Donald and receiver Cooper Kupp.
Barry Schustermann
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