St. Louis Rams 27724 225799631 2008-07-15T13:34:58Z 24.184.69.123 {{refimprove|date=September 2006}} {{current sport-related|image=AmericanFootball current event.svg|mini=1|2008 St. Louis Rams season}} {{NFL team | name = St. Louis Rams | logo = St Louis Rams logo.svg | founded = 1936 | misc = '''Part of the NFL since [[1937 in sports|1937]]''' | city = [[St. Louis, Missouri]] | uniform = Image:NFCW-Uniform-STL.PNG | colors = Millennium Blue and New Century Gold | coach = [[Scott Linehan]] | owner = [[Chip Rosenbloom]], [[Lucia Rodriguez]] and [[Stan Kroenke]] | general manager = [[Jay Zygmunt]] | hist_yr = 1995 | hist_misc = * [[Cleveland, Ohio|Cleveland]] Rams (1936-1945) * [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] Rams (1946-1994) | affiliate_old = [[American Football League (1936)|American Football League]] (1936)<br> | NFL_start_yr = 1937 | division_hist =*Western Division (1937-1949) *National Conference (1950-1952) *Western Conference (1953-1969) **[[National Football League Coastal Division|Coastal Division]] (1967-1969) *'''[[National Football Conference]] (1970-present)''' **'''[[NFC West]] (1970-present)''' | no_league_champs = 3 | no_sb_champs = 1 | no_conf_champs = 6 | no_div_champs = 15 | league_champs = *'''[[List of NFL champions|NFL Championships]] (2)'''<br>[[NFL Championship Game, 1945|1945]], [[NFL Championship Game, 1951|1951]] | sb_champs = 1999&nbsp;([[Super Bowl XXXIV|XXXIV]]) | conf_champs = *'''NFL National:''' 1950, 1951 *'''NFL Western:''' 1955 *'''NFC:''' 1979, 1999, 2001 | div_champs = *'''NFL West:''' 1945, 1949 *'''NFL Coastal:''' 1967, 1969 *'''NFC West:''' 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1985, 1999, 2001, 2003 | stadium_years = '''In Cleveland''' *[[Cleveland Stadium|Cleveland Municipal Stadium]] (1936-1937, 1939-1941, 1945) *[[League Park]] (1937, 1942, 1944-1945) *[[Shaw Stadium]] (1938) '''In Los Angeles''' *[[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]] (1946-1979) *[[Angel Stadium of Anaheim|Anaheim Stadium]] (1980-1994) '''In St. Louis''' *[[Busch Memorial Stadium]] (First half of 1995 season) *'''[[Edward Jones Dome]] (Second half of the 1995 season-present)''' **a.k.a. Trans World Dome (1995-2000) **a.k.a. Dome at America's Center (2001) }} <!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: [[Image:Rams2.gif|right|thumb|St. Louis Rams logo used from 1995-1999]] --> The '''St. Louis Rams''' are a professional [[American football]] team based in [[St. Louis, Missouri]]. They are currently members of the [[NFC West|Western Division]] of the [[National Football Conference]] (NFC) in the [[National Football League]] (NFL). The team has won two [[List of NFL champions|NFL Championships]] 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 [[American Football League (1936)|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 ([[Bud Cooper|William "Bud" Cooper]], [[Harry Mattos|Harry "The Horse" Mattos]], [[Stan Pincura]], and [[Mike Sebastian]]) and none of the team's management joined the new NFL team.<ref>{{cite web | last = Braunwart | first = Bob | title = ALL THOSE A.F.L.'S: N.F.L. COMPETITORS, 1935-41 | url = http://www.footballresearch.com/articles/frpage.cfm?topic=afl35-41 | accessdate = 2006-11-13 | publisher = Professional Football Researchers Association | quote = In 1937 the N.F.L. admitted the Cleveland Rams. Four of the players (according to Treat) were the same. }} </ref> The team then became known as the '''Los Angeles Rams''' after the club moved to [[Los Angeles, California]] in 1946. Following the 1979 season, the Rams moved south to the suburbs in nearby [[Orange County, California|Orange County]], playing their home games at [[Anaheim Stadium]] in [[Anaheim, California|Anaheim]] for fifteen seasons (1980-94), keeping the [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] name. The club moved east to [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]] prior to the 1995 season.<ref>[http://www.stlouisrams.com/History/Chronology/ St. Louis Rams History: Chronology]. ''Official Website of the St. Louis Rams''. Retrieved 13 September 2006</ref> ==Franchise history== {{Details|History of the St. Louis Rams}} <!-- Summary of article should go here. Detailed information should go in the main article. --> ===Cleveland Rams (1936-1945)=== The '''Cleveland Rams''' were founded by attorney [[Homer Marshman]] in 1936. Their name, the Rams, comes from the nickname of [[Fordham University]]. Rams was selected to honor the hard work of the players that came out of that university. They were part of the newly formed [[AFL II|American Football League]] and finished the 1936 in second place with a 5-2-2 record, trailing only the 8-3 record of league champion [[Boston Shamrocks]]. <!-- add stars, coaches, highlights here --> The following year the Rams joined the [[National Football League]] and were assigned the Western division to replace the [[St. Louis Gunners]], who left the league after a three game stint in the 1934 season. <!--The Cincinnati Reds played the first 8 games of the season before falling bankrupt (technically they were suspended for not paying team dues); the owners of the Gunners purchased the assets and finished the season. The Gunners did not fold immediately afterward: they returned to barnstorming the following year --> From the beginning, they were a team marked by frequent moves playing in three stadiums over several losing seasons. 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.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.stlouisrams.com/History/Chronology/ | title = St. Louis Rams History: Chronology | accessdate = 2006-09-13}}</ref> The team finally achieved success in 1945, which proved to be their last season in Ohio, achieving a 9-1 record and winning their first NFL Championship, a 15-14 home field victory over the [[Washington Redskins]] on December 16.<ref>[http://www.nfl.com/history/chronology/1941-1950#1945 NFL History, 1945]. ''Official Site of the NFL''. Retrieved 13 September 2006</ref> ===Los Angeles Rams (1946-1994)=== <!-- This section is linked from [[Los Angeles Rams]] --> In 1946, Rams' owner [[Dan Reeves (NFL owner)|Dan Reeves]], fed up with poor attendance at Cleveland Stadium and competing against the [[Cleveland Browns]] (then members of the [[All-America Football Conference]]), moved the Rams to Los Angeles, becoming the first NFL team based on the West Coast (there had been a team called the [[Los Angeles Buccaneers]] in 1926, but they were a road-only team that simply featured players from California). Reeves brought in new partners in the form of Fred Levy, Ed Pauley, Harold Pauley, and [[James Harold Seley|Hal Seley]] and signed a deal with the city to lease the [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]], and the team played there from 1946 to 1979. The beginning of the Rams' residence in Los Angeles coincided with the arrival of another professional football team into the City of Angels, the [[Los Angeles Dons]] of the newly-formed [[All-America Football Conference]]. The two teams shared the Coliseum from 1946 through 1949, then merged before the NFL absorbed the AAFC in 1950.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=52HGfXAUdOAC&pg=PA438&lpg=PA438&dq=%22miami+seahawks%22+owner+1946+aafc&source=web&ots=UQTrU83mxX&sig=2mNWOw8XZsgMgpd3QNI3g_yXraI#PPA438,M1 James P. Quirk and Rodney D. Fort, ''Pay Dirt: The Business of Professional Team Sports'', p. 438], ISBN 0691015740 </ref> Reeves died in 1971, and through a complicated arrangement with the Baltimore Colts that brought Bob Irsay in as Colts' owner, [[Carroll Rosenbloom]], who had been the Colts' owner, took over the Rams. Rosenbloom had long been bothered by the Coliseum Commission's apparent foot dragging on building [[luxury box]]es at the Coliseum, which he saw as essential to future success. He broke off negotiations with the Commission and started to negotiate to play at [[Dodger Stadium]], but [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] owner [[Walter O'Malley]] did not want a football team playing at Chavez Ravine. Rosenbloom was petitioned by Orange County Supervisor Ralph Clark, the founder of the Los Angeles Rams Booster Club, to move the team to [[Anaheim Stadium]], the home of the [[Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim|California Angels]]. Clark convinced Angels owner [[Gene Autry]] to okay the remodeling of Anaheim Stadium to accommodate the Rams, expanding capacity to 68,000 and putting in seating appropriate to football. In 1980, the Rams moved to [[Anaheim, California|Anaheim]] from Los Angeles. ===St. Louis Rams (1995-present)=== Under the terms of the Rams' deal with Anaheim, they were to receive the rights to develop plots of land near the Stadium. When nothing came of these plans, and with attendance falling, Rams' owner [[Georgia Frontiere]] (Rosenbloom's widow, as he died before the move to Anaheim was completed) got permission to relocate the team. After an aborted move to [[Baltimore]], the Rams moved from Los Angeles to St. Louis in 1995, initially playing at [[Busch Memorial Stadium]] until the TransWorld Dome (now the [[Edward Jones Dome]]) was completed. The NFL owners originally rejected the move -- until Frontiere agreed to share some of the [[Personal seat license|permanent seat license]] revenue she was to receive from St. Louis. This same year the then-[[Oakland Raiders|Los Angeles Raiders]] were threatening to relocate as well -- and did, back to [[Oakland, California|Oakland]]. The 1995 and 1996 seasons the Rams were under the direction of head coach Rich Brooks. Then in 1997 [[Dick Vermeil]] was hired as the head coach. He remained head coach until retiring after the Rams won [[Super Bowl XXXIV]] against the Tennessee Titans in early 2000. After that [[Mike Martz]] took over until his firing in 2005. [[Scott Linehan]] is the current head coach after replacing Martz in January of 2006. During this time some of the most important players have been [[Kurt Warner]], [[Marshall Faulk]], [[Torry Holt]] and [[Isaac Bruce]]. They were part of an offense dubbed "one of the fastest ever" and "[[The Greatest Show on Turf]]". This offense has been under the direction of [[Kurt Warner]] (1999-2001) and [[Marc Bulger]] (2002-present). Georgia Frontiere died [[January 18]], [[2008]].<ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22735534/ MSNBC.com Sports] "Former Rams owner Frontiere dies." Retrieved on 20 January 2008.</ref> Ownership of the team passed to her son [[Chip Rosenbloom|Dale "Chip" Rosenbloom]] and daughter Lucia Rodriguez.<ref>[http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/rams/story/FE5DDD7FDFFD0DBD862573D5001DDA93?OpenDocument] "Future ownership of Rams in doubt." Retrieved 20 January 2008.</ref> Chip Rosenbloom was named the new Rams majority owner.<ref>{{cite news |first= Jeff|last= Gordon|authorlink= |coauthors= |title= Core must carry Rams through season of change|url= |work= |publisher= St. Louis Dispatch|date= 2008-03-25}} </ref> ===Seasons-by-season records=== {{main|St. Louis Rams seasons}} ==Logo and uniforms== [[Image:NFC-Throwback2-Uniform-STL.PNG|thumb|left|150px|Los Angeles Rams uniform: 1964-1972]] [[Image:NFC-Trowback-Uniform-STL.PNG|thumb|left|150px|Los Angeles/St Louis Rams uniform: 1973-1999]] The Rams became the first professional American football team to have a logo on their helmets. Ever since [[Halfback (American football)|halfback]] [[Fred Gehrke]] painted [[ram (sheep)|ram]] [[horn (anatomy)|horn]]s on the team's 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 and black uniforms with red shoulders and sleeves. One year later they would switch their team colors to yellow and blue, with yellow helmets, white pants and blue uniforms. The Rams switched to yellow uniforms in the mid 1940s. When Gehrke introduced the horns, they were painted yellow gold on blue helmets. During the late 1950s, the team wore blue jerseys again. In 1964, the colors were changed to blue and white. The helmets became blue with white rams' horns, the uniform design was changed to white pants and either blue or white jerseys. The Rams wore their white jerseys at home from the 1964 season up through the 1971 season; a tradition that continued under [[Tommy Prothro]]. Prothro switched the Rams to the blue jerseys at home in 1972, the final season of the blue and white combination. 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 on the blue jerseys and blue horns on the white jerseys. The white jerseys had yellow gold sleeves. The Rams primarily wore blue at home with this combination, but would wear white on occasion at home, notably for games against the [[Dallas Cowboys]], who usually do not wear their blue jerseys, and selected AFC teams. The team's colors were changed from yellow gold and blue to New Century Gold (metallic 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 (ala Denver Broncos) 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. 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. Since moving to St. Louis in 1995, the Rams have always worn blue at home. Just like most other teams playing in a dome, the Rams do not need to wear white to gain an advantage with the heat despite its midwestern geographic location. The last time the Rams wore white at home was in 1994, back when the Rams played in [[Los Angeles]]. <gallery> Image:St Louis Rams helmet LA.png|Los Angeles Rams helmet logo used from 1964-1972; note the white and blue Image:St Louis Rams helmet old.png|Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams helmet logo used from 1973-1999, it was also used as the team's primary logo from 1981-1994; note the yellow and blue Image:St. Louis Rams helmet rightface.png|St. Louis Rams helmet logo used from 2000-present; note the gold and navy blue </gallery> <gallery> Image:Ramsclev 150x160.jpg|Cleveland Rams primary logo from 1940-1945. <!-- Deleted image removed: Image:LA Rams logo.gif|Los Angeles Rams primary logo used from 1950-1972. --> <!-- Deleted image removed: Image:LA Rams logo 2.gif|Los Angeles Rams primary logo used from 1973-1980. --> Image:St Louis Rams logo.svg|Saint Louis Rams primary logo used from 2000-present. </gallery> <gallery> Image:Cleveland Rams Script.gif|Cleveland Rams script logo used from 1940-1945 Image:LosAngelesRams.GIF|Los Angeles Rams script logo used from 1984-1994. Image:Rams2.gif|St. Louis Rams script and primary logo used from 1995-1999; note the representation of St. Louis' [[Jefferson National Expansion Memorial|Gateway Arch]]. </gallery> ==Players of note== {{See also|List of St. Louis Rams players}} ===Current roster=== {{St. Louis Rams roster}} ===Pro Football Hall of Famers=== These Rams, and [[Arizona Cardinals|St. Louis Cardinals]] Hall-of-Famers [[Dan Dierdorf]] and [[Larry Wilson]], are honored in the Ring of Honor at the Edward Jones Dome. [[Joe Namath]] (12), [[Ollie Matson]] (33), [[Andy Robustelli]] (81), [[Dick "Night Train" Lane]] (also 81), coach [[Earl "Dutch" Clark]], 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. [[Dick Vermeil]] has become the first and still only St. Louis Rams figure inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. Cardinals inducted into it include Dierdorf, Smith, Wilson, [[Conrad Dobler]], [[Jim Hart (football player)|Jim Hart]] and coach [[Jim Hanifan]]. {| class="wikitable" |align="center" colspan="5"|'''Cleveland/Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams Hall of Famers''' |- !No. !Player !Class !Position(s) !Years Played |- | -- ||[[George Allen (football)|George Allen]]||2002||Coach|| 1966-1970 |- | 76 ||[[Bob Brown (NFL)|Bob Brown]]||2004||[[Offensive Tackle|OT]]|| 1969-1970 |- | 29 ||[[Eric Dickerson]]||1999||[[Running back|RB]]|| 1983-1987 |- | 55 ||[[Tom Fears]]||1970||[[End (football)|End]]|| 1948-1956 |- | 40 ||[[Elroy Hirsch|Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch]]||1968||[[Running back|RB]], [[Wide Receiver|WR]]|| 1949-1957 |- | 75 ||[[Deacon Jones]]||1980||[[Defensive End|DE]]|| 1961-1971 |- | 65 ||[[Tom Mack]]||1999||[[Offensive Guard|G]]|| 1966-1978 |- | 74 ||[[Merlin Olsen]]||1982||[[Defensive Tackle|DT]]|| 1962-1976 |- | -- ||[[Dan Reeves (NFL owner)|Dan Reeves]]||1967||Owner|| 1941-1971 |- | 78 ||[[Jackie Slater]]||2001||[[Offensive Tackle|OT]]|| 1976-1995 |- | 25 ||[[Norm Van Brocklin]]||1971||[[Quarterback|QB]], [[Punter (football position)|P]]|| 1949-1957 |- | 7 ||[[Bob Waterfield]]||1965||[[Quarterback|QB]], [[Defensive Back|DB]], [[Placekicker|K]], [[Punter (football position)|P]]|| 1945-1952 |- | 85 ||[[Jack Youngblood]]||2001||[[Defensive End|DE]]|| 1971-1984 |} ===Retired numbers=== * '''7''' [[Bob Waterfield]] * '''28''' [[Marshall Faulk]] * '''29''' [[Eric Dickerson]] * '''74''' [[Merlin Olsen]] * '''78''' [[Jackie Slater]] * '''85''' [[Jack Youngblood]] ==Coaches of note== ===Head coaches=== {{main|List of St. Louis Rams head coaches}} ===Current staff=== {{St. Louis Rams staff}} ==Radio and television== The Rams' flagship radio station is [[KLOU]] 103.3FM. [[Steve Savard]] is the [[play-by-play]] announcer. Until October 2005, [[Jack Snow (American football)|Jack Snow]] had been the [[color analyst]] for nearly 20 years, 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 the KLOU as the color analyst the year after Jack Snow's departure. Preseason games not shown on a national broadcast network are seen on [[KTVI]], Channel 2, and are also seen in L.A. on [[KCOP]], "MyNetworkTV channel 13." ==References== {{reflist}} ==See also== * [[The Greatest Show on Turf]] * [[NFL in Los Angeles]] ==External links== *[http://www.stlouisrams.com/ St. Louis Rams official web site] *[http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nfl/larams/larams.html Los Angeles Rams] *[http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/ramindex.htm Pro Football Reference Rams index] *[http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nfl/stlrams/stlrams.html Sports E-Cyclopedia.com] *[http://www.RamsFootball.com RamsFootball.com] *[http://www.stlouisramfan.com Stlouisramfan] {{s-start}} {{s-ach|ach}} {{succession box | title = NFL Champions<br>Cleveland Rams | years = [[NFL Championship Game, 1945|1945]] | before = [[Green Bay Packers]]<br>[[NFL Championship Game, 1944|1944]] | after = [[Chicago Bears]]<br>[[NFL Championship Game, 1946|1946]] }} {{succession box | title = NFL Champions<br>Los Angeles Rams | years = [[NFL Championship Game, 1951|1951]] | before = [[Cleveland Browns]]<br>[[NFL Championship Game, 1950|1950]] | after = [[Detroit Lions]]<br>[[NFL Championship Game, 1952|1952]] }} {{succession box | title = Super Bowl Champions<br>St. Louis Rams | years = [[Super Bowl XXXIV|1999]] | before = [[Denver Broncos]]<br>[[Super Bowl XXXII|1997]] and [[Super Bowl XXXIII|1998]] | after = [[Baltimore Ravens]]<br>[[Super Bowl XXXV|2000]] }} {{s-end}} {{Saint Louis Rams}} {{NFL}} {{Missouri Sports}} {{AFL II}} [[Category:Sports clubs established in 1937]] [[Category:Sports clubs established in 1936]] [[Category:National Football League teams]] [[Category:St. Louis Rams| ]] [[Category:Sports in Cleveland, Ohio]] [[Category:Sports in Los Angeles, California]] [[Category:Sports in St. Louis, Missouri]] [[da:St. Louis Rams]] [[de:St. Louis Rams]] [[es:St. Louis Rams]] [[fr:Rams de Saint-Louis]] [[he:סנט לואיס ראמס]] [[hi:सेंट लुईस रैम्स]] [[id:St. Louis Rams]] [[it:Saint Louis Rams]] [[hu:St. Louis Rams]] [[nl:St. Louis Rams]] [[ja:セントルイス・ラムズ]] [[pl:St. Louis Rams]] [[pt:St. Louis Rams]] [[ru:Сент-Луис Рэмс]] [[simple:St. Louis Rams]] [[fi:St. Louis Rams]] [[sv:St. Louis Rams]] [[uk:Сент-Луїс Ремз]] [[zh:圣路易斯公羊]]