St. Louis Rams
Encyclopedia
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football
team based in St. Louis, Missouri
. They are currently members of the West Division
of the National Football Conference
(NFC) in the National Football League
(NFL). The Rams have won three NFL Championships
(two pre-merger, and one Super Bowl
).
The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland, Ohio
. The NFL considers the franchise as a second incarnation of the previous Cleveland Rams team that was a charter member of the second American Football League
. Although the NFL granted membership to the same owner, the NFL considers it a separate entity since only four of the players (William "Bud" Cooper
, Harry "The Horse" Mattos
, Stan Pincura
, and Mike Sebastian
) and none of the team's management joined the new NFL team.
The team then became known as the Los Angeles Rams after the club moved to Los Angeles, California
in 1946, opting not to compete with Paul Brown
's Cleveland Browns
of the All-America Football Conference
. Following the 1979 season, the Rams moved south to the suburbs in nearby Orange County
, playing their home games at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim
for fifteen seasons (1980–94), keeping the Los Angeles
name. The club moved east to St. Louis
prior to the 1995 season.
, comes from the nickname of Fordham University
. "Rams" was selected to honor the hard work of the football players that came out of that university. They were part of the newly formed American Football League and finished the 1936 regular season in second place with a 5–2–2 record, trailing only the 8–3 record of league champion Boston Shamrocks
.
The following year
the Rams joined the National Football League
on February 13, 1937, and were assigned to the Western division to replace the St. Louis Gunners
, who had left the league after a three-game stint in the 1934 season
. From the beginning, they were a team marked by frequent moves, playing in three stadiums over several losing seasons.
In June 1941, the Rams were bought by Dan Reeves
and Fred Levy, Jr.; Reeves, the principal owner, was an heir to his family's grocery-chain business; when the company was purchased by A&P
, he used some of his inheritance to buy the team. In April 1943, Reeves bought out Levy (who later rejoined Reeves in the ownership of the Rams). The franchise suspended operations and sat out the 1943 season
because of a shortage of players during World War II
and resumed playing in 1944
. The team
finally achieved success in 1945
, which proved to be their last season in Ohio. Quarterback Bob Waterfield
, a rookie from UCLA, passed, ran, and place-kicked his way to the league's Most Valuable Player award and helped the Rams achieve a 9–1 record and winning their first NFL Championship
, a 15–14 home field victory over the Washington Redskins
on December 16. The victory was provided by a safety; Redskins great Sammy Baugh
's pass caromed off the goal post and bounded through his own end zone. The next year rules were changed that made this a mere incomplete pass.
On January 11, 1946, Reeves pressured the NFL to allow his team to relocate to Los Angeles and its 92,000 seat Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
in 1946, despite the fact that the closest NFL city was over 2000 miles (3,218.7 km) away in Chicago. At the time, the NFL did not allow African-Americans to play in the league. The commissioners of the Los Angeles Coliseum stipulated as part of the agreement that the team be integrated
, and the team signed UCLA
players Kenny Washington
and Woody Strode
, who became the first two blacks to play in the NFL, post World War II.
The Rams were the second NFL team to represent Los Angeles but the first to actually play there; the Los Angeles Buccaneers
, a traveling team
stocked with Southern California natives, played in 1926. The Rams played their first pre-season game against the Washington Redskins
in front of a crowd of 95,000 fans. The team finished their first season in LA with a 6-4-1 record, second place behind the Chicago Bears. At the end of the season Walsh was fired as head coach.
The Coliseum, built in 1922 and used in the 1932 Summer Olympics
, was the home of the Rams for more than thirty years. In 1948, halfback Fred Gehrke
painted horns on the Rams' helmets, making the first modern helmet emblem in pro football. The next year, the Rams merged with fellow Coliseum tenants, the Los Angeles Dons
.
Between 1949 and 1955, the Rams played in the NFL championship game four times, winning once (in 1951). During this period, they had the best offense in the NFL, led by quarterbacks Bob Waterfield
and Norm Van Brocklin
(from 1951). Wide receiver Elroy Hirsch
, teamed with fellow Hall-of-Famer Tom Fears
, helped create the style of Rams football as one of the first big play receivers. During the 1951 Championship season, Hirsch posted 1,495 receiving yards with 17 touchdowns. The popularity of this wide-open offense enabled the Los Angeles Rams to become the first pro football team to have all its games televised (in 1950).
The Rams posted losing records in all but two seasons between 1956 and 1966. In those two seasons, the club finished with a 6 and 6 record in 1957 followed by an 8 and 4 mark and a strong second place showing the next year. Led by business executive Pete Rozelle
and his use of television, the Rams remained a business success despite the team's poor record. In a 1957 game against the San Francisco 49ers, the Rams set a record for attendance for a regular season NFL game with 102,368. The Rams drew over 100,000 fans twice the following year.
The 1960s were defined by the Rams great defensive line of Rosey Grier
, Merlin Olsen
, Deacon Jones
, and Lamar Lundy
, dubbed the "Fearsome Foursome
". This group was put together by then head coach Harland Svare. It was this group of players who restored the on-field luster of the franchise in 1967 when the Rams reached (but lost) the conference championship under legendary coach George Allen
. That 1967 squad would become the first NFL team to surpass one million spectators in a season, a feat the Rams would repeat the following year. In each of those two years, the L.A. Rams drew roughly double the number of fans that could be accommodated by their current stadium for a full season.
George Allen led the Rams from 1966 to 1970 and introduced many innovations. These included hiring a young Dick Vermeil
as one of the first special teams coaches. Though Allen would enjoy five straight winning seasons and win two divisional titles in his time with the Rams he never won a playoff game with the team, losing in 1967 to Green Bay 28-7 and in 1969 23-20 to Minnesota. Allen would leave after the 1970 season to take the head coaching job for the Washington Redskins.
Quarterback Roman Gabriel
played eleven seasons for the Rams dating from 1962 to 1972. From 1967 to 1971, Gabriel led the Rams to either a first- or second-place finish in their division every year. He was voted the MVP of the entire NFL in 1969, for a season in which he threw for 2,549 yards and 24 TDs while leading the Rams to the playoffs. During the 1970 season, Gabriel combined with his primary receiver Jack Snow
for 51 receptions totaling 859 yards. This would prove to be the best season of their eight seasons as teammates.
In 1972 Chicago industrialist Robert Irsay
purchased the Rams for $19 million and then traded the franchise to Carroll Rosenbloom
for his Baltimore Colts
and cash. The Rams remained solid contenders in the 1970s, winning seven straight NFC West
championships between 1973 and 1979. Though they clearly were the class of the NFC in the 1970s along with the Dallas Cowboys
and Minnesota Vikings
, they lost the first 4 conference championship games they played in that decade, losing twice each to Minnesota (1974, 1976) and Dallas (1975, 1978).
The Rams' coach for this run was Chuck Knox
, who led the team through the 1977 season. The Chuck Knox-coached Rams featured an unremarkable offense carried into the playoffs annually by an elite defensive unit. The defining player of the 1970s L.A. Rams was Jack Youngblood
. Youngblood was called the 'Perfect Defensive End' by fellow Hall-of-Famer Merlin Olsen. His toughness was legendary, notably playing on a broken leg during the Rams' run to the 1980 Super Bowl. His blue-collar ethic stood in opposition to the perception that the Rams were a soft "Hollywood" team. However, several Rams players from this period took advantage of their proximity to Hollywood and crossed over into acting after their playing careers ended. Most notable of these was Fred Dryer
, who starred in the TV series Hunter from 1984 to 1991.
Ironically, it was the Rams' weakest divisional winner (an aging 1979 team that achieved only a 9-7 record) that would achieve the team's greatest success in that period. Led by third-year quarterback Vince Ferragamo
, the Rams shocked the heavily favored and two-time defending NFC champion Dallas Cowboys
21-19 in the Divisional Playoffs, then shut out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-0 in the conference championship game to win the NFC
and reach their first Super Bowl. Along with Ferragamo, key players for the Rams were halfback Wendell Tyler
, offensive lineman Jackie Slater, and Pro Bowl defenders Jack Youngblood
and Jack "Hacksaw" Reynolds.
The Rams' opponent in their first Super Bowl
was the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers
. The game would be a virtual home game for the Rams as it was played in Pasadena at the Rose Bowl
. Although some oddsmakers set the Rams as a 10½ point underdog, the Rams played Pittsburgh very tough, leading at halftime 13-10 and at the end of the 3rd quarter 19-17. In the end, however, the Steelers finally asserted themselves, scoring two touchdowns in the 4th quarter and completely shutting down the Rams offense to win their 4th Super Bowl, 31-19.
Prior to the 1979 Super Bowl season, owner Carroll Rosenbloom
died in a drowning accident and his widow, Georgia Frontiere
, inherited 70% ownership of the team. Frontiere then fired stepson Steve Rosenbloom and assumed total control of Rams operations. As had been planned prior to Rosenbloom's death, the Rams moved from their longtime home at the Coliseum to Anaheim Stadium
in nearby Orange County
in 1980. The reason for the move was twofold. First, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was exceedingly difficult to sell out with a capacity of 100,000. Former Rams executive Pete Rozelle had since become NFL commissioner, creating a 'black-out rule' preventing any unsold-out game from being broadcast in its local market. Second, this move was following the population pattern in Southern California, which was causing rapid growth of affluent suburbs in greater Orange County. Anaheim Stadium was originally built in 1965 to be the home of the California Angels
. To accommodate the Rams' move, the ballpark was reconfigured with luxury suites and enclosed to accommodate crowds of about 65,000 for football.
In 1982, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was occupied by the erstwhile Oakland Raiders
. The combined effect of these two moves was to divide the Rams' traditional fanbase in two. This was coupled with the early 1980s being rebuilding years for the club, while the Raiders were winners of Super Bowl XVIII
in 1983. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers
won championships
in 1980 and 1982 en route to winning five titles in that decade, the Los Angeles Dodgers
won the World Series
in 1981 and 1988, and even the Los Angeles Kings
made a deep run in the playoffs in 1982.
The hiring of coach John Robinson in 1983 provided a needed boost for pro football in Orange County. The former USC
coach led the Rams to the playoffs six times in his nine seasons. They made the NFC Championship Game in 1985, where they would lose to the eventual Champion Chicago Bears
. The most notable player for the Rams during that period was running back Eric Dickerson
, who was drafted in 1983 out of SMU
and won Rookie of the Year. In 1984, Dickerson rushed for 2,105 yards, setting a new NFL record. Dickerson would end his five hugely successful years for the Rams in 1987 by being traded to the Indianapolis Colts
for a number of players and draft picks after a bitter contract dispute, shortly after the players' strike that year ended. Dickerson would remain as the Rams' career rushing leader with 7,245 yards until the 2010 season.
Despite the Dickerson trade, the Rams remained contenders due to the arrival of the innovative offensive leadership of Ernie Zampese
. Zampese employed the intricate timing routes he had used to turn the San Diego Chargers
into a state-of-the-art offense. Under Zampese, the Rams rose steadily from 28th-rated offense in 1986 to 3rd in 1990. In the late 1980s the Rams featured a gifted young QB in Jim Everett
, a solid rushing attack, and a fleet of talented WRs. After an 11-5 record during the 1989 regular season, it was a team that seemed destined for greater things, until a crushing defeat at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers in the 1989 NFC Championship game.
The Rams never recovered from the humiliation. The first half of the 1990s featured losing records, no playoff appearances for the Rams and waning fan interest. The return of Chuck Knox as head coach, after Knox's successful stints as head coach of the Buffalo Bills
and Seattle Seahawks
, would not boost the Rams' fortunes. His run-oriented offense marked the end of the Zampese tenure in 1993. Georgia Frontiere's strategy was to hire Knox whose offensive philosophy of "Ground Chuck" had long since become ineffective; especially in light of the fact that John Shaw
, the team's general manager, continued to waste draft picks on substandard talent. The offensive scheme was unsteady and unspectacular. This porous offense continued to alienate fans. One bright spot for the offense during this time would be running back Jerome Bettis
, though he would later be traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers
after he became expendable when the team drafted Lawrence Phillips
; this would ultimately become one of the most lopsided trades in NFL history, strongly favoring the Steelers.
In the years preceding the relocation, management traded Jim Everett
and released Kevin Greene
, an all-pro defensive linebacker. This furthered the chasm between success and the Rams organization. The losing seasons increased. At this point, Georgia Frontiere blamed poor front office decisions on their stadium situation. Neither Orange County, nor the city of Los Angeles was prepared to build a publicly financed stadium for the team in light of the fact that there were at least 3 perfectly suitable stadiums at the time.
Georgia Frontiere attempted to relocate the Rams to Baltimore, Maryland. That deal was eventually nixed. Mrs. Frontiere then sought to relocate the team to the city of St. Louis. NFL owners initially voted to oppose the move. Owners of the Buffalo Bills
, New York Jets
and Giants
, the Washington Redskins
, the Arizona Cardinals
and the Minnesota Vikings
opposed the move and argued that Mrs. Frontiere, who pleaded poverty as a basis for relocation, had "horribly mismanaged" the team. Nevertheless, she threatened legal action and NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue acquiesced to Frontiere's demands.
The team eventually bolted for St. Louis. As part of the agreement, the city agreed to build a publicly financed stadium and guaranteed that the stadium would be in the top 25% of all stadiums in the National Football League. Georgia Frontiere waived the clause after the 10 year threshold, as the city implemented a later plan to improve the stadium.
Nevertheless, the move left many in the Los Angeles area and many of those indifferent to the situation to be embittered toward the NFL. That sentiment was best expressed by Fred Dryer
, who at the time 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." Steve Rosenbloom, formerly the general manager of the team during Carroll Rosenbloom's tenure, opined that teams come and go, but for a team to leave Los Angeles (the second largest market in the country) for St. Louis (approximately the eighteenth largest market in the country) was simply irresponsible and foolish. With the Raiders moving back to Oakland a few months later, the NFL would quickly be devoid of football in Los Angeles; the league has yet to return.
and 1996
seasons the Rams were under the direction of head coach Rich Brooks. Their most prolific player from their first two seasons was the fan-favorite Isaac Bruce
. Then in 1997
, Dick Vermeil
was hired as the head coach. In 1997, the Rams traded up in the draft to select future All-Pro offensive tackle Orlando Pace
. The Rams were very well known for their high powered offense in 1999
. Prior to the season, the Rams traded a second and a fourth round draft pick for future league MVP, Marshall Faulk
. The season started with Trent Green
injuring his leg in preseason that would sideline him for the entire season. Vermeil told the public that the Rams would "Rally around Kurt Warner, and play good football." Kurt Warner
, who had played QB for the Iowa Barnstormers
of the Arena Football League
just a few years prior, synced up with Marshall Faulk
and Isaac Bruce to lead the Rams to one of the most historic Super Bowl offenses in history, posting 526 points for the season. This was the beginning of what would later become known around the league as "The Greatest Show On Turf."
win in Super Bowl XXXIV
against the Tennessee Titans
, Dick Vermeil retired and Vermeil's Offensive Coordinator Mike Martz
was hired. He managed to take the Rams
to Super Bowl XXXVI
, losing to the New England Patriots
. Mike Martz helped the Rams establish a pass-first identity that would post an NFL record amount of points forged over the course of 3 seasons (1999–2001). However, in the first round in the 2004 draft
, the Rams chose Oregon State
running back Steven Jackson
as the 24th pick of the draft. Jackson has been one of the Rams' most successful running backs since the Rams' arrival in St. Louis.
Martz was criticized by many as careless with game management and often feuding with several players as well as team president and general manager, Jay Zygmunt. However, most of his players respected him and went on record saying they enjoyed him as a coach. In 2005
, Mike Martz was ill and hospitalized for several games, allowing assistant head coach Joe Vitt
to coach the remainder of the season, although Martz was cleared later in the season, team president John Shaw would not allow him to come back to coach the team.
took control of an 8–8 team
in 2006
. In 2007
, Linehan led the Rams to 3–13. Following the 2007 season, Georgia Frontiere
died January 18, 2008 after a 28-year ownership commencing in 1979. Ownership of the team passed to her son Dale "Chip" Rosenbloom
and daughter Lucia Rodriguez. Chip Rosenbloom was named the new Rams majority owner. Linehan was already faced with scrutiny from several players in the locker room, including Torry Holt
and Steven Jackson. Linehan was then fired on September 29, 2008, after the team started the season 0–4. Jim Haslett
, Defensive Coordinator under Linehan, was interim head coach for the rest of the 2008 season.
John Shaw then resigned as president, and personnel chief Billy Devaney
was promoted to general manager on December 24, 2008, after the resignation of former president of football operations and general manager Jay Zygmunt on December 22.
was named the new head coach of the franchise. In his previous post as Defensive Coordinator with the New York Giants
, Spagnuolo masterminded a defensive scheme that shut down the potent offense of the previously undefeated and untied New England Patriots
, the odds on favorite to win the Super Bowl that year. In one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history, the New York Giants
defeated the Patriots 17-14. In spite of his success as Defensive Coordinator with the New York Giants
, Spagnuolo's first season as Head Coach of the Rams was terribly disappointing as the team won only once in 16 attempts.
On May 31, 2009, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
reported that the majority owners Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez officially offered their majority share of Rams for sale. They retained the services of Goldman Sachs
, a prominent investment banking firm, to help facilitate the sale of the Rams by evaluating bids and soliciting potential buyers. The sale price was unknown, but at the time Forbes
magazine's most recent estimate listed the Rams' value at $929 million. In February 2010 it was reported that Shahid Khan
, a businessman from Urbana, Illinois
, had signed an agreement to acquire the 60% ownership interest of Rosenbloom and Rodriguez, subject to approval by NFL owners. However, a month later, on the final day to do so, then-minority owner Stan Kroenke invoke his right of first refusal
to buy the 60 percent of the team that he did not already own.
Pursuant to NFL rules, owners are prohibited from owning other sports teams in markets where there is already an NFL team. At the time of purchase, Kroenke (d/b/a Kroenke Sports Enterprises), owned the Denver Nuggets
, the Colorado Avalanche
, and the Pepsi Center
, home to the Nuggets
and the Avalanche
. Kroenke, a real estate and sports mogul as well as married to a Wal-Mart heir, also owned Altitude Sports and Entertainment
. These interests violated the NFL's cross-ownership rule.
Nevertheless, on August 25, 2010, NFL owners unanimously approved Stan Kroenke as the owner of the franchise contingent upon his eventual divestment of his Colorado sports interests. Kroenke complied with the rule when he transferred ownership of the Nuggets, Avalanche, the Pepsi Center, and the Altitude to his son Josh Kroenke.
The Rams received the first pick in the 2010 NFL Draft
after finishing the 2009 season with a 1-15 record. The team used the pick to select quarterback Sam Bradford
from the University of Oklahoma
. The Rams finished the 2010 season second in the NFC West with a record of 7-9. Bradford started all 16 games for the Rams after earning the starting QB position during the preseason. On October 24, 2010, running back Steven Jackson
passed Eric Dickerson
as the franchise's career rushing leader.
On January 18, 2011 the Rams hired Josh McDaniels
, former head coach of the Denver Broncos
. Coincidentally, McDaniels was the Offensive Coordinator of the New England Patriots
team that went undefeated and untied until it faced the stout defense led by Steve Spagnuolo
of the New York Giants
. McDaniels replaced Pat Shurmur
as Offensive Coordinator.
On February 4, 2011, Rookie quarterback Sam Bradford was named the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year. Sam Bradford received 44 of the 50 possible from the nationwide panel of media members. Bradford finished the 2010 season off with a 60% completion percentage, 18 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. The last three quarterbacks to win this award were Ben Roethlisberger
of the Pittsburgh Steelers
(2004), Vince Young
of the Tennessee Titans
(2006), and Matt Ryan
of the Atlanta Falcons
(2008).
The Rams were the first professional American football team to have a logo on their helmets. Ever since halfback
Fred Gehrke
, who worked as a commercial artist in off-seasons, painted ram
horn
s on the team's leather helmets in 1948, the logo has been the club's trademark.
When the team debuted in 1937, the Rams' colors were red and black, featuring red helmets, black uniforms with red shoulders and sleeves, tan pants, and red socks with black and white stripes. One year later they would switch their team colors to gold and royal blue, with gold helmets, white pants, royal blue uniforms with gold numbers and gold shoulders, white pants with a royal stripe, and solid royal blue socks. By the mid-1940s the Rams had adopted gold jerseys (with navy blue serif
numerals, navy blue shoulders, gold helmets, white pants with a gold-navy-gold stripe, and gold socks with two navy stripes). The uniforms were unchanged as the team moved to Los Angeles. The helmets were changed to navy in 1947. When Gehrke introduced the horns, they were painted yellow-gold on navy blue helmets. In 1949 the team adopted plastic helmets, and the Rams' horns were rendered by the Riddell
company of Des Plaines, Illinois
, which baked a painted design into the helmet at its factory. Also in 1949 the serif jersey numerals gave way to more standard block numbers. Wider, bolder horns joined at the helmet center front and curving around the earhole appeared in 1950; this design was somewhat tapered in 1954–1955. Also in 1950 a blue-gold-blue tri-stripe appeared on the pants and "Northwestern University
-style" royal blue stripes were added to jersey sleeves. A white border was added to the blue jersey numerals in 1953. So-called "TV numbers" were added on jersey sleeves in 1956. In accordance with a 1957 NFL rule dictating that the home team wear dark, primary-colored jerseys and the road team light shirts, the Rams hurriedly readied for the regular season new royal-blue home jerseys with golden striping and golden front and back numerals with a white border. The white border was removed in 1958. The Rams continued to wear their golden jerseys for 1957 road games, but the following year adopted a white jersey with blue numerals and stripes. In 1962–63 the team's road white jersey featured a UCLA
-style blue-gold-blue crescent shoulder tri-stripe.
In 1964, concurrent with a major remodeling of the team's Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum home, the colors were changed to a simpler blue and white. The new helmet horns were white, wider, and separated at the helmet center front. The blue jersey had white numerals with two white sleeve stripes. The white jersey featured blue numerals and a wide blue crescent shoulder stripe. A 1964 league rule allowed teams to wear white jerseys for home games and the Rams were among several teams to do so (the Dallas Cowboys
, who introduced their blue-white-silverblue uniform that season, have worn white at home ever since), as owner Dan Reeves
felt it would be more enjoyable for fans to see the various colors of the rest of the league as opposed to always having the Rams in blue and the visiting team in white. The pants were white with a thick blue stripe. In 1970, in keeping with the standards of the fully merged NFL and AFL, names appeared on the jersey backs for the first time. The sleeve "TV numbers," quite large compared to those of other teams, were made smaller in 1965. From 1964 to early 1972 the Rams wore white jerseys for every home league game and exhibition, at one point not wearing their blue jerseys at all from 1967 to 1971; it was a tradition that continued under coaches Harland Svare, George Allen, and Tommy Prothro
. But new owner Carroll Rosenbloom did not particularly like the Rams' uniforms, so in pursuit of a new look the team wore its seldom-used blue jerseys for most home games in 1972. During that season Rosenbloom's Rams also announced an intention to revive the old blue-and gold colors for 1973, and asked fans to send in design ideas.
The colors returned to yellow-gold and blue in 1973. The new uniform design consisted of yellow- gold pants and curling rams horns on the sleeves – yellow gold horns curving from the shoulders to the arms on the blue jerseys, which featured golden numerals (a white border around the numerals, similar to the 1957 style, appeared for two exhibitions and was then removed). Players' names were in contrasting white. The white jersey had similarly shaped blue horns, blue numerals and names. The white jerseys also had yellow gold sleeves. The gold pants included a blue-white-blue tri-stripe, which was gradually widened through the 1970s and early 1980s. The blue socks initially featured two thin golden stripes, but these were rarely visible. From 1973 to 1976 the Rams were the only team to wear white cleats on the road and royal blue cleats at home. The new golden helmet horns were of identical shape, but for the first time the horn was not factory-painted but instead a decal applied to the helmet. The decal was cut in sections and affixed to accommodate spaces for face-mask and chin-strap attachments, and so the horn curved farther around the ear hole. Jersey numerals were made thicker and blunter in 1975. The Rams primarily wore blue at home with this combination, but after 1977 would wear white on occasion at home, notably for games against the Dallas Cowboys
(who usually do not wear their blue jerseys due to a superstition that the Cowboys' blue jerseys are jinxed
) and selected AFC teams. The team wore its white jerseys for most of its 1978 home dates, including its post-season games with the Minnesota Vikings
and Cowboys - though the latter is the only postseason game Dallas has ever won while outfitted in their blue jerseys. Standard gray face masks became dark blue in 1981. The Rams wore white jerseys exclusively in the 1982
and 1993
seasons, as well as other selected occasions throughout their 15 seasons in Anaheim.
The team's colors were changed from yellow gold and blue to New Century Gold (old gold
) and Millennium (navy
) blue in 2000 following the Super Bowl win. A new logo of a ram's head was added to the sleeves and gold stripes were added to the sides of the jerseys. The new gold pants no longer featured any stripes. Blue pants and White pants with a small gold stripe (an extension off the jersey stripe that ended in a point) were also an option with the Rams only electing to wear the white set in a pre-season game in San Diego in 2001. The helmet design essentially remains the same as it was in 1948, except for updates to the coloring, navy blue field with gold horns. The 2000 rams'-horn design features a slightly wider separation at the helmet's center. Both home and away jerseys had a gold stripe that ran down each side, but that only lasted for the 2000
and 2001
seasons.
In 2003, the Rams wore blue pants with their white jerseys for a pair of early-season games, but after losses to the New York Giants
and Seattle Seahawks
, the Rams reverted to gold pants with their white jerseys. In 2005, the Rams wore the blue pants again at home against Arizona and on the road against Dallas. In 2007, the Rams wore all possible combinations of their uniforms. They wore the Blue Tops and Gold Pants at home against Carolina, San Francisco, Cleveland, Seattle, and on the road against Dallas. They wore the Blue Tops and Blue Pants at home against Arizona, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh on Marshall Faulk night. They wore the Blue Tops and White Pants on the road in Tampa Bay and at home against Green Bay. They wore White Tops and Gold Pants at New Orleans and San Francisco. They wore White Tops and White Pants at Seattle and Arizona. And they wore White Tops and Blue Pants at Baltimore and Cincinnati. In 2008, the Rams went away with the gold pants. The gold pants were used for only one regular season game at Seattle. The blue jerseys with white pants and white jerseys with blue pants combination were used most of the time. For the 2009 season, the Rams elected to wear the white pants with both jerseys for the majority of the time except the games against the Vikings and Texans (see below) where they wore the throwback jerseys from the 1999 season, week 2 in Washington when they wore gold pants with the blue jersey, and week 12 against Seattle when the wore blue pants with the blue jersey.
Since moving to St. Louis, the Rams have always worn blue at home. Like most other teams playing in a dome, the Rams do not need to wear white to gain an advantage with the heat despite the team's midwestern geographic location. The Rams wore their white jerseys and blue pants in St. Louis against the Dallas Cowboys
, on October 19, 2008, forcing the Cowboys to wear their "unlucky" blue uniforms, and won the game 34-14.
The NFL approved the use of throwback uniforms for the club during the 2009 season to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the 1999 Super Bowl Championship Team. The Rams wore the throwback uniforms for two home games in 2009 - October 11 against the Minnesota Vikings and December 20 against the Houston Texans. The Rams wore their 1999 throwbacks again on October 31, 2010, when they beat the Carolina Panthers
20-10. In 1994, the team's last season in Southern California, the Rams wore jerseys and pants replicating those of their 1951 championship season for their September games with the San Francisco 49ers
and Kansas City Chiefs
.
include Joe Namath
(12), Ollie Matson
(33), Andy Robustelli
(81), Dick "Night Train" Lane (also 81), coach Earl "Dutch" Clark, and general manager Tex Schramm
. GM and later NFL Commissioner
Pete Rozelle
and coach Sid Gillman
are also members of the Hall of Fame, but were elected on the basis of their performances with other teams or (in the case of Rozelle) NFL administration.
television, all home games of the 1950 NFL season
were shown locally. The Rams also televised games in the early 1950s. The 1951 NFL Championship Game
was the first championship game televised coast-to-coast (via the DuMont Network
). During the team's years in Los Angeles all games were broadcast on KMPC
radio (710 AM); play-by-play announcers were Bob Kelley (who accompanied the team from Cleveland and worked until his death in 1965), Dick Enberg
(1966–77), Al Wisk (1978–79), Bob Starr (1980–89, 1993), Eddie Doucette
(1990), Paul Olden
(1991–92), and Steve Physioc (1994). Analysts included Gil Stratton, Steve Bailey, Dave Niehaus
(1968–72), Don Drysdale
(1973–76), Dick Bass
(1977–86), Jack Youngblood
(1987–91), Jack Snow (1992–94), and Deacon Jones
(1994).
The Rams' flagship radio station is 101.1 FM WXOS, a sports station in St. Louis with ESPN Radio Affiliation. Steve Savard
, is the play-by-play man with D'Marco Farr
in the color spot and Brian Stull reporting from the field. From 2000 to 2008 KLOU
FM 103.3 was the Rams' flagship station with Savard as the play-by-play announcer. Until October 2005, Jack Snow
had been the color analyst since 1993, dating back to the team's days in the Los Angeles area. Snow left the booth after suffering an illness and died in January 2006. Former Rams offensive line coach Jim Hanifan
joined KLOU
as the color analyst the year after Jack Snow's departure. Before the Rams moved to KLOU
, from 1995 to 1999 the Rams games were broadcast on KSD 93.7 FM. On Television, games are either broadcast on Fox
, CBS
, ESPN
, or NFL Network
. Preseason games not shown on a national broadcast network are seen on KTVI
, FOX 2 St. Louis, and are also seen in Los Angeles on KCOP, "MyNetworkTV Channel 13."
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team based in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. They are currently members of the West Division
NFC West
The NFC West is a division of the National Football League's National Football Conference. It currently has four members: Arizona Cardinals, St...
of the National Football Conference
National Football Conference
The National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...
(NFC) in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL). The Rams have won three NFL Championships
National Football League championships history
Throughout its history, the National Football League and other leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champion, including a period of interleague match-ups determining a true world champion....
(two pre-merger, and one Super Bowl
Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl XXXIV featured the National Football Conference champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference champion Tennessee Titans in an American football game to decide the National Football League champion for the 1999 regular season...
).
The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. The NFL considers the franchise as a second incarnation of the previous Cleveland Rams team that was a charter member of the second American Football League
American Football League (1936)
Sometimes called AFL II, the second American Football League was a professional American football league that operated in 1936 and 1937. The AFL operated in direct competition with the more established National Football League throughout its existence...
. Although the NFL granted membership to the same owner, the NFL considers it a separate entity since only four of the players (William "Bud" Cooper
Bud Cooper
William Gordon Cooper played college football at Penn State. After college in 1936 he became a fullback in the National Football League for the Cleveland Rams, who the played in the second American Football League. When the Rams moved into the NFL in 1937, and Cooper went with them...
, Harry "The Horse" Mattos
Harry Mattos
Harry Mattos , nicknamed "The Horse" or "The Toe", was an American football halfback in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers and the Cleveland Rams. He played college football at the St. Mary's College of California...
, Stan Pincura
Stan Pincura
Stan Pincura was an American football back in the National Football League for the Cleveland Rams. He played college football at the Ohio State University. Pincura was born in Lorain, Ohio. After high school, Pincura attended Ohio State...
, and Mike Sebastian
Mike Sebastian
Michael John "Lefty" Sebastian, aka Rose of Sharon was an American football halfback in the National Football League for the Cincinnati Reds, Boston Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Cleveland Rams...
) and none of the team's management joined the new NFL team.
The team then became known as the Los Angeles Rams after the club moved to Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
in 1946, opting not to compete with Paul Brown
Paul Brown
Paul Eugene Brown was a coach in American football and a major figure in the development of the National Football League...
's Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the All-America Football Conference
All-America Football Conference
The All-America Football Conference was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation's best players, and introduced many lasting innovations...
. Following the 1979 season, the Rams moved south to the suburbs in nearby Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
, playing their home games at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
for fifteen seasons (1980–94), keeping the Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
name. The club moved east to St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
prior to the 1995 season.
Franchise history
Cleveland Rams (1936–1945)
The Cleveland Rams were founded by attorney Homer Marshman in 1936. Their name, the RamsFordham Rams
The 22 Fordham University varsity sports teams are known as the Fordham Rams. Their colors are maroon and white. The Fordham Rams are members of NCAA Division I and compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference for all sports except football. In football, the Rams play in the Patriot League of NCAA...
, comes from the nickname of Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
. "Rams" was selected to honor the hard work of the football players that came out of that university. They were part of the newly formed American Football League and finished the 1936 regular season in second place with a 5–2–2 record, trailing only the 8–3 record of league champion Boston Shamrocks
Boston Shamrocks (AFL)
The Boston Shamrocks were a professional American football team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The team played in the second American Football League from 1936 to 1937, followed by at least one year as an independent in 1938...
.
The following year
1937 NFL season
The 1937 NFL season was the 18th regular season of the National Football League. The Cleveland Rams joined the league as an expansion team. Meanwhile, the Redskins relocated from Boston, Massachusetts to Washington, D.C....
the Rams joined the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
on February 13, 1937, and were assigned to the Western division to replace the St. Louis Gunners
St. Louis Gunners
The St. Louis Gunners, were an independent professional football team based in St. Louis, Missouri, who played the last three games of the 1934 National Football League season, replacing the Cincinnati Reds on the league schedule after the Reds' league membership was suspended...
, who had left the league after a three-game stint in the 1934 season
1934 NFL season
The 1934 NFL season was the 15th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, the Portsmouth Spartans moved to Detroit, Michigan and were renamed the Detroit Lions....
. From the beginning, they were a team marked by frequent moves, playing in three stadiums over several losing seasons.
In June 1941, the Rams were bought by Dan Reeves
Dan Reeves (NFL owner)
Daniel "Dan" Reeves was the owner of the Cleveland/Los Angeles Rams from 1941 to his death in 1971.In addition to the controversial move of the Rams from Cleveland to Los Angeles, Reeves is remembered for being the first NFL owner to sign an African-American player in the post World War II era...
and Fred Levy, Jr.; Reeves, the principal owner, was an heir to his family's grocery-chain business; when the company was purchased by A&P
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, better known as A&P, is a supermarket and liquor store chain in the United States. Its supermarkets, which are under six different banners, are found in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. A&P's liquor stores, known as...
, he used some of his inheritance to buy the team. In April 1943, Reeves bought out Levy (who later rejoined Reeves in the ownership of the Rams). The franchise suspended operations and sat out the 1943 season
1943 NFL season
The 1943 NFL season was the 24th regular season of the National Football League. As more players left to serve in World War II, three teams were affected by the depleted rosters. The Cleveland Rams were granted permission to suspend operations for this season. The Philadelphia Eagles and the...
because of a shortage of players during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and resumed playing in 1944
1944 NFL season
The 1944 NFL season was the 25th regular season of the United States National Football League. The Boston Yanks joined the league as an expansion team. Also, the Brooklyn Dodgers changed their name to Brooklyn Tigers. Meanwhile, both the Cleveland Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles resumed their...
. The team
1945 Cleveland Rams season
at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, OH* Game attendance: 32,178In the first quarter, the Redskins had the ball at their own 5-yard line. Dropping back into the end zone, quarterback Sammy Baugh threw, but the ball hit the goal post and bounced back to the ground in the end zone...
finally achieved success in 1945
1945 NFL season
The 1945 NFL season was the 26th regular season of the National Football League. The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Chicago Cardinals resumed their traditional operations....
, which proved to be their last season in Ohio. Quarterback Bob Waterfield
Bob Waterfield
Robert "Bob" Stanton Waterfield was an American football player.Waterfield attended Van Nuys High School, in Van Nuys, California and went on to play college football for UCLA. In 1943 he led the Bruins to the Pacific Coast Conference football championship...
, a rookie from UCLA, passed, ran, and place-kicked his way to the league's Most Valuable Player award and helped the Rams achieve a 9–1 record and winning their first NFL Championship
NFL Championship Game, 1945
In the 1945 National Football League Championship Game, the Cleveland Rams defeated the Washington Redskins, 15–14, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio on December 16, 1945. This was the last game before the Rams moved to Los Angeles, California and was the 13th annual NFL...
, a 15–14 home field victory over the Washington Redskins
1945 Washington Redskins season
The 1945 Washington Redskins began with the team trying to improve on their 6-3-1 record from 1944. They would end the season by losing the NFL Championship game to the Cleveland Rams, 15-14.-Schedule:-Playoffs:-Standings:...
on December 16. The victory was provided by a safety; Redskins great Sammy Baugh
Sammy Baugh
Samuel Adrian "Slingin' Sammy" Baugh was an American football player and coach. He played college football for the Horned Frogs at Texas Christian University, where he was a two-time All-American. He then played in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins from 1937 to 1952...
's pass caromed off the goal post and bounded through his own end zone. The next year rules were changed that made this a mere incomplete pass.
1946-1948: Starting over in Los Angeles
On January 11, 1946, Reeves pressured the NFL to allow his team to relocate to Los Angeles and its 92,000 seat Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, at Exposition Park, that is home to the Pacific-12 Conference's University of Southern California Trojans football team...
in 1946, despite the fact that the closest NFL city was over 2000 miles (3,218.7 km) away in Chicago. At the time, the NFL did not allow African-Americans to play in the league. The commissioners of the Los Angeles Coliseum stipulated as part of the agreement that the team be integrated
Racial integration
Racial integration, or simply integration includes desegregation . In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws on diverse traditions, rather than merely...
, and the team signed UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
players Kenny Washington
Kenny Washington (American football)
Kenneth S. "Kingfish" Washington was a professional football player who was the first African-American to sign a contract with a National Football League team in the modern era.-UCLA Bruins:...
and Woody Strode
Woody Strode
Woodrow Wilson Woolwine "Woody" Strode was a decathlete and football star who went on to become a pioneering black American film actor. He was nominated for a Golden Globe award for best supporting actor for his role in Spartacus in 1960...
, who became the first two blacks to play in the NFL, post World War II.
The Rams were the second NFL team to represent Los Angeles but the first to actually play there; the Los Angeles Buccaneers
Los Angeles Buccaneers
The Los Angeles Buccaneers were a traveling team in the National Football League during their one season 1926, ostensibly representing the city of Los Angeles, California. Like the Los Angeles Wildcats of the first American Football League, the team never actually played a league game in Los...
, a traveling team
Traveling team
In professional team sports, a traveling team is a member of a professional league that never or rarely competes in its home arena or stadium. This differs from a barnstorming team in that the latter does not compete within a league or association framework...
stocked with Southern California natives, played in 1926. The Rams played their first pre-season game against the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
in front of a crowd of 95,000 fans. The team finished their first season in LA with a 6-4-1 record, second place behind the Chicago Bears. At the end of the season Walsh was fired as head coach.
The Coliseum, built in 1922 and used in the 1932 Summer Olympics
1932 Summer Olympics
The 1932 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the X Olympiad, was a major world wide multi-athletic event which was celebrated in 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. No other cities made a bid to host these Olympics. Held during the worldwide Great Depression, many nations...
, was the home of the Rams for more than thirty years. In 1948, halfback Fred Gehrke
Fred Gehrke
Fred Gehrke was a National Football League running back for the Cleveland-Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Cardinals. from 1940 through 1950. He is best remembered for designing the Los Angeles Rams logo in 1948, which was the first painted on the helmets of an NFL team...
painted horns on the Rams' helmets, making the first modern helmet emblem in pro football. The next year, the Rams merged with fellow Coliseum tenants, the Los Angeles Dons
Los Angeles Dons
The Los Angeles Dons were an American football team in the now defunct All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1949 that played in the Los Angeles Coliseum....
.
1949-1955: Three-end formation
Between 1949 and 1955, the Rams played in the NFL championship game four times, winning once (in 1951). During this period, they had the best offense in the NFL, led by quarterbacks Bob Waterfield
Bob Waterfield
Robert "Bob" Stanton Waterfield was an American football player.Waterfield attended Van Nuys High School, in Van Nuys, California and went on to play college football for UCLA. In 1943 he led the Bruins to the Pacific Coast Conference football championship...
and Norm Van Brocklin
Norm Van Brocklin
Norman Mack "Norm" Van Brocklin , nicknamed "The Dutchman", was an American football player and coach. He was also a first rate punter in college and in the NFL...
(from 1951). Wide receiver Elroy Hirsch
Elroy Hirsch
Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch was an American football running back and receiver for the Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Rockets, nicknamed for his unusual running style.-Early life:...
, teamed with fellow Hall-of-Famer Tom Fears
Tom Fears
Thomas Jesse Fears was a Mexican-American football wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football League, playing nine seasons from 1948 to 1956.-Early life:...
, helped create the style of Rams football as one of the first big play receivers. During the 1951 Championship season, Hirsch posted 1,495 receiving yards with 17 touchdowns. The popularity of this wide-open offense enabled the Los Angeles Rams to become the first pro football team to have all its games televised (in 1950).
1956-1962: Tanking out
The Rams posted losing records in all but two seasons between 1956 and 1966. In those two seasons, the club finished with a 6 and 6 record in 1957 followed by an 8 and 4 mark and a strong second place showing the next year. Led by business executive Pete Rozelle
Pete Rozelle
Alvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle was the commissioner of the National Football League from January 1960 to November 1989, when he retired from office. Rozelle is credited with making the NFL into one of the most successful sports leagues in the world....
and his use of television, the Rams remained a business success despite the team's poor record. In a 1957 game against the San Francisco 49ers, the Rams set a record for attendance for a regular season NFL game with 102,368. The Rams drew over 100,000 fans twice the following year.
1963-1969: The Fearsome Foursome
Rosey Grier
Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier is an American actor, singer, Christian minister, and former professional American football player. He was a notable college football player for Pennsylvania State University who earned a retrospective place in the National Collegiate Athletic Association 100th anniversary...
, Merlin Olsen
Merlin Olsen
Merlin Jay Olsen was an American football player in the National Football League, NFL commentator, and actor. He played his entire 15-year career with the Los Angeles Rams and was elected to the Pro Bowl in 14 of those seasons, a current record shared with Bruce Matthews...
, Deacon Jones
Deacon Jones
David D. "Deacon" Jones is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers, and the Washington Redskins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980.Jones specialized in quarterback sacks, a term attributed to him...
, and Lamar Lundy
Lamar Lundy
Lamar J. Lundy, Jr. was an American defensive end with the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League for 13 seasons, from 1957 to 1969. Along with Deacon Jones, Merlin Olsen, and Rosey Grier, Lundy was a member of the Fearsome Foursome, often considered one of the best defensive lines in...
, dubbed the "Fearsome Foursome
Fearsome Foursome (football)
The "Fearsome Foursome" was a title first used in reporting American Professional Football, when referring to the dominating defensive lines of the San Diego Chargers of the American Football League in the early 1960s, the New York Giants, Detroit Lions and most widely, the Los Angeles Rams of the...
". This group was put together by then head coach Harland Svare. It was this group of players who restored the on-field luster of the franchise in 1967 when the Rams reached (but lost) the conference championship under legendary coach George Allen
George Allen (football)
George Herbert Allen was an American football coach in the National Football League and the United States Football League. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002.-Early life:...
. That 1967 squad would become the first NFL team to surpass one million spectators in a season, a feat the Rams would repeat the following year. In each of those two years, the L.A. Rams drew roughly double the number of fans that could be accommodated by their current stadium for a full season.
George Allen led the Rams from 1966 to 1970 and introduced many innovations. These included hiring a young Dick Vermeil
Dick Vermeil
Richard Albert "Dick" Vermeil is a former American head coach for the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles , St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs...
as one of the first special teams coaches. Though Allen would enjoy five straight winning seasons and win two divisional titles in his time with the Rams he never won a playoff game with the team, losing in 1967 to Green Bay 28-7 and in 1969 23-20 to Minnesota. Allen would leave after the 1970 season to take the head coaching job for the Washington Redskins.
1970-1972: Changes
Quarterback Roman Gabriel
Roman Gabriel
Roman Ildonzo Gabriel, Jr. is a former American football player. The son of a Filipino immigrant, he was the first Asian-American to start as an NFL quarterback and is considered by many to have been one of the best players at that position during the late 1960s and early 70s.Gabriel attended and...
played eleven seasons for the Rams dating from 1962 to 1972. From 1967 to 1971, Gabriel led the Rams to either a first- or second-place finish in their division every year. He was voted the MVP of the entire NFL in 1969, for a season in which he threw for 2,549 yards and 24 TDs while leading the Rams to the playoffs. During the 1970 season, Gabriel combined with his primary receiver Jack Snow
Jack Snow (football)
Jack Thomas Snow was an American football player who played wide receiver at the University of Notre Dame from 1962 through 1964 and with the Los Angeles Rams of the NFL from 1965 to 1975.-Early years:...
for 51 receptions totaling 859 yards. This would prove to be the best season of their eight seasons as teammates.
In 1972 Chicago industrialist Robert Irsay
Robert Irsay
Robert Irsay , was an American professional football team owner. He owned the National Football League's Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts franchise and, briefly, the former Los Angeles Rams.-Biography:...
purchased the Rams for $19 million and then traded the franchise to Carroll Rosenbloom
Carroll Rosenbloom
Carroll Rosenbloom was an American entrepreneur and former owner of two professional football teams, the Baltimore Colts and the Los Angeles Rams....
for his Baltimore Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
and cash. The Rams remained solid contenders in the 1970s, winning seven straight NFC West
NFC West
The NFC West is a division of the National Football League's National Football Conference. It currently has four members: Arizona Cardinals, St...
championships between 1973 and 1979. Though they clearly were the class of the NFC in the 1970s along with the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
and Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
, they lost the first 4 conference championship games they played in that decade, losing twice each to Minnesota (1974, 1976) and Dallas (1975, 1978).
1973-1979: NFC West Champs
The Rams' coach for this run was Chuck Knox
Chuck Knox
Charles Robert "Chuck" Knox is a former American football coach at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. He is best remembered as head coach of three National Football League teams, the Seattle Seahawks, the Buffalo Bills, and the Los Angeles Rams, serving two separate stints with...
, who led the team through the 1977 season. The Chuck Knox-coached Rams featured an unremarkable offense carried into the playoffs annually by an elite defensive unit. The defining player of the 1970s L.A. Rams was Jack Youngblood
Jack Youngblood
Herbert Jackson "Jack" Youngblood, III is a former American college and professional football player who was a defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League for fourteen seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. He was a five-time consensus All-Pro and a seven-time Pro Bowl...
. Youngblood was called the 'Perfect Defensive End' by fellow Hall-of-Famer Merlin Olsen. His toughness was legendary, notably playing on a broken leg during the Rams' run to the 1980 Super Bowl. His blue-collar ethic stood in opposition to the perception that the Rams were a soft "Hollywood" team. However, several Rams players from this period took advantage of their proximity to Hollywood and crossed over into acting after their playing careers ended. Most notable of these was Fred Dryer
Fred Dryer
John Frederick "Fred" Dryer is an American actor and former football defensive end in the National Football League . Dryer played 13 years in the NFL, playing 176 games, starting 166, and recording 104 career sacks with the New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams...
, who starred in the TV series Hunter from 1984 to 1991.
Ironically, it was the Rams' weakest divisional winner (an aging 1979 team that achieved only a 9-7 record) that would achieve the team's greatest success in that period. Led by third-year quarterback Vince Ferragamo
Vince Ferragamo
Vince Anthony Ferragamo is a former professional football player, a quarterback in the National Football League and Canadian Football League.-College career:...
, the Rams shocked the heavily favored and two-time defending NFC champion Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
21-19 in the Divisional Playoffs, then shut out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-0 in the conference championship game to win the NFC
National Football Conference
The National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...
and reach their first Super Bowl. Along with Ferragamo, key players for the Rams were halfback Wendell Tyler
Wendell Tyler
Wendell Avery Tyler , is a former professional American football player who was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the 3rd round of the 1977 NFL Draft. A 5'10", 198 lbs...
, offensive lineman Jackie Slater, and Pro Bowl defenders Jack Youngblood
Jack Youngblood
Herbert Jackson "Jack" Youngblood, III is a former American college and professional football player who was a defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League for fourteen seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. He was a five-time consensus All-Pro and a seven-time Pro Bowl...
and Jack "Hacksaw" Reynolds.
The Rams' opponent in their first Super Bowl
Super Bowl XIV
Super Bowl XIV was an American football game played on January 20, 1980 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1979 regular season...
was the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
. The game would be a virtual home game for the Rams as it was played in Pasadena at the Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl (stadium)
The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium in Pasadena, California, U.S., in Los Angeles County. The stadium is the site of the annual college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl, held on New Year's Day. In 1982, it became the home field of the UCLA Bruins college football team of the Pac-12...
. Although some oddsmakers set the Rams as a 10½ point underdog, the Rams played Pittsburgh very tough, leading at halftime 13-10 and at the end of the 3rd quarter 19-17. In the end, however, the Steelers finally asserted themselves, scoring two touchdowns in the 4th quarter and completely shutting down the Rams offense to win their 4th Super Bowl, 31-19.
1979-1981: Starting over in Anaheim
Prior to the 1979 Super Bowl season, owner Carroll Rosenbloom
Carroll Rosenbloom
Carroll Rosenbloom was an American entrepreneur and former owner of two professional football teams, the Baltimore Colts and the Los Angeles Rams....
died in a drowning accident and his widow, Georgia Frontiere
Georgia Frontiere
Georgia Frontiere was the majority owner and chairman of the St. Louis Rams football team and the most prominent female owner in a league historically dominated by males....
, inherited 70% ownership of the team. Frontiere then fired stepson Steve Rosenbloom and assumed total control of Rams operations. As had been planned prior to Rosenbloom's death, the Rams moved from their longtime home at the Coliseum to Anaheim Stadium
Angel Stadium of Anaheim
Angel Stadium of Anaheim is a modern-style ballpark located in Anaheim, California. It is the home ballpark to Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of the American League, and was previously home to the NFL's Los Angeles Rams...
in nearby Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
in 1980. The reason for the move was twofold. First, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was exceedingly difficult to sell out with a capacity of 100,000. Former Rams executive Pete Rozelle had since become NFL commissioner, creating a 'black-out rule' preventing any unsold-out game from being broadcast in its local market. Second, this move was following the population pattern in Southern California, which was causing rapid growth of affluent suburbs in greater Orange County. Anaheim Stadium was originally built in 1965 to be the home of the California Angels
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...
. To accommodate the Rams' move, the ballpark was reconfigured with luxury suites and enclosed to accommodate crowds of about 65,000 for football.
In 1982, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was occupied by the erstwhile Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. The combined effect of these two moves was to divide the Rams' traditional fanbase in two. This was coupled with the early 1980s being rebuilding years for the club, while the Raiders were winners of Super Bowl XVIII
Super Bowl XVIII
Super Bowl XVIII was an American football game played on January 22, 1984, at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida, deciding the National Football League champion following the 1983 regular season. The American Football Conference champion Los Angeles Raiders defeated the National Football Conference...
in 1983. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
won championships
NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....
in 1980 and 1982 en route to winning five titles in that decade, the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
won the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
in 1981 and 1988, and even the Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
made a deep run in the playoffs in 1982.
1983-1991: Robinson takes over the Rams
The hiring of coach John Robinson in 1983 provided a needed boost for pro football in Orange County. The former USC
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
coach led the Rams to the playoffs six times in his nine seasons. They made the NFC Championship Game in 1985, where they would lose to the eventual Champion Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. The most notable player for the Rams during that period was running back Eric Dickerson
Eric Dickerson
Eric Demetric Dickerson is a former professional running back in the National Football League who in his career played for the Los Angeles Rams, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Raiders, and Atlanta Falcons.-College career:...
, who was drafted in 1983 out of SMU
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
and won Rookie of the Year. In 1984, Dickerson rushed for 2,105 yards, setting a new NFL record. Dickerson would end his five hugely successful years for the Rams in 1987 by being traded to the Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
for a number of players and draft picks after a bitter contract dispute, shortly after the players' strike that year ended. Dickerson would remain as the Rams' career rushing leader with 7,245 yards until the 2010 season.
Despite the Dickerson trade, the Rams remained contenders due to the arrival of the innovative offensive leadership of Ernie Zampese
Ernie Zampese
Ernie Zampese is a former American football player and coach. Playing for Santa Barbara High School, he was selected as the CIS Player of the Year in 1953 and went on to play at the halfback position for the USC Trojans in 1955 and 1956...
. Zampese employed the intricate timing routes he had used to turn the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
into a state-of-the-art offense. Under Zampese, the Rams rose steadily from 28th-rated offense in 1986 to 3rd in 1990. In the late 1980s the Rams featured a gifted young QB in Jim Everett
Jim Everett
James Samuel Everett III is a retired professional American football quarterback who played for twelve seasons in the National Football League ....
, a solid rushing attack, and a fleet of talented WRs. After an 11-5 record during the 1989 regular season, it was a team that seemed destined for greater things, until a crushing defeat at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers in the 1989 NFC Championship game.
1990-1994: Georgia's Endgame for the LA Rams
The Rams never recovered from the humiliation. The first half of the 1990s featured losing records, no playoff appearances for the Rams and waning fan interest. The return of Chuck Knox as head coach, after Knox's successful stints as head coach of the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
, would not boost the Rams' fortunes. His run-oriented offense marked the end of the Zampese tenure in 1993. Georgia Frontiere's strategy was to hire Knox whose offensive philosophy of "Ground Chuck" had long since become ineffective; especially in light of the fact that John Shaw
John Shaw
John Shaw was a Captain in the early years of the United States Navy.-Biography:He was born at Mountmellick, County Laois, Ireland, in 1773, and moved to the United States in 1790, where he settled in Philadelphia, and entered the merchant marine.Appointed Lieutenant in the United States Navy on 3...
, the team's general manager, continued to waste draft picks on substandard talent. The offensive scheme was unsteady and unspectacular. This porous offense continued to alienate fans. One bright spot for the offense during this time would be running back Jerome Bettis
Jerome Bettis
Jerome Abram "The Bus" Bettis is a retired American football halfback who played for the NFL's Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers. Bettis is considered one of the best big backs ever because his footwork and power, and is currently fifth on the National Football League's all-time...
, though he would later be traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
after he became expendable when the team drafted Lawrence Phillips
Lawrence Phillips
Lawrence Lamond Phillips is a former professional American football and Canadian football running back. Phillips's trouble with the law and inability to produce in the NFL have led many critics to label him as a bust....
; this would ultimately become one of the most lopsided trades in NFL history, strongly favoring the Steelers.
In the years preceding the relocation, management traded Jim Everett
Jim Everett
James Samuel Everett III is a retired professional American football quarterback who played for twelve seasons in the National Football League ....
and released Kevin Greene
Kevin Greene
Kevin Darwin Greene is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League for 15 years and who retired after the 1999 NFL season...
, an all-pro defensive linebacker. This furthered the chasm between success and the Rams organization. The losing seasons increased. At this point, Georgia Frontiere blamed poor front office decisions on their stadium situation. Neither Orange County, nor the city of Los Angeles was prepared to build a publicly financed stadium for the team in light of the fact that there were at least 3 perfectly suitable stadiums at the time.
Georgia Frontiere attempted to relocate the Rams to Baltimore, Maryland. That deal was eventually nixed. Mrs. Frontiere then sought to relocate the team to the city of St. Louis. NFL owners initially voted to oppose the move. Owners of the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
, the Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
opposed the move and argued that Mrs. Frontiere, who pleaded poverty as a basis for relocation, had "horribly mismanaged" the team. Nevertheless, she threatened legal action and NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue acquiesced to Frontiere's demands.
The team eventually bolted for St. Louis. As part of the agreement, the city agreed to build a publicly financed stadium and guaranteed that the stadium would be in the top 25% of all stadiums in the National Football League. Georgia Frontiere waived the clause after the 10 year threshold, as the city implemented a later plan to improve the stadium.
Nevertheless, the move left many in the Los Angeles area and many of those indifferent to the situation to be embittered toward the NFL. That sentiment was best expressed by Fred Dryer
Fred Dryer
John Frederick "Fred" Dryer is an American actor and former football defensive end in the National Football League . Dryer played 13 years in the NFL, playing 176 games, starting 166, and recording 104 career sacks with the New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams...
, who at the time 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." Steve Rosenbloom, formerly the general manager of the team during Carroll Rosenbloom's tenure, opined that teams come and go, but for a team to leave Los Angeles (the second largest market in the country) for St. Louis (approximately the eighteenth largest market in the country) was simply irresponsible and foolish. With the Raiders moving back to Oakland a few months later, the NFL would quickly be devoid of football in Los Angeles; the league has yet to return.
St. Louis Rams (1995–present)
1995–1999: Starting over in St. Louis
The 19951995 NFL season
The 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars...
and 1996
1996 NFL season
The 1996 NFL season was the 77th regular season of the National Football League and the season was marked by notable controversies from beginning to end...
seasons the Rams were under the direction of head coach Rich Brooks. Their most prolific player from their first two seasons was the fan-favorite Isaac Bruce
Isaac Bruce
Isaac Isidore Bruce is a retired American football wide receiver. He was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the second round of the 1994 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Memphis....
. Then in 1997
1997 NFL season
The 1997 NFL season was the 78th regular season of the National Football League. The Oilers relocated from Houston, Texas to Nashville, Tennessee...
, Dick Vermeil
Dick Vermeil
Richard Albert "Dick" Vermeil is a former American head coach for the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles , St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs...
was hired as the head coach. In 1997, the Rams traded up in the draft to select future All-Pro offensive tackle Orlando Pace
Orlando Pace
Orlando Lamar Pace is an American football offensive tackle who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams first overall in the 1997 NFL Draft. He played college football at Ohio State. Pace has started all 16 games eight times and blocked for three straight NFL MVPs...
. The Rams were very well known for their high powered offense in 1999
1999 NFL season
The 1999 NFL season was the 80th regular season of the National Football League. The Cleveland Browns returned to the field for the first time since the 1995 season...
. Prior to the season, the Rams traded a second and a fourth round draft pick for future league MVP, Marshall Faulk
Marshall Faulk
Marshall William Faulk is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League. He is currently an analyst for NFL Total Access, Thursday Night Football, and NFL GameDay Morning on the NFL Network...
. The season started with Trent Green
Trent Green
Trent Jason Green is a retired professional American football quarterback. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the eighth round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He played college football at Indiana University....
injuring his leg in preseason that would sideline him for the entire season. Vermeil told the public that the Rams would "Rally around Kurt Warner, and play good football." Kurt Warner
Kurt Warner
Kurtis Eugene "Kurt" Warner is a retired American football player. He played quarterback for three National Football League teams: the St. Louis Rams, the New York Giants, and the Arizona Cardinals. He was originally signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 1994 after playing...
, who had played QB for the Iowa Barnstormers
Iowa Barnstormers
The Iowa Barnstormers are an arena football team based in Des Moines, Iowa. They are currently members of the Arena Football League , which they joined in 2010 following the organization's restructuring...
of the Arena Football League
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League is the highest level of professional indoor American football in the United States. It is currently the second longest running professional football league in the United States, after the National Football League. It was founded in 1987 by Jim Foster...
just a few years prior, synced up with Marshall Faulk
Marshall Faulk
Marshall William Faulk is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League. He is currently an analyst for NFL Total Access, Thursday Night Football, and NFL GameDay Morning on the NFL Network...
and Isaac Bruce to lead the Rams to one of the most historic Super Bowl offenses in history, posting 526 points for the season. This was the beginning of what would later become known around the league as "The Greatest Show On Turf."
1999–2005: Greatest Show on Turf
Following the Rams1999 St. Louis Rams season
The 1999 St. Louis Rams season was the team's 62nd year with the National Football League and the fifth season in St. Louis, Missouri. The Rams finished the regular-season with a record of 13-3, and the NFC West Championship. The Rams were undefeated at home for the first time since 1973. On the...
win in Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl XXXIV featured the National Football Conference champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference champion Tennessee Titans in an American football game to decide the National Football League champion for the 1999 regular season...
against the Tennessee Titans
1999 Tennessee Titans season
The 1999 Tennessee Titans season was the Titans' 40th season and their 30th in the National Football League. It was the first season for the club under the moniker "Titans," while the nickname "Oilers" was retired by the NFL...
, Dick Vermeil retired and Vermeil's Offensive Coordinator Mike Martz
Mike Martz
Michael Martz is a former NFL head coach and currently the offensive coordinator for the National Football League's Chicago Bears....
was hired. He managed to take the Rams
2001 St. Louis Rams season
The 2001 St. Louis Rams season was the 64th season for the team in the National Football League and seventh season in St. Louis. The Rams set a franchise record for wins in a season , while also going a perfect 8-0 on the road. Quarterback Kurt Warner would go on to win his second league M.V.P....
to Super Bowl XXXVI
Super Bowl XXXVI
Super Bowl XXXVI was an American football game played on February 3, 2002 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 2001 regular season. The American Football Conference champion New England Patriots won their first Super...
, losing to the New England Patriots
2001 New England Patriots season
The 2001 New England Patriots season was the 32nd season for the team in the National Football League and 42nd season overall. They finished with an 11–5 record and a division title before advancing to and winning Super Bowl XXXVI....
. Mike Martz helped the Rams establish a pass-first identity that would post an NFL record amount of points forged over the course of 3 seasons (1999–2001). However, in the first round in the 2004 draft
2004 NFL Draft
The 2004 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24-25, 2004 at the theater at Madison Square Garden...
, the Rams chose Oregon State
Oregon State Beavers football
The Oregon State Beavers football team represents Oregon State University in NCAA Division I-A college football. The team first fielded an organized football team in 1893 and is currently a member of the Pacific-12 Conference. The head coach is Mike Riley, with Danny Langsdorf as the offensive...
running back Steven Jackson
Steven Jackson
Steven Rashad Jackson is an American football running back for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Rams 24th overall in the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oregon State University....
as the 24th pick of the draft. Jackson has been one of the Rams' most successful running backs since the Rams' arrival in St. Louis.
Martz was criticized by many as careless with game management and often feuding with several players as well as team president and general manager, Jay Zygmunt. However, most of his players respected him and went on record saying they enjoyed him as a coach. In 2005
2005 NFL Draft
The 2005 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 23–24, 2005. The league also held an supplemental draft that year, which was held after...
, Mike Martz was ill and hospitalized for several games, allowing assistant head coach Joe Vitt
Joe Vitt
Joe Vitt is the linebackers coach and assistant head coach of the New Orleans Saints.Vitt played four seasons as a linebacker for Towson State near Baltimore, even though he was an undersized 5'10" and smallish 190 pounds...
to coach the remainder of the season, although Martz was cleared later in the season, team president John Shaw would not allow him to come back to coach the team.
2006–2008: Struggles
After the Rams fired Martz, former Minnesota offensive coordinator Scott LinehanScott Linehan
Scott Thomas Linehan is an American football coach, currently the offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions of the NFL. He was previously the head coach of the St...
took control of an 8–8 team
2006 St. Louis Rams season
The 2006 St. Louis Rams season was the team's 69th year with the National Football League and the 12th season in St. Louis. The season began with the Rams trying to improve on their 6-10 record from 2005 under new head coach Scott Linehan.-Offseason:...
in 2006
2006 NFL season
The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006...
. In 2007
2007 NFL season
The 2007 NFL season was the 88th regular season of the National Football League.Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30....
, Linehan led the Rams to 3–13. Following the 2007 season, Georgia Frontiere
Georgia Frontiere
Georgia Frontiere was the majority owner and chairman of the St. Louis Rams football team and the most prominent female owner in a league historically dominated by males....
died January 18, 2008 after a 28-year ownership commencing in 1979. Ownership of the team passed to her son Dale "Chip" Rosenbloom
Chip Rosenbloom
Dale "Chip" Rosenbloom, the son of Carroll Rosenbloom and Georgia Frontiere, is part owner of the St. Louis Rams alongside his sister Lucia Rodriguez, which they inherited from their mother...
and daughter Lucia Rodriguez. Chip Rosenbloom was named the new Rams majority owner. Linehan was already faced with scrutiny from several players in the locker room, including Torry Holt
Torry Holt
After injuring his knee at the Senior Bowl, Holt, at 192 pounds, ran a 4.44 second 40-yard dash and had a vertical jump of 37 inches at the 1999 NFL Combine-St. Louis Rams:...
and Steven Jackson. Linehan was then fired on September 29, 2008, after the team started the season 0–4. Jim Haslett
Jim Haslett
James Donald "Jim" Haslett is an American football coach and former linebacker. He is currently the defensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins. Previously, he served as the head coach for the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League, and the New Orleans Saints and St...
, Defensive Coordinator under Linehan, was interim head coach for the rest of the 2008 season.
John Shaw then resigned as president, and personnel chief Billy Devaney
Billy Devaney
William Joseph Peter Francis "Billy" Devaney is a professional American football executive. He is currently the general manager for the St. Louis Rams NFL team. He was formerly an assistant to the general manager with the Atlanta Falcons...
was promoted to general manager on December 24, 2008, after the resignation of former president of football operations and general manager Jay Zygmunt on December 22.
2009–Present: The Spagnuolo & Sam Bradford Era
On January 17, 2009 Steve SpagnuoloSteve Spagnuolo
Steven Christopher Spagnuolo is the current head coach of the St. Louis Rams. He was previously the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants from January 2007 to January 2009, and also served for eight years under defensive coordinator Jim Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles.-Early years:Born...
was named the new head coach of the franchise. In his previous post as Defensive Coordinator with the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Spagnuolo masterminded a defensive scheme that shut down the potent offense of the previously undefeated and untied New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
, the odds on favorite to win the Super Bowl that year. In one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history, the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
defeated the Patriots 17-14. In spite of his success as Defensive Coordinator with the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Spagnuolo's first season as Head Coach of the Rams was terribly disappointing as the team won only once in 16 attempts.
On May 31, 2009, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is the major city-wide newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri. Although written to serve Greater St. Louis, the Post-Dispatch is one of the largest newspapers in the Midwestern United States, and is available and read as far west as Kansas City, Missouri, as far south as...
reported that the majority owners Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez officially offered their majority share of Rams for sale. They retained the services of Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
, a prominent investment banking firm, to help facilitate the sale of the Rams by evaluating bids and soliciting potential buyers. The sale price was unknown, but at the time Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine's most recent estimate listed the Rams' value at $929 million. In February 2010 it was reported that Shahid Khan
Shahid Khan
Shahid Khan is a Pakistani-born American businessman. He is the owner of automobile parts manufacturer Flex-N-Gate Corp. in Urbana, Illinois...
, a businessman from Urbana, Illinois
Urbana, Illinois
Urbana is the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,250. Urbana is the tenth-most populous city in Illinois outside of the Chicago metropolitan area....
, had signed an agreement to acquire the 60% ownership interest of Rosenbloom and Rodriguez, subject to approval by NFL owners. However, a month later, on the final day to do so, then-minority owner Stan Kroenke invoke his right of first refusal
Right of first refusal
Right of first refusal is a contractual right that gives its holder the option to enter a business transaction with the owner of something, according to specified terms, before the owner is entitled to enter into that transaction with a third party...
to buy the 60 percent of the team that he did not already own.
Pursuant to NFL rules, owners are prohibited from owning other sports teams in markets where there is already an NFL team. At the time of purchase, Kroenke (d/b/a Kroenke Sports Enterprises), owned the Denver Nuggets
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. They play in the National Basketball Association . They were founded as the Denver Rockets in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association, and became one of that league's more successful teams...
, the Colorado Avalanche
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup twice, in 1995–96 and 2000–01. The franchise...
, and the Pepsi Center
Pepsi Center
Pepsi Center is a multi-purpose arena in Denver, Colorado, United States. The building is home to the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association, the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League, and the Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League...
, home to the Nuggets
Nuggets
- Music :* Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968, a compilation of U.S. psychedelic rock released between 1965 and 1968...
and the Avalanche
Avalanche
An avalanche is a sudden rapid flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers or human activity causes a critical escalating transition from the slow equilibrium evolution of the snow pack. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the...
. Kroenke, a real estate and sports mogul as well as married to a Wal-Mart heir, also owned Altitude Sports and Entertainment
Altitude Sports and Entertainment
Altitude Sports and Entertainment is a regional sports network that serves the Rocky Mountain region, specifically Denver. It officially launched on Sept...
. These interests violated the NFL's cross-ownership rule.
Nevertheless, on August 25, 2010, NFL owners unanimously approved Stan Kroenke as the owner of the franchise contingent upon his eventual divestment of his Colorado sports interests. Kroenke complied with the rule when he transferred ownership of the Nuggets, Avalanche, the Pepsi Center, and the Altitude to his son Josh Kroenke.
The Rams received the first pick in the 2010 NFL Draft
2010 NFL Draft
The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible football players. Unlike previous years, the 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first round on Thursday, April 22, 2010, at 7:30 pm...
after finishing the 2009 season with a 1-15 record. The team used the pick to select quarterback Sam Bradford
Sam Bradford
Samuel Jacob "Sam" Bradford is an American football quarterback for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League. He was the first overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, and played college football at Oklahoma. In 2008, as a redshirt sophomore, Bradford became the second sophomore to win a...
from the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
. The Rams finished the 2010 season second in the NFC West with a record of 7-9. Bradford started all 16 games for the Rams after earning the starting QB position during the preseason. On October 24, 2010, running back Steven Jackson
Steven Jackson
Steven Rashad Jackson is an American football running back for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Rams 24th overall in the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oregon State University....
passed Eric Dickerson
Eric Dickerson
Eric Demetric Dickerson is a former professional running back in the National Football League who in his career played for the Los Angeles Rams, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Raiders, and Atlanta Falcons.-College career:...
as the franchise's career rushing leader.
On January 18, 2011 the Rams hired Josh McDaniels
Josh McDaniels
Josh McDaniels is the former head coach of the Denver Broncos and currently the offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams. He previously served as the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots...
, former head coach of the Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Coincidentally, McDaniels was the Offensive Coordinator of the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
team that went undefeated and untied until it faced the stout defense led by Steve Spagnuolo
Steve Spagnuolo
Steven Christopher Spagnuolo is the current head coach of the St. Louis Rams. He was previously the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants from January 2007 to January 2009, and also served for eight years under defensive coordinator Jim Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles.-Early years:Born...
of the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. McDaniels replaced Pat Shurmur
Pat Shurmur
Pat Shurmur is currently the head coach of the Cleveland Browns.-Playing career:Shurmur was a four-year letterman in football at Michigan State University. He played guard and linebacker his freshman season, and started at center the next three seasons. He earned All-Big 10 Conference honors in...
as Offensive Coordinator.
On February 4, 2011, Rookie quarterback Sam Bradford was named the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year. Sam Bradford received 44 of the 50 possible from the nationwide panel of media members. Bradford finished the 2010 season off with a 60% completion percentage, 18 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. The last three quarterbacks to win this award were Ben Roethlisberger
Ben Roethlisberger
Benjamin Todd "Ben" Roethlisberger , nicknamed Big Ben, is an American football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Steelers in the first round in the 2004 NFL Draft...
of the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
(2004), Vince Young
Vince Young
Vincent Paul Young, Jr. , nicknamed "VY", is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League . He spent the first five seasons of his career with the Tennessee Titans. Young was the third overall draft pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college...
of the Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
(2006), and Matt Ryan
Matt Ryan
Matt Ryan is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre currently playing for Villacher SV of the Austrian Hockey League .-Playing career:...
of the Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
(2008).
Logo and uniforms
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
Fred Gehrke
Fred Gehrke
Fred Gehrke was a National Football League running back for the Cleveland-Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Cardinals. from 1940 through 1950. He is best remembered for designing the Los Angeles Rams logo in 1948, which was the first painted on the helmets of an NFL team...
, who worked as a commercial artist in off-seasons, painted ram
Ovis
Ovis is a genus of mammals, part of the goat-antelope subfamily of the ruminant family Bovidae. Its five or more highly gregarious species are known as sheep...
horn
Horn (anatomy)
A horn is a pointed projection of the skin on the head of various animals, consisting of a covering of horn surrounding a core of living bone. True horns are found mainly among the ruminant artiodactyls, in the families Antilocapridae and Bovidae...
s on the team's leather helmets in 1948, the logo has been the club's trademark.
When the team debuted in 1937, the Rams' colors were red and black, featuring red helmets, black uniforms with red shoulders and sleeves, tan pants, and red socks with black and white stripes. One year later they would switch their team colors to gold and royal blue, with gold helmets, white pants, royal blue uniforms with gold numbers and gold shoulders, white pants with a royal stripe, and solid royal blue socks. By the mid-1940s the Rams had adopted gold jerseys (with navy blue serif
Serif
In typography, serifs are semi-structural details on the ends of some of the strokes that make up letters and symbols. A typeface with serifs is called a serif typeface . A typeface without serifs is called sans serif or sans-serif, from the French sans, meaning “without”...
numerals, navy blue shoulders, gold helmets, white pants with a gold-navy-gold stripe, and gold socks with two navy stripes). The uniforms were unchanged as the team moved to Los Angeles. The helmets were changed to navy in 1947. When Gehrke introduced the horns, they were painted yellow-gold on navy blue helmets. In 1949 the team adopted plastic helmets, and the Rams' horns were rendered by the Riddell
Riddell
Riddell is an American company specializing in sports equipment for American football, baseball, basketball, lacrosse, soccer, softball, track and field, tennis, volleyball, National Football League, NCAA Football and wrestling. It is headquartered in Des Plaines, Illinois.The company was started...
company of Des Plaines, Illinois
Des Plaines, Illinois
Des Plaines is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It has adopted the official nickname of "City of Destiny." As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 58,720. It is a suburb of Chicago, and is next to O'Hare International Airport...
, which baked a painted design into the helmet at its factory. Also in 1949 the serif jersey numerals gave way to more standard block numbers. Wider, bolder horns joined at the helmet center front and curving around the earhole appeared in 1950; this design was somewhat tapered in 1954–1955. Also in 1950 a blue-gold-blue tri-stripe appeared on the pants and "Northwestern University
Northwestern Wildcats football
The Northwestern Wildcats football team, representing Northwestern University, is a NCAA Division I team and member of the Big Ten Conference, with evidence of organization in 1876...
-style" royal blue stripes were added to jersey sleeves. A white border was added to the blue jersey numerals in 1953. So-called "TV numbers" were added on jersey sleeves in 1956. In accordance with a 1957 NFL rule dictating that the home team wear dark, primary-colored jerseys and the road team light shirts, the Rams hurriedly readied for the regular season new royal-blue home jerseys with golden striping and golden front and back numerals with a white border. The white border was removed in 1958. The Rams continued to wear their golden jerseys for 1957 road games, but the following year adopted a white jersey with blue numerals and stripes. In 1962–63 the team's road white jersey featured a UCLA
UCLA Bruins Football
The UCLA Bruins football program represents the University of California, Los Angeles in college football as members of the Pacific-12 Conference at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The Bruins have enjoyed several periods of success in their history, having been ranked in the top ten of the AP Poll...
-style blue-gold-blue crescent shoulder tri-stripe.
In 1964, concurrent with a major remodeling of the team's Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum home, the colors were changed to a simpler blue and white. The new helmet horns were white, wider, and separated at the helmet center front. The blue jersey had white numerals with two white sleeve stripes. The white jersey featured blue numerals and a wide blue crescent shoulder stripe. A 1964 league rule allowed teams to wear white jerseys for home games and the Rams were among several teams to do so (the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
, who introduced their blue-white-silverblue uniform that season, have worn white at home ever since), as owner Dan Reeves
Dan Reeves (NFL owner)
Daniel "Dan" Reeves was the owner of the Cleveland/Los Angeles Rams from 1941 to his death in 1971.In addition to the controversial move of the Rams from Cleveland to Los Angeles, Reeves is remembered for being the first NFL owner to sign an African-American player in the post World War II era...
felt it would be more enjoyable for fans to see the various colors of the rest of the league as opposed to always having the Rams in blue and the visiting team in white. The pants were white with a thick blue stripe. In 1970, in keeping with the standards of the fully merged NFL and AFL, names appeared on the jersey backs for the first time. The sleeve "TV numbers," quite large compared to those of other teams, were made smaller in 1965. From 1964 to early 1972 the Rams wore white jerseys for every home league game and exhibition, at one point not wearing their blue jerseys at all from 1967 to 1971; it was a tradition that continued under coaches Harland Svare, George Allen, and Tommy Prothro
Tommy Prothro
James Thompson "Tommy" Prothro, Jr. was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Oregon State University from 1955 to 1964 and at the University of California, Los Angeles from 1965 to 1970, compiling a career college football record of 104–55–5...
. But new owner Carroll Rosenbloom did not particularly like the Rams' uniforms, so in pursuit of a new look the team wore its seldom-used blue jerseys for most home games in 1972. During that season Rosenbloom's Rams also announced an intention to revive the old blue-and gold colors for 1973, and asked fans to send in design ideas.
The colors returned to yellow-gold and blue in 1973. The new uniform design consisted of yellow- gold pants and curling rams horns on the sleeves – yellow gold horns curving from the shoulders to the arms on the blue jerseys, which featured golden numerals (a white border around the numerals, similar to the 1957 style, appeared for two exhibitions and was then removed). Players' names were in contrasting white. The white jersey had similarly shaped blue horns, blue numerals and names. The white jerseys also had yellow gold sleeves. The gold pants included a blue-white-blue tri-stripe, which was gradually widened through the 1970s and early 1980s. The blue socks initially featured two thin golden stripes, but these were rarely visible. From 1973 to 1976 the Rams were the only team to wear white cleats on the road and royal blue cleats at home. The new golden helmet horns were of identical shape, but for the first time the horn was not factory-painted but instead a decal applied to the helmet. The decal was cut in sections and affixed to accommodate spaces for face-mask and chin-strap attachments, and so the horn curved farther around the ear hole. Jersey numerals were made thicker and blunter in 1975. The Rams primarily wore blue at home with this combination, but after 1977 would wear white on occasion at home, notably for games against the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
(who usually do not wear their blue jerseys due to a superstition that the Cowboys' blue jerseys are jinxed
Sports-related curses
A sports-related curse is a superstitious belief in the effective action of some power or evil, that is used to explain the failures or misfortunes of specific sports teams, players, or even cities...
) and selected AFC teams. The team wore its white jerseys for most of its 1978 home dates, including its post-season games with the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
and Cowboys - though the latter is the only postseason game Dallas has ever won while outfitted in their blue jerseys. Standard gray face masks became dark blue in 1981. The Rams wore white jerseys exclusively in the 1982
1982 NFL season
The 1982 NFL season was the 63rd regular season of the National Football League. A 57-day long players' strike reduced the 1982 season from a 16-game schedule per team to an abbreviated nine game schedule...
and 1993
1993 NFL season
The 1993 NFL season was the 74th regular season of the National Football League. For the first time in league history, all NFL teams played their 16-game schedule over a span of 18 weeks. After the success of expanding the regular season to a period of 17 weeks in 1990, the league hoped this new...
seasons, as well as other selected occasions throughout their 15 seasons in Anaheim.
The team's colors were changed from yellow gold and blue to New Century Gold (old gold
Old Gold
Old gold is a dark yellow, which varies from light olive or olive brown to deep or strong yellow. The widely-accepted color "Old gold" is on the darker rather than the lighter side of this range....
) and Millennium (navy
Navy blue
Navy blue is a very dark shade of the color blue which almost appears as black. Navy blue got its name from the dark blue worn by officers in the British Royal Navy since 1748 and subsequently adopted by other navies around the world....
) blue in 2000 following the Super Bowl win. A new logo of a ram's head was added to the sleeves and gold stripes were added to the sides of the jerseys. The new gold pants no longer featured any stripes. Blue pants and White pants with a small gold stripe (an extension off the jersey stripe that ended in a point) were also an option with the Rams only electing to wear the white set in a pre-season game in San Diego in 2001. The helmet design essentially remains the same as it was in 1948, except for updates to the coloring, navy blue field with gold horns. The 2000 rams'-horn design features a slightly wider separation at the helmet's center. Both home and away jerseys had a gold stripe that ran down each side, but that only lasted for the 2000
2000 NFL season
The 2000 NFL season was the 81st regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXXV when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants.Week 1 of the season reverted to Labor Day weekend in 2000...
and 2001
2001 NFL season
The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League.Following a pattern set in 1999, the first week of the season was permanently moved to the weekend following Labor Day...
seasons.
In 2003, the Rams wore blue pants with their white jerseys for a pair of early-season games, but after losses to the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
, the Rams reverted to gold pants with their white jerseys. In 2005, the Rams wore the blue pants again at home against Arizona and on the road against Dallas. In 2007, the Rams wore all possible combinations of their uniforms. They wore the Blue Tops and Gold Pants at home against Carolina, San Francisco, Cleveland, Seattle, and on the road against Dallas. They wore the Blue Tops and Blue Pants at home against Arizona, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh on Marshall Faulk night. They wore the Blue Tops and White Pants on the road in Tampa Bay and at home against Green Bay. They wore White Tops and Gold Pants at New Orleans and San Francisco. They wore White Tops and White Pants at Seattle and Arizona. And they wore White Tops and Blue Pants at Baltimore and Cincinnati. In 2008, the Rams went away with the gold pants. The gold pants were used for only one regular season game at Seattle. The blue jerseys with white pants and white jerseys with blue pants combination were used most of the time. For the 2009 season, the Rams elected to wear the white pants with both jerseys for the majority of the time except the games against the Vikings and Texans (see below) where they wore the throwback jerseys from the 1999 season, week 2 in Washington when they wore gold pants with the blue jersey, and week 12 against Seattle when the wore blue pants with the blue jersey.
Since moving to St. Louis, the Rams have always worn blue at home. Like most other teams playing in a dome, the Rams do not need to wear white to gain an advantage with the heat despite the team's midwestern geographic location. The Rams wore their white jerseys and blue pants in St. Louis against the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
, on October 19, 2008, forcing the Cowboys to wear their "unlucky" blue uniforms, and won the game 34-14.
The NFL approved the use of throwback uniforms for the club during the 2009 season to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the 1999 Super Bowl Championship Team. The Rams wore the throwback uniforms for two home games in 2009 - October 11 against the Minnesota Vikings and December 20 against the Houston Texans. The Rams wore their 1999 throwbacks again on October 31, 2010, when they beat the Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
20-10. In 1994, the team's last season in Southern California, the Rams wore jerseys and pants replicating those of their 1951 championship season for their September games with the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
and Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
.
Pro Football Hall of Famers
Former Rams in the Pro Football Hall of FamePro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
include Joe Namath
Joe Namath
Joseph William "Joe" Namath , nicknamed "Broadway Joe" or "Joe Willie", is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the University of Alabama under coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and his assistant, Howard Schnellenberger, from 1962–1964, and professional football in the...
(12), Ollie Matson
Ollie Matson
Ollie Genoa Matson II was an American Olympic medal winning sprinter and professional American football running back who played in the National Football League, in 1952 and from 1954 to 1966...
(33), Andy Robustelli
Andy Robustelli
Andrew Richard "Andy" Robustelli was an American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Los Angeles Rams and the New York Giants. He played college football at Arnold College and was drafted in the nineteenth round of the 1951 NFL Draft...
(81), Dick "Night Train" Lane (also 81), coach Earl "Dutch" Clark, and general manager Tex Schramm
Tex Schramm
Texas Earnest "Tex" Schramm, Jr. was the original president and general manager of the National Football League's Dallas Cowboys franchise. Schramm became the head of the Cowboys when the former expansion team started operations in 1960.-Early life and career:Despite his name, Schramm was not born...
. GM and later NFL Commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission ....
Pete Rozelle
Pete Rozelle
Alvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle was the commissioner of the National Football League from January 1960 to November 1989, when he retired from office. Rozelle is credited with making the NFL into one of the most successful sports leagues in the world....
and coach Sid Gillman
Sid Gillman
Sidney "Sid" Gillman was an American football player, coach, executive, and innovator. Gillman's insistence on stretching the football field by throwing deep downfield passes, instead of short passes to running backs or wide receivers at the sides of the line of scrimmage, was instrumental in...
are also members of the Hall of Fame, but were elected on the basis of their performances with other teams or (in the case of Rozelle) NFL administration.
| Cleveland/Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams Hall of Famers | ||||
| No. | Player | Class | Position(s) | Years Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -- | George Allen George Allen (football) George Herbert Allen was an American football coach in the National Football League and the United States Football League. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002.-Early life:... |
2002 | Coach | 1966–1970 |
| 76 | Bob Brown | 2004 | OT | 1969–1970 |
| 29 | Eric Dickerson Eric Dickerson Eric Demetric Dickerson is a former professional running back in the National Football League who in his career played for the Los Angeles Rams, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Raiders, and Atlanta Falcons.-College career:... |
1999 | RB Running back A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running... |
1983–1987 |
| 28 | Marshall Faulk Marshall Faulk Marshall William Faulk is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League. He is currently an analyst for NFL Total Access, Thursday Night Football, and NFL GameDay Morning on the NFL Network... |
2011 | RB Running back A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running... |
1999-2006 |
| 55 | Tom Fears Tom Fears Thomas Jesse Fears was a Mexican-American football wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football League, playing nine seasons from 1948 to 1956.-Early life:... |
1970 | End End (football) An end in American football is a player who lines up at either end of the line of scrimmage. Rules state that a legal offensive formation must always consist of seven players on the line of scrimmage. An end who lines up close to the offensive line is known as a tight end, while one who lines up... |
1948–1956 |
| 40 | Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch Elroy Hirsch Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch was an American football running back and receiver for the Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Rockets, nicknamed for his unusual running style.-Early life:... |
1968 | RB Running back A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running... , WR Wide receiver A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible... |
1949–1957 |
| 75 | Deacon Jones Deacon Jones David D. "Deacon" Jones is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers, and the Washington Redskins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980.Jones specialized in quarterback sacks, a term attributed to him... |
1980 | DE Defensive end Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years... |
1961–1971 |
| 65 | Tom Mack Tom Mack Thomas Lee Mack is a former left guard for the Los Angeles Rams of the NFL, spending all 13-years with them from 1966 to 1978... |
1999 | G | 1966–1978 |
| 74 | Merlin Olsen Merlin Olsen Merlin Jay Olsen was an American football player in the National Football League, NFL commentator, and actor. He played his entire 15-year career with the Los Angeles Rams and was elected to the Pro Bowl in 14 of those seasons, a current record shared with Bruce Matthews... |
1982 | DT | 1962–1976 |
| -- | Dan Reeves Dan Reeves (NFL owner) Daniel "Dan" Reeves was the owner of the Cleveland/Los Angeles Rams from 1941 to his death in 1971.In addition to the controversial move of the Rams from Cleveland to Los Angeles, Reeves is remembered for being the first NFL owner to sign an African-American player in the post World War II era... |
1967 | Owner | 1941–1971 |
| 67, 48 | Les Richter Les Richter Leslie Alan Richter was a Los Angeles Rams National Football League football player, former head of operations for NASCAR and president of the Riverside International Raceway. He played in 8 Pro Bowls as a linebacker. Richter was born in Fresno, California... |
2011 | LB Linebacker A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen... , K Placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points... |
1954–1962 |
| 78 | Jackie Slater | 2001 | OT | 1976–1995 |
| 25 | Norm Van Brocklin Norm Van Brocklin Norman Mack "Norm" Van Brocklin , nicknamed "The Dutchman", was an American football player and coach. He was also a first rate punter in college and in the NFL... |
1971 | QB Quarterback Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line... , P Punter (football position) A punter in American or Canadian football is a special teams player who receives the snapped ball directly from the line of scrimmage and then punts the football to the opposing team so as to limit any field position advantage. This generally happens on a fourth down in American football and a... |
1949–1957 |
| 7 | Bob Waterfield Bob Waterfield Robert "Bob" Stanton Waterfield was an American football player.Waterfield attended Van Nuys High School, in Van Nuys, California and went on to play college football for UCLA. In 1943 he led the Bruins to the Pacific Coast Conference football championship... |
1965 | QB Quarterback Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line... , DB Defensive back In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of... , K Placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points... , P Punter (football position) A punter in American or Canadian football is a special teams player who receives the snapped ball directly from the line of scrimmage and then punts the football to the opposing team so as to limit any field position advantage. This generally happens on a fourth down in American football and a... |
1945–1952 |
| 85 | Jack Youngblood Jack Youngblood Herbert Jackson "Jack" Youngblood, III is a former American college and professional football player who was a defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League for fourteen seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. He was a five-time consensus All-Pro and a seven-time Pro Bowl... |
2001 | DE Defensive end Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years... |
1971–1984 |
St. Louis Football Ring Of Fame
Former Rams are included in the Ring Of Fame in the Edward Jones Dome. All players included are Hall of Famers, but there have been a few exceptions for team executives and coaches.| FORMER RAMS | ||||
| No. | Player | Years Played | Year Inducted | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Bob Waterfield Bob Waterfield Robert "Bob" Stanton Waterfield was an American football player.Waterfield attended Van Nuys High School, in Van Nuys, California and went on to play college football for UCLA. In 1943 he led the Bruins to the Pacific Coast Conference football championship... |
1945-1952 | 1999 | |
| 25 | Norm Van Brocklin Norm Van Brocklin Norman Mack "Norm" Van Brocklin , nicknamed "The Dutchman", was an American football player and coach. He was also a first rate punter in college and in the NFL... |
1949-1957 | 1999 | |
| 29 | Eric Dickerson Eric Dickerson Eric Demetric Dickerson is a former professional running back in the National Football League who in his career played for the Los Angeles Rams, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Raiders, and Atlanta Falcons.-College career:... |
1983-1987 | 1999 | |
| 40 | Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch Elroy Hirsch Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch was an American football running back and receiver for the Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Rockets, nicknamed for his unusual running style.-Early life:... |
1949-1957 | 1999 | |
| 48 | Les Richter Les Richter Leslie Alan Richter was a Los Angeles Rams National Football League football player, former head of operations for NASCAR and president of the Riverside International Raceway. He played in 8 Pro Bowls as a linebacker. Richter was born in Fresno, California... |
1954-1962 | 2011 | |
| 55 | Tom Fears Tom Fears Thomas Jesse Fears was a Mexican-American football wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football League, playing nine seasons from 1948 to 1956.-Early life:... |
1948-1956 | 1999 | |
| 65 | Tom Mack Tom Mack Thomas Lee Mack is a former left guard for the Los Angeles Rams of the NFL, spending all 13-years with them from 1966 to 1978... |
1966-1978 | 1999 | |
| 74 | Merlin Olsen Merlin Olsen Merlin Jay Olsen was an American football player in the National Football League, NFL commentator, and actor. He played his entire 15-year career with the Los Angeles Rams and was elected to the Pro Bowl in 14 of those seasons, a current record shared with Bruce Matthews... |
1962-1976 | 1999 | |
| 75 | David Deacon Jones Deacon Jones David D. "Deacon" Jones is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers, and the Washington Redskins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980.Jones specialized in quarterback sacks, a term attributed to him... |
1961-1971 | 1999 | |
| 78 | Jackie Slater | 1976-1995 | 2001 | |
| 84* | Jack Snow | 1964-1975, Broadcaster | 2006 | |
| 85 | Jack Youngblood Jack Youngblood Herbert Jackson "Jack" Youngblood, III is a former American college and professional football player who was a defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League for fourteen seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. He was a five-time consensus All-Pro and a seven-time Pro Bowl... |
1971-1984 | 2001 | |
| *Jack Snow is NOT a Hall of Famer, but is honored due to his death in 2006 | ||||
| COACHES AND EXECUTIVES | ||||
| Name | Years | Year Inducted | ||
| Head Coach | Dick Vermeil Dick Vermeil Richard Albert "Dick" Vermeil is a former American head coach for the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles , St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs... |
1997-1999 | 2008 | |
| Owner | Dan Reeves Dan Reeves (NFL owner) Daniel "Dan" Reeves was the owner of the Cleveland/Los Angeles Rams from 1941 to his death in 1971.In addition to the controversial move of the Rams from Cleveland to Los Angeles, Reeves is remembered for being the first NFL owner to sign an African-American player in the post World War II era... |
1941-1971 | 2008 | |
| Owner | Carroll Rosenbloom Carroll Rosenbloom Carroll Rosenbloom was an American entrepreneur and former owner of two professional football teams, the Baltimore Colts and the Los Angeles Rams.... |
1972-1979 | 2008 | |
| Owner | Georgia Frontiere Georgia Frontiere Georgia Frontiere was the majority owner and chairman of the St. Louis Rams football team and the most prominent female owner in a league historically dominated by males.... |
1979-2007 | 2008 | |
Retired numbers
Numbers that have been retired by the Rams.- 7 Bob WaterfieldBob WaterfieldRobert "Bob" Stanton Waterfield was an American football player.Waterfield attended Van Nuys High School, in Van Nuys, California and went on to play college football for UCLA. In 1943 he led the Bruins to the Pacific Coast Conference football championship...
- 28 Marshall FaulkMarshall FaulkMarshall William Faulk is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League. He is currently an analyst for NFL Total Access, Thursday Night Football, and NFL GameDay Morning on the NFL Network...
- 29 Eric DickersonEric DickersonEric Demetric Dickerson is a former professional running back in the National Football League who in his career played for the Los Angeles Rams, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Raiders, and Atlanta Falcons.-College career:...
- 74 Merlin OlsenMerlin OlsenMerlin Jay Olsen was an American football player in the National Football League, NFL commentator, and actor. He played his entire 15-year career with the Los Angeles Rams and was elected to the Pro Bowl in 14 of those seasons, a current record shared with Bruce Matthews...
- 75 Deacon JonesDeacon JonesDavid D. "Deacon" Jones is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers, and the Washington Redskins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980.Jones specialized in quarterback sacks, a term attributed to him...
- 78 Jackie Slater
- 80 Isaac BruceIsaac BruceIsaac Isidore Bruce is a retired American football wide receiver. He was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the second round of the 1994 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Memphis....
- 85 Jack YoungbloodJack YoungbloodHerbert Jackson "Jack" Youngblood, III is a former American college and professional football player who was a defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League for fourteen seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. He was a five-time consensus All-Pro and a seven-time Pro Bowl...
Radio and television
The Rams were the first NFL team to televise their home games; in a sponsorship arrangement with AdmiralAdmiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
television, all home games of the 1950 NFL season
1950 NFL season
The 1950 NFL season was the 31st regular season of the National Football League. The merger with the All-America Football Conference expanded the league to 13 teams. Meanwhile, television brought a new era to the game. The Los Angeles Rams became the first NFL team to have all of its games – both...
were shown locally. The Rams also televised games in the early 1950s. The 1951 NFL Championship Game
NFL Championship Game, 1951
In the 1951 National Football League Championship Game, the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cleveland Browns, 24–17, at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California on December 23, 1951. This Championship Game was the first one televised coast-to-coast. The DuMont Network purchased...
was the first championship game televised coast-to-coast (via the DuMont Network
DuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
). During the team's years in Los Angeles all games were broadcast on KMPC
KMPC
KMPC is a radio station based in Los Angeles, California and is owned by P&Y Broadcasting Licensee, LLC. Radio Korea is a division of the Radio Korea Media Group. The station airs Korean-language programming...
radio (710 AM); play-by-play announcers were Bob Kelley (who accompanied the team from Cleveland and worked until his death in 1965), Dick Enberg
Dick Enberg
Richard Alan "Dick" Enberg is an American sportscaster. He currently provides play-by-play for telecasts of San Diego Padres baseball on 4SD, following a long career calling various sports for such networks as NBC, CBS, and ESPN...
(1966–77), Al Wisk (1978–79), Bob Starr (1980–89, 1993), Eddie Doucette
Eddie Doucette
Eddie Doucette is the president of Doucette Promotions Inc. He is a former television and radio announcer. He was the original radio voice of the Milwaukee Bucks where he broadcast games for 16 years. He also broadcast games for Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers and Portland...
(1990), Paul Olden
Paul Olden
Paul Olden is the current public address announcer for the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. He has been the announcer since the Yankees moved to their new ballpark in 2009, replacing Jim Hall, who replaced Bob Sheppard, who had been the Yankees announcer since 1951.Previously, Olden has been a...
(1991–92), and Steve Physioc (1994). Analysts included Gil Stratton, Steve Bailey, Dave Niehaus
Dave Niehaus
David Arnold Niehaus was an American sportscaster. He was the lead play-by-play announcer for the American League's Seattle Mariners from their inaugural season in until his death after the 2010 season. In 2008, the National Baseball Hall of Fame awarded Niehaus with the Ford C. Frick Award, the...
(1968–72), Don Drysdale
Don Drysdale
Donald Scott "Don" Drysdale was a Major League Baseball player and Hall of Fame right-handed pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was one of the dominant starting pitchers of the 1960s, and became a radio and television broadcaster following his playing career...
(1973–76), Dick Bass
Dick Bass
----Richard Lee Bass was an American football running back who played for the Los Angeles Rams from 1960 to 1969....
(1977–86), Jack Youngblood
Jack Youngblood
Herbert Jackson "Jack" Youngblood, III is a former American college and professional football player who was a defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League for fourteen seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. He was a five-time consensus All-Pro and a seven-time Pro Bowl...
(1987–91), Jack Snow (1992–94), and Deacon Jones
Deacon Jones
David D. "Deacon" Jones is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers, and the Washington Redskins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980.Jones specialized in quarterback sacks, a term attributed to him...
(1994).
The Rams' flagship radio station is 101.1 FM WXOS, a sports station in St. Louis with ESPN Radio Affiliation. Steve Savard
Steve Savard
Steve Savard is an Emmy Award winning American sports anchor and "Voice of the St. Louis Rams". He is the lead sportscaster at KMOV in St. Louis, Missouri. Savard, a St. Louis native, attended Parkway North High School and Northwest Missouri State University where he graduated in 1986 with...
, is the play-by-play man with D'Marco Farr
D'Marco Farr
D'Marco Farr is a former American football player with the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams in the National Football League. Farr played defensive tackle for the Rams from 1994–2000 and recorded 36.5 career sacks. He was a member of the Rams team that won Super Bowl XXXIV...
in the color spot and Brian Stull reporting from the field. From 2000 to 2008 KLOU
KLOU
KLOU is a radio station with an oldies format in St. Louis, Missouri, specializing in hits from the 1960s and 1970s.-History:The station began broadcasting on February 12, 1962 as KMOX-FM, by playing an easy listening/standards format. The focus then shifted to an adult contemporary style of music...
FM 103.3 was the Rams' flagship station with Savard as the play-by-play announcer. Until October 2005, Jack Snow
Jack Snow
Jack Snow may refer to:*Jack Snow , writer of Oz books*Jack Snow , American football player*J.T. Snow , American baseball player and son of the football player...
had been the color analyst since 1993, dating back to the team's days in the Los Angeles area. Snow left the booth after suffering an illness and died in January 2006. Former Rams offensive line coach Jim Hanifan
Jim Hanifan
Jim Hanifan is a longtime American football coach and former head coach of the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Falcons. He compiled a career record of 39-53-1.-Playing career:...
joined KLOU
KLOU
KLOU is a radio station with an oldies format in St. Louis, Missouri, specializing in hits from the 1960s and 1970s.-History:The station began broadcasting on February 12, 1962 as KMOX-FM, by playing an easy listening/standards format. The focus then shifted to an adult contemporary style of music...
as the color analyst the year after Jack Snow's departure. Before the Rams moved to KLOU
KLOU
KLOU is a radio station with an oldies format in St. Louis, Missouri, specializing in hits from the 1960s and 1970s.-History:The station began broadcasting on February 12, 1962 as KMOX-FM, by playing an easy listening/standards format. The focus then shifted to an adult contemporary style of music...
, from 1995 to 1999 the Rams games were broadcast on KSD 93.7 FM. On Television, games are either broadcast on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
, or NFL Network
NFL Network
NFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation...
. Preseason games not shown on a national broadcast network are seen on KTVI
KTVI
KTVI, virtual channel 2, is the Fox-affiliated television station serving the St. Louis, Missouri, designated market area. The station is owned by Local TV LLC, the media arm of private equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners, under a local marketing agreement with Tribune-owned CW affiliate KPLR...
, FOX 2 St. Louis, and are also seen in Los Angeles on KCOP, "MyNetworkTV Channel 13."
Radio Affiliates
Rams Radio AffiliatesMissouri
| City | Call Sign | Frenquency |
|---|---|---|
| St. Louis St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St... |
WXOS-FM | 101.1 FM |
| Osage Beach Osage Beach, Missouri Osage Beach is a city in Camden and Miller counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 3,662 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Osage Beach is located at .... |
KMYK KMYK KMYK is a radio station licensed to serve Osage Beach, Missouri, USA. The station, originally established in April 1964, is currently owned and operated by Viper Communications, Inc.-Programming:... -FM |
93.5 FM |
| Columbia Columbia, Missouri Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the... |
KTGR KTGR KTGR is a radio station broadcasting a sports-talk format, based on the ESPN Radio network. Licensed to Columbia, Missouri, USA, the station serves the Columbia, Missouri, area. The station is currently owned by Zimmer Radio Group of Mid-Missouri.... -AM |
1580 AM |
| Columbia Columbia, Missouri Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the... |
KTGR-FM | 100.5 FM |
| Sullivan Sullivan, Missouri Sullivan is a city that straddles the border of Franklin County and Crawford County in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 6,351 at the 2000 census. Stephen Sullivan founded the city in the late 1850s and cleared brush, which facilitated the building of the railway depot there, and the... |
KTUI KTUI (AM) KTUI is a daytime only radio station licensed to Sullivan, Missouri, USA, the station serves the Daytime Only area. The station is currently owned by Fidelity Broadcasting.... -AM |
1560 AM |
| Branson Branson, Missouri Branson is a city in Taney County in the U.S. state of Missouri. It was named after Reuben Branson, postmaster and operator of a general store in the area in the 1880s.... |
KRZK KRZK KRZK is a radio station broadcasting a Country format. Licensed to Branson, Missouri, USA, it serves the Springfield, Missouri, area. The station is currently owned by Komc-Krzk.... -FM |
106.3 FM |
| Houston Houston, Missouri Houston is a city in Texas County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,992 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Texas County.-Geography:... |
KBTC KBTC (AM) KBTC is a radio station licensed to serve Houston, Missouri, USA. The station, established in 1962, is currently owned by Media Professionals, Inc.KBTC broadcasts a classic country music format.... -AM |
1250 AM |
| Sikeston Sikeston, Missouri Sikeston is a city located both in southern Scott County and northern New Madrid County, in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is geographically situated just north of the "Missouri Bootheel", although many locals consider Sikeston a part of it. By way of Interstate 55, Sikeston is close to the... |
KRHW KRHW KRHW is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Sikeston, Missouri, USA, the station serves the Southeast Missouri area, and operates on 1520 kHz in the AM radio band. KRHW is owned by Withers Broadcasting Company of Southeast Missouri, LLC... -AM |
1520 AM |
| Sikeston Sikeston, Missouri Sikeston is a city located both in southern Scott County and northern New Madrid County, in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is geographically situated just north of the "Missouri Bootheel", although many locals consider Sikeston a part of it. By way of Interstate 55, Sikeston is close to the... |
KRHW KRHW KRHW is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Sikeston, Missouri, USA, the station serves the Southeast Missouri area, and operates on 1520 kHz in the AM radio band. KRHW is owned by Withers Broadcasting Company of Southeast Missouri, LLC... -FM |
98.9 FM |
| Jackson Jackson, Missouri Jackson is a city in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, United States. The population was 13,758 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Cape Girardeau County. Jackson is named for U.S. President Andrew Jackson. It is a principal city of the Cape Girardeau–Jackson, MO-IL Metropolitan... |
KJXX-AM | 1170 AM |
| Bonne Terre Bonne Terre, Missouri Bonne Terre is a city in St. Francois County, Missouri, United States. The population was estimated in 2008 as 6,854. It was 4,039 at the 2000 census. The community was originally settled by the French in 1720 after lead ore was discovered... |
KDBB KDBB KDBB is a radio station licensed to Bonne Terre, Missouri, USA. The station is currently owned by Mks Broadcasting.... -FM |
104.3 FM |
| Bowling Green Bowling Green, Missouri Bowling Green is a city in Pike County, Missouri, United States. The population was 3,260 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Pike County.Ameren's Peno Creek Power Plant, a combustion turbine generator power plant, is located in Bowling Green.... |
KPVR KPVR KPVR is a radio station in Bowling Green, Missouri and serves the western suburbs of St. Louis. KPVR airs a Contemporary Christian music format and is owned by Gateway Creative Broadcasting.... -FM |
94.1 FM |
Illinois
| City | Call Sign | Frenquency |
|---|---|---|
| Carbondale Carbondale, Illinois Carbondale is a city in Jackson County, in the state of Illinois, within the Southern Illinois region. It is located at the junction of Illinois Route 13 and U.S. Route 51, southeast of St. Louis, Missouri, on the northern edge of the Shawnee National Forest... |
WXLT WXLT WXLT is a radio station licensed to serve Christopher, Illinois, USA. The station is owned by Max Media and licensed to MRR License LLC. It airs a Sports radio format.-History:... -FM |
103.5 FM |
| Rushville Rushville, Illinois Rushville is a city in Schuyler County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,212 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Schuyler County.-Demographics:... |
WKXQ-FM | 92.5 FM |
| Salem Salem, Illinois Salem is a city located in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is the county seat of Marion County. The population was 7,485 at the 2010 census.Salem is the birthplace of William Jennings Bryan and his brother vice presidential candidate Charles W. Bryan, the G. I. Bill of Rights, and Miracle Whip salad... |
WJBD-AM | 1350 AM |
| Mount Vernon Mount Vernon, Illinois Mount Vernon is a city located near the center of Jefferson County, Illinois, in the United States. In the 2010 census, the city's reported population was 15,277 people.... |
WMIX-AM | 940 AM |
| Sparta Sparta, Illinois Sparta is a city in Randolph County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,486 at the 2000 census.The city was the principal filming location for the 1967 film In the Heat of the Night.-Geography:Sparta is located at .... |
WHCO WHCO WHCO 1230 AM is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Sparta, Illinois, the station serves Southwest Illinois, and far South-East Suburban St. Louis. WHCO is currently owned by Hirsch Communication Engineering Corp.... -AM |
1230 AM |
| Murphysboro Murphysboro, Illinois Murphysboro is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,970 at the 2010 census. The city is part of the Metro Lakeland area.-Geography:Murphysboro is located at .... |
WINI WINI WINI 1420 AM is a radio station broadcasting a news talk format. Licensed to Murphysboro, Illinois, the station is currently owned by Southern Illinois Radio Group .... -AM |
1420 AM |
| Macon Macon, Illinois Macon is a city in Macon County, Illinois, United States whose population was 1,213 at the 2000 census, and 1,128 at a 2009 estimate. It is included in the Decatur, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:... |
WZUS-FM | 100.9 FM |
| Quincy Quincy, Illinois Quincy, known as Illinois' "Gem City," is a river city along the Mississippi River and the county seat of Adams County. As of the 2010 census the city held a population of 40,633. The city anchors its own micropolitan area and is the economic and regional hub of West-central Illinois, catering a... |
WTAD WTAD WTAD 930 AM is a radio station broadcasting a news talk format. Licensed to Quincy, Illinois, the station is currently owned by STARadio.WTAD carries a variety of local programming, as well as nationally syndicated shows such as Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Mark Levin, Dave Ramsey, and Coast to Coast... -AM |
930 AM |
| Lynnville Lynnville, Illinois Lynnville is a village in Morgan County, Illinois, United States. The population was 137 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Jacksonville Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Lynnville is located at .... |
WEAI-FM | 107.1 FM |
Indiana
| City | Call Sign | Frenquency |
|---|---|---|
| Evansville Evansville, Indiana Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the... |
WSJD WSJD WSJD is a radio station serving the Evansville, Indiana area with an oldies format. It broadcasts on FM frequency 100.5 MHz and is under self ownership. Majority of the programming is featured from ABC Radio's "The True Oldies Channel" satellite feed... -FM |
100.5 FM |
See also
- History of the National Football League in Los AngelesHistory of the National Football League in Los AngelesProfessional American football, especially its established top level, the National Football League, has had a long history in Los Angeles, the center of the second-largest media market in the United States. Since 1995, Los Angeles has been by far the largest U.S. market without an NFL team...
- The Greatest Show on TurfThe Greatest Show on Turf"The Greatest Show on Turf" was the nickname for the St. Louis Rams' considerably talented and famous record-breaking offense during the 1999, 2000, and 2001 National Football League seasons. The offense was designed by attack oriented offensive coordinator Mike Martz who advocated an unrelenting...
External links
- St. Louis Rams official web site
- St. Louis Rams news from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper
- Los Angeles Rams
- Pro Football Reference Rams index
- Sports E-Cyclopedia.com
- St. Louis Rams at FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...