Franchise history

Cleveland Era (1937-1945)
Inside 1936, the Cleveland Rams were founded by Homer Marshman, a Cleveland lawyer, in the original Western Football League. A Rams entered a NFL within 1937 & were set in a American section to replenish the recently failed St. Louis Gunners. From either the beginning, it were a team marked by frequent moves swimming around tierce arena above many losing seasons. the team turned its on the field fortunes as much as withinside 1945, which proved to exist as their previous in Ohio, achieving a 9-One record & winning their foremost NFL Championship.

Los Angeles Era (1946-1994)
A Rams moved to Los Angeles & its 92,000 seat Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1946. the Amphitheatre would become a page of a Rams for additional than xxx years, however the facility was already on top twenty years old on the day of the 1st kick-off with been built around 1922 & utilized for the Olympics across a decade earliest. Inside 1948, Halfback Fred Gehrke painted horns on the Rams' helmets, making a foremost modern helmet emblem around in favor of football.

A Rams' foremost peak inside Southern California was from either 1949 to 1955, when it played in a NFL championship game (non however known as the Super Bowl) four days, winning once in 1951. When you took this time, it get the best offense in the NFL, possibly though there was the quarterback vary from either Bob Waterfield to Norm Van Brocklin in 1951. A shaping streaming video player of this cycle was Wide Receiver Elroy Hirsh. Teamed sustaining fellow Hall-of-Famer Tom Fears, Hirsh helped create a style of Rams football when one of a number 1 large play receivers. When you took the 1951 Championship year, Hirsch posted a so stunning 1,495 getting yards using Xvii touchdowns. A popularity of this wide-open offense enabled a Los Angeles Rams to turn into a number one around favour eleven to use at times a lot their games televised in 1950.

the Rams suffered a down cycle on the field from either 1956 until 1966 posting losing records in each year. Notwithstanding, the business side of the franchise was nurtured by a visionary exectutive around Pete Rozelle. When you took his period by owning Rams, Sorrel learned a value of televison for the sport of in favour of football. Across Rozelle's savy utilise of television, the Rams remained a glamour NFL franchise despite their unfortunate record. Around the 1957 game against a San Francisco 49ers, a Rams placed the everthing-period record for attendance for a regular year NFL game by owning 102,368. A Rams would draw above 100,000 fans twice a ensuing month.

A Sixties were defined per Rams awesome defensive line of Rosey Grier, Merlin Olsen, Deacon Jones, and Lamar Lundy, dubbed the "Fearsome Foursome". It was this class actiwithin of players world health organization restored a on-field luster of the franchise in 1967 when a Rams reached (however misplaced) the conference championship under legendary coach George Allen. That 1967 squad would turn into a number 1 NFL team to surpass of these million spectators within a season, a effort the Rams would repeat the as punishment year. Inside both of victims 2 years, a L.The. Rams drew about double the total of fans that can be accommodated by their todays sports stadium for a fully year.

George Allen led a Rams from either 1966-70 & introduced numerous innovations. These involved hiring the young Dick Vermeil as one of the number 1 special teams coaches. Though Allen would enjoy 5 straight winning seasons & waround ii divisional titles witharound his period using a Rams he never won a playoff game by having the team, losing in 1967 to Green Bay 28-7 & in 1963 23-20 to Minnesota. Allen would leave fallowing a 1970 year to require a head coaching for the Wa Redskins.

Quarterback Roman Gabriel played eleven seasons for the Rams dating from 1962-72. From either 1967-71, Gabriel led the Rams to either a 1st- or even 2nd-place finish in their section yearly. He was voted a MVP of the entire NFL inside 1969, for a year where he threw for 2,549 yards & Two dozen TDs when leading a Rams to the playoffs. In a period of the 1970 year, Gabriel combined by using his primary receiver Jack Snow for 51 receptions totaling 859 yards. This would prove to exist when a better year of their eight seasons as mate.

Around 1972 Chicago industrialist Robert Irsay purchased a Rams for $19 million and so traded the franchise to Carroll Rosenbloom for his Baltimore Colts and cash. A Rams remained firm challenger in the 1970s, winning seven straight NFC West championships between 1973-79. Though it clearly were a class of a NFC in a Seventies along by having the Dallas Cowboys & Minnesota Vikings, it misused the number 1 Four conference championship games it played in this decade, losing twice every to Minnesota (1974, 1976) & Dallas (1975, 1978).

A Rams' coach for this redo was Chuck Knox, who led a team through the 1977 year. A Chuck Knox coached Rams featured an mundane offense carried into a playoffs annually by an elect defensive unit. A shaping streaming video player of the Seventies L.The. Rams was Jack Youngblood. Youngblood was known as a 'Right Defensive Prevent' by fellow Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen. His toughness was legendary, notably swimming in a broken leg in the period of the Rams' rerun to the 1980 Very Bowl. His blue-propertyless ethic sub opposition to the perception that the Rams were a easy 'Hollywood' team. But, many Rams players from either this time period took benefit of their proximity to Hollywood & crossed assibilate into acting when their swimming careers ended. Virtually all notable one was Fred Dryer, who starred in the TV series Hunter from 1984-1991.

Ironically, it was a Rams' weakest divisional winner (an ageing 1979 team that only achieved a 9-7 record) that would achieve the team's greatest profits in this period of time. Led by third-next-to-last quarterback Vince Ferragamo, a Rams shocked the heavy-favorite & 2-instance defending NFC champion Dallas Cowboys 21-19 in a Divisional Playoffs, then keep out a Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-0 in the conference championship game to win the NFC and reach their number 1 Very Bowl. Along by using Ferragamo, key players for the Rams were halfback Wendell Tyler, offensive lineman Jackie Slater, and Pro Bowl defenders Jack Youngblood and Hacksaw Reynolds.

A Rams' opponent in their number 1 Super Bowl was the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers. a game would exist when a virtual front yard game for the Rams as it was played inside Pasadena at the Rose Bowl. Although occasionally oddsmakers placed a Rams as a Tenner½ point underdog, a Rams played Pittsburgh super hard, leading at halftime 13-10 & at a prevent of the 3rd quarter 19-17. In a prevent, still, the Steelers eventually asserted themselves, scoring deuce touchdowns in the Fourth quarter & entirely close down the Rams offense to win their 4th Very Bowl, 31-19.

Before the 1979 Extremely Bowl year, creator Carroll Rosenbloom died inside a drowning accident & his widow woman, Georgia Frontiere, inherited 70% ownership of the team. Frontiere so fired stepson Steve Rosenbloom & assumed number control of Rams operations. Every bit got been planned before Rosenbloom's dying, a Rams moved from either their longtime house at a Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to Anaheim Stadium in nearby Orange County in 1980. A cause for the move was two times. Number 1, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum wwhen passing hard to sell out by using a capacity of 100,000 (there are no todays NFL bowl is about as big). Previous Rams executive Pete Rozelle got since get NFL comissioner, creating the 'black-out rule' preventing any unsold-out game from either existence broadcast around its local market. Second, this move was ensuing a people pattern witharound Southern California, which was stimulating zoom of loaded suburbia in greater Orange County. Anaheim Stadium was originally built around 1965 to become a page of the California Angels. To accommodate a Rams' move, a ballpark was reconfigured & enclosed to accommodate crowds of 65,000 for football.

In a 1982, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was occupied per old Oakland Raiders. A conjunct consequence one deuce moves was to divide a Rams' traditional fanbase inside 2. This was coupled witth a early 1980s being rebuilding years for a club, while the Raiders were winners of Super Bowl XVII in 1983. Meanwhile, a Los Angeles Lakers won championships in 198& 1982 on a way to winning 5 titles therein decade, the Los Angeles Dodgers won a World Series in 1981, and possibly a Los Angeles Kings made a deep redo around the playoffs in 1982. Following, the Rams fell from either existence perchance a virtually all popular in favour of sports team in the Southern California market to a veritable likewise-loser.

So, a hiring of coach John Robinson around 1983 provided a required boost for in favor of football in Orange County. A previous University of Southern California coach led the Rams to the playoffs septenary days inside his nine seasons. It mass produced a NFC Championship Game around 1985, in which it would lose to the eventual Champion Chicago Bears. A virtually all notable streaming video player for the Rams when you took that time period was running off back Eric Dickerson, who was drafted around 1983 out of SMU and won Rookie of the Month. Around 1984, Dickerson rushed for 2,105 yards, setting the newly NFL record. Dickerson would prevent his 5 tremendously successful years for the Rams within 1987 by existence traded to the Indianapolis Colts for a total of players & draft picks when a piercingly contract dispute, shortly when the players' strike that month ended. Dickerson remains a Rams career rushing leader by having 7,245 yards.

Despite this trade, a Rams remained competitor due to the arrival of the innovative offensive leadership of Ernie Zampese. Zampese utilized a intricate timing routes he experienced utilized inside making a San Diego Chargers a state-of-the-art offense. Under Zampese, a Rams rose steadily from either Twenty-eighth rated offense around 1986 to Tertiary inside 1990. A late Eighty's Rams featured the talented immature QB within Jim Everett, the firm rushing attack & a fleet of gifted WRs. When an 11-Five record in the period of the 1989 regular year, it was the team that seemed destined for greater items, until a 'phantom sack' in the 1989 NFC Championship derailed people ambitions. This occured whilst you took the 30-Three kill per rival San Francisco 49ers, when Everett collapsed to the turf untouched by San Francisco defenders. Neither Everett, nor a Los Angeles Rams ever recovered from either a humiliation. (Largely following of this play, Jim Rome would refer to Everett as "Chris Everett", which whenever Rome eff around the televised chat show resulted in Everett attacking Rome in camera.)

A 1st half of the 1990s featured losing records, no playoff appearances for the Rams & waning fan interest. A link to of Chuck Knox as head coach, after Knox's successful stints when head coach of the Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks, would not boost a Rams' fortunes. His dog-oriented offense marked a prevent of the Zampese tenure around 1993. A strategy was for the offense to exist as steadily, in case unspectacular. Alas for the Rams Knox's offense was non exclusively esthetically graceless however dull also, especially by Nineties standards. A continued losing & uninspired play of a Rams farther reduced the Rams fan base, which by 1994 experienced withered pertinent in which it were barely a share of the Los Angeles sports landscape. the NFL black-out rule, which prevented a broadcast of page games that were nin sold out, besides worked against a Rams when their frequent non-sellouts denied a team a risk to become shown on local broadcast TV.

When became progressively most commin sustaining sports franchises, a Rams began to blame lot of their misfortune on their arena situation. By using Orange County mired inside the deep recession following largely from either defense sector even layoffs, the Rams were unable to locate a freshly or improved bowl around the Los Angeles metropolitan area, which at long last cast their new in Southern California into doubt.

St. Louis Era (1995-Present)
At a equivalent period, efforts were afoot to regawithin an NFL franchise in Saint Louis, Missouri to play around the freshly domed stadium slated to open in 1995. Number 1, Anheuser-Busch scion Jim Orthwein tried, and in a end failed, to move the New England Patriots to St. Louis. So, despite existence heavy favorite to win one of them 1995 NFL expansion franchises, St. Louis was defeated by ownership groups from either Charlotte & Jacksonville. (And then certain, as a matter of fact, make love come out that St. Louis would benefit an expansion franchise, that a team experienced a title selected - the St. Louis Stallions - & t-shirts using a team's logotype were processed available purchasable, albeit super briefly, at the total of St. Louis locality sports shops.) Despite these failures, it was proven to numbers of that St. Louis was the market by using the state-of-the-art football arenthe en route & a passionate & football-starved fan base ready to embrace a go to of the NFL. When such, creator Georgia Frontiere early within 1995 committed to move a franchise to St. Louis.

A move left several in a Los Angeles vicinity embittered toward the NFL. That sentiment was better expressed by Fred Dryer, world health organization at a instance said "I hate these people [the Rams and their owner, Georgia Frontiere] for what they did, taking the Rams logo with them when they moved to St. Louis. That logo belonged to Southern California."

Due to a total of factors, the NFL has repeatedly failed around its efforts to go to NFL football to the 2nd big media market within U.S. in the years since. As a consequence a 1995 year, a Seattle Seahawks announced that they would move a team to Southern California. Yet a NFL, which got taken control of a Los Angeles market, did non approve of the move & so forced the Seahawks to withdraw to Seattle. In a late 1990s the total of Los Angeles-depending groups attempted to land the NFL's 32nd franchise; all the same Houston, Texas was awarded the franchise, largely because Houston got the firm committment for the bowl & none of the Los Angeles-depending groups did. Despite a NFL's extensive effort to go to a NFL to Los Angeles, generally a Los Angeles market has been ambivalent all about a absence of the NFL. Presently the belike venue for a link to to the NFL around Los Angeles occurs as refurbished Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Despite early fan interest, a Rams' 1st pack years withwithin Saint Louis were when shaky when their final years in Los Angeles. Good prior to moving to St. Louis a Rams hired Rich Brooks, longtime successful football coach at the University of Oregon, as head coach. A team played its foremost many games inside St. Louis at Busch Stadium when operate was finished in their fresh front yard, a Trans Globe Dome (currently called a Edward Jones Dome). The highlight of an otherwise hard 1995 year was longtime Rams offensive lineman Jackie Slater, around his Twentieth year, staying about good hanker sufficiency to play his final NFL game as a Ram in St. Louis.

Fallowing ii subpar seasons, Rich Brooks was fired fallowing a 1996 year & replaced by Dick Vermeil. Vermeil got enjoyed profits when a head coach of UCLA (where he won the Rose Bowl) and the Philadelphia Eagles, where he led a Eagles to Super Bowl XV. Still, Vermeil left the Eagles fallowing an abortive 1982 year, claiming burnout, & proceeded to spend tremendously of the next decade & a half as a college football commentator for ABC Sports.

Vermeil's foremost 2 seasons when Rams coach were when stillborn when numerous of the anterior seasons that preceded it. Through a 1998 year this futility processed a Rams through the decade of the Nineties the worst team, record-caring, in the NFL. Eventually inside 1999 there appeared to become cause for hope when a Rams found quarterback Trent Green and running back Marshall Faulk in two separate trades. Unluckily in a preyear Green would tear his knee higher & miss a entire year, so apparently setting higher the Rams for an additional hanker season of failure.

Nevertheless, Green's replacement would exist as Kurt Warner, 28-year-old previous Arena Football League quarterback who experienced one of a better offensive seasons withinside NFL history in 1999. Warner was, forswearing wonder, a large story of the 1999 NFL year. He proved to become a catalyst that would spark an explosive offense nicknamed "The Greatest Show on Turf", and moreover as well give a Rams a total of spectacular triumph typically win on desperate late causes that enabled him to win the MVP award. A NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award would go to Rams RB Marshall Faulk.

the 1999 Rams were too noted for a colorful celebration conducted by their offensive players in the end zone after scoring a touchdown. a celebration, which included the class action of players fill in the circle & swaying their arms as a football spun prefer a top in the center of the circle, was called the "Bob and Weave." This celebration, & more such "premeditated and prolonged" celebrations, were shortly thenceforth profits prohibited per NFL around this any such celebrations would okay, symptom in "excessive celebration" penalties.

When finishing a 1999 year 1Three-3, a Rams began retired a 1999 playoffs by defeating a Minnesota Vikings 49-37 to achieve their 1st NFC Championship Game since 1985. A opponent, when it got been Xx years antecedently, would become a Tampa Bay Sea rover, & indeed a Buccaneers were successful around close down the Rams' vaunted offense. However, the Rams managed to win a game 11-6, by owning a a single touchdown coming in a Kurt Warner Thirty-front yard touchdown pass to Ricky Proehl, who mass produced an amazing of these-handed catch. Proehl, a Tenner-season NFL veteran world health organization was inside the playoffs first in his NFL career, said fallowing the game "There are a lot of people who say there are 500 Ricky Proehls out there. I beg to differ."

A Rams' opponent inside Super Bowl XXXIV would be a Tennessee Titans, who rather the Rams got recently relocated from either a major metropolis (Houston, Texas) to a mid-sized city (Nashville, Tennessee). Inside the game that numerous assume a better Very Bowl ever, Tennessee played the Rams hard throughout, achieving a 16-16 tie by owning 2:12 left in an Al Del Greco field goal. On the next cause, Warner, world health organization got been clutch completely year hanker, come across over again, connecting sustaining Isaac Bruce for the 73-front yard touchdown pass on a foremost play of the cause that gave the Rams a 23-16 lead using 1:53 to play.

Tennessee so mounted a desperate, endure-microscopic cause, reaching the St. Louis Tenner-front yard line sustaining sextuplet seconds left & there is no timeouts. Tennessee quarterback Steve McNair threw to Kevin Dyson on a slant. Dyson caught a pass at a Iii however was tackled by Mike Jones eighteen inches shy of a goal line, ending a game & generating the Rams, & Dick Vermeil (world health organization experienced told his coaches to run steel onself for overtime) their 1st Extremely Bowl triumph. Warner, in the performance of his life, was known as Extremely Bowl MVP.

Charted a Rams' Extremely Bowl triumph, coach Vermeil was replaced by wunderkind offensive coordinator (& Zampese apprentice) Mike Martz. Within 2001, the "Max Q" Rams went 14-Two (including the outstanding 8-0 on tour), led non sole by the stunning offense however the lights out defense too coached by Lovie Smith and led by Adam Archuleta. Fallowing well treating Green Bay around the divisional playoffs, it rebuff the bothersome & determined Philadelphia Eagles team 29-2 dozen to achieve their 2nd Extr Bowl in tercet seasons. Their opponents around Super Bowl XXXVI would be a New England Patriots who, much as a Rams experienced experienced ii years last, got enjoyed the Cinderella playoff dog, highlighted by a striking & controversial 16-13 divisional playoff win against the Oakland Raiders.

Despite existence a Fourteen-point preferred, the Rams misplaced to the Nationalist. From either a beginning a Rams were dominated per Nationalist. A Nationalist chipped a Rams wideouts & heading backs, disrupting their preciseness passing system. It as well beat higher Kurt Warner, forcing him into uncharacteristic of mistakes, including an interception to Ty Law that resulted in the 47-front yard link to for the score.

Eventually, in a quaternary quarter, the Rams come back. Deuce plays when an apparent game-clinching 95 front front yard muff go to per Nationalist in Quaternary down was reversed in a penalty, Kurt Warner scored in the 2-yard keeper to bring the Rams to in Septet points, 17-10. Fallowing holding a Nationalist on a next cause, a Rams were inside very much the equivalent situation when it experienced been 2 years former against Tennessee. Warner come across once more, quickly leading the Rams inside the spectacular cause culminating in a Twenty-six-front yard touchdown pass to Ricky Proehl. A point after touchdown by Jeff Wilkins attached a game at Seventeen by having Xc seconds left.

By using a Nationalist holding there are no instance outs & a Rams with seized a macd, overtime seemed assured, around case does'nt an unlimited Rams win in regulation. Potentially John Madden on the Fox broadcast of the game, opined that the Nationalist should play for overtime. Yet, on this day it was non intended to exist as for the Rams. This period it was Tom Brady leading a Nationalist down a field against a Ram defense, completing near of these pass (an designed spike to prevent the clock) prior to Adam Vinatieri's last-2nd 48 front yard field goal defeated the Rams 20-17.

Inside 2002, the Rams got the super dissatisfactory 7-9 final record (when starting retired 0-Five). A silver lining was a emergence of immature quarterback Marc Bulger, from West Virginia University, who when Kurt Warner was wounded, won each game where he each began & finished. Though non when intriguing the story when Warner's emergence around 1999, Bulger's emergence was the highlight of the 2002 NFL year, & demonstrated, over again, Martz's bent of getting lightly regarded or even overlooked people into top-top-grade, productive quarterbacks.

A it used to be that witching Warner wasted a starter's job to Bulger when suffering sise muff around a year opener against the Giants early in 2003 year. Warner was freed per Rams inside June 2004 and quickly signed a free agent contract with the New York Giants, ending his career with a Rams.

Players of note
Pro Football Hall of Famers
Bob Brown Eric Dickerson Elroy Hirsch Deacon Jones Tom Mack Joe Namath Merlin Olsen Jackie Slater Norm Van Brocklin Bob Waterfield Jack Youngblood

Current players
Adam Archuleta FS Alex Barron OT Isaac Bruce WR Marc Bulger QB Jerametrius Butler CB Brandon Chillar LB Chris Claiborne LB Dexter Coakley LB Kevin Curtis WR Marshall Faulk RB Travis Fisher CB Kevis Garrett CB DeJuan Groce CB Anthony Hargrove DE Torry Holt WR Corey Ivy CB Steven Jackson RB Tyoka Jackson DT Jimmy Kennedy DT Dane Looker WR PKH Damione Lewis DT Leonard Little DE Brandon Manumaleuna TE Andy McCollum C Shaun McDonald WR/PR Tom Nütten G Orlando Pace OT Ryan Pickett DT Pisa Tinoisamoa LB Scott Tercero G Adam Timmerman G Pisa Tinoisamoa LB Rex Tucker G Jeff Wilkins K Jay Williams DE Matt Willig OT

Retired numbers
Septet Bob Waterfield Xxix Eric Dickerson 74 Merlin Olsen 78 Jackie Slater 85 Jack Youngblood

Not to be forgotten
Flipper Anderson Pat Thomas Henry Ellard Jim Everett Vince Ferragamo Jerry Gray Kevin Greene Pat Haden Todd Lyght Grant Wistrom Kurt Warner Nolan Cromwell Leroy Irvin

See Also
The Greatest Show on Turf