The St. Louis Rams’ franchise has it’s origins in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cleveland Rams were a team in the second American Football League, which existed for just 2 seasons, from 1936-’37. [The first AFL existed for 1 season, in 1926, and produced no teams that joined the NFL; the third AFL existed for 2 seasons, from 1940-'41, and also produced no teams that joined the NFL. Of course, the fourth, and last AFL (1960-'69) was a successful league, which merged with the NFL, in 1970, adding 10 teams to the league. **{See this article, from the Professional Football Researcher's Association website.}
Attorney Homer Marshman founded the Cleveland Rams, of the second AFL, in 1936. His general manager Damon "Buzz" Wetzel suggested their nickname, after the Fordham (NY) Rams college football team (his favorite team). The team finished in second place. In February, 1937 the National Football League offered Marshman a franchise, so he left the AFL, and the Cleveland Rams had their debut in the NFL in September, 1937. [Four players came over from the AFL squad.] **{See this brief history of the 1936 AFL Cleveland Rams}.] The ‘37 Rams wore black and red uniforms. The club had a very poor first season, going 1-10. The next season they changed their uniforms to royal blue and yellow-orange; they finished 4-7. **{See this page from the St. Louis Rams’ website, which shows the uniform history of the Rams.}
The Cleveland Rams had a shaky start in the NFL, even playing in a high school football stadium for a while. In their first few years they were a mediocre-to-poor team, failing to have a winning season, until UCLA phenom Bob Waterfield was drafted by the team, in 1945. Warfield immediately started as quarterback. He also handled kicking and punting duties, as well as playing defensive back (with 20 interceptions, in 4 years). He led the team to a 9-1 record, and they faced the Washington Redskins in the 1945 NFL Championship Game. The Rams beat the Redskins 15-14, on a frozen field, at the Cleveland Municipal Stadium, with Waterfield throwing touchdown passes of 37 and 44 yards. But the margin of victory was the 2 point safety that was awarded to the Rams, after a Redskin pass attempt in their end-zone struck the field goal crossbar, and fell to the ground. **{See this article, on the 1945 NFL Title Game, from the NFL website.} Bob Waterfield was voted the league’s Most Valuable Player for 1945, the first time a rookie won the honor.
This was the last game the Rams played in Cleveland. Their owner at the time, Daniel Reeves, claimed the team had lost $40,000, despite winning the Title. He was also threatened by the presence of a Cleveland team in the nascent All-America Football Conference. This league was formed in late 1944, but put off playing the 1945 season because of World War II. By late 1945, it was becoming apparent to the Rams’ management that this new AAFC team, to be called the Cleveland Browns, would put a dent in the already thin Rams’ fan support.
Reeves began talking to the City of Los Angeles, about playing at the 90,000 seat. In January, 1946, the Cleveland Rams moved west, to California. When the Los Angeles Rams began play, in the fall of 1946, they became the first major-league team in America to set up shop west of St. Louis, Missouri. Which is ironic, because 48 years later, the franchise would move to St.Louis.
The team ended up as trailblazers on another front, as well. Because the Memorial Coliseum commissioners stipulated that as part of the lease agreement, the Los Angeles Rams must be integrated. So the Rams signed two black UCLA players, Kenny Washington {see this}, and Woody Strode {see this}. [Editors note: why this action never got even a fraction of the media attention that Jackie Robinson's breaking of the "color barrier" in Major League Baseball did (one year later), I do not understand.]
In 1948, halfback Fred Gehrke painted the team’s helmets with a set of ram’s horns. This became the first example of an insignia on the helmet of a pro football team. [So that makes a third way that the Los Angeles Rams were trailblazers.]
The Rams were about to enter their glory days. They ended up playing in four NFL Title games, between 1949 and 1955. And though they only won one NFL Title in this period, in 1951, the greatness of this team cannot be diminished. Wide receivers Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch and Tom Fears were the Rams two big offensive weapons. Bob Waterfield, and from 1951 on, Norm Van Brocklin helmed the squad at quarterback. For a while the two worked in tandem, which is unheard of in pro football. * *{See this tribute to the 1950’s LA Rams, here.} To say the team emphasized the passing game would be an understatement. In 1950, the NFL began allowing unlimited substitutions, and the Rams exploited the rule change. They ended up averaging 38 poimts per game that season. Their wide-open offense proved so popular, that the Rams became the first pro football team to have all it’s games televised. So I guess that makes four ways that the Los Angeles Rams, of the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, were ahead of their time.
Thanks to the St. Louis Rams website (http://www.stlouisrams.com).
Ich mag Ihre Arbeit!, http://www.members.lycos.co.uk/entjungferung =D
[Translation: "I like your work !" ] A: Danke.
Comment by Entjungferung — April 26, 2008 @ 11:09 am
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Comment by twectinty — July 15, 2008 @ 11:46 am
I am getting more and more worried about the economy and global meltdown.
The more things change the more they remain the same. The fundamental challenges we face today have changed little since Chaucer penned his observations on life and distilled them in a set of tales. In the modern city of Canterbury University Students analyse and dissect the meanings conveyed in texts set in that very locale in the 1300’s.
Youngsters face today’s Jekyll and Hyde society not knowing that the Constants remain; love, betrayal, desire, fear. Each story conveys a lesson as we study for our degree in the University of Life, the big diploma mill of which we are all Alumni. We sit grinning like Cheshire cats, thinking we have all the answers.
We call it a success when we pollute our atmosphere shooting down our own Satellite USA 193, Market Street Credibility is our preferred accreditation and recognition from our peers and fellow consumers, we Poison our Planet for Profit. Banks have crashed before and remember – you can’t eat money.
Globalization has consequences. Everything we do has consequences, even something simple like buying firewood. The Oregon ODA advises not to obtain anything from out-of-state because of all the insects and diseases it might carry. That is just a relatively local issue. Imagine all the things that are carried around the world each day – each hour. We must protect our future, just as we should remember our past. All over the world, From the UK to the USA and the Seychelles to Egypt, still, yes, STILL, there is no REAL alternative to fossil fuels.
Are we all going to purgatory in a wheelbarrow telling each other stories to pass the time? Sometimes I wonder!
Sorry guys, I had a long day and feel sick of the world. Rant Over!
Comment by tatcrably — September 23, 2008 @ 10:03 am
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Commenter’s site: http://vselib.ru
Answer: I am embarrassed to admit I have no idea how to implement RSS on this site.
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Answer: I really doubt you are serious, as you have placed your comment in a post that always attracts robotic spam, for some reason. If you are an actual person, comment again on the newest post.
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Comment by EmpidaEmbesse — February 21, 2009 @ 4:49 pm
Any one here a football/soccer fan? I’m eagerly waiting for this year’s FIFA Confederations Cup 2009, I think it’s being held in South Africa this mid June. USA is taking part in the 8 teams tournament, best of all we will also see Brazil, Spain and Italy! I think it’s going to be great!
Confederations Cup
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Nice work! Why cant we just keep it simple and talk about the superbowl?
Commenter’s site: http://www.menssandals.biz
Response: Because there are thousands of places on the internet you can go to see stuff about the Super Bowl, and there are virtually no other places you can see stuff about former NFL teams like the Cleveland Rams.
Comment by miller bennett — February 9, 2010 @ 8:39 am
Here goes a tick from my latest in the Huffington Wire on the outcome of the presidential elections in Ukraine and the tote consolation of Viktor Yanukovych. Admitting that it was published after I had already posted my article, I liked this specialization from the Economist: “…old habits on pass help of the pearl-like gates hard. The daring of buying judges or appointing prosecutors to be preserved cry out for interests is enlivened and well. The unequalled on to crook the rules again to stipulate to province the bacon a valuable asset could sustain too much to resist<a href=”http://community.naturalnews.com/members/TheodoraHammett1982/default.aspx”
The most desirable irony of the Yanukovych ascendancy is that there are noticeable principles reasons why this outcome is contrite to Putin and sympathetic in bankroll of Medvedev, and deleterious to the siloviki while genealogy opportunities objective of the superficially yearning
reformers within encourage of the state. As the historian Timothy Garton Ash has respected in the Persist wary of upon, “there is no verification that the oligarchs behind him ceaseless since Ukraine to bring down to from being an bar country. Their horsewhip is to decry both sides, Russia and the European Union<a href=”http://community.naturalnews.com/members/MarjoryWallis2005/default.aspx”
What do you think about this?
I sorry for my bad English
Commenter’s site: http://community.naturalnews.com/members/WinifredStarkey2002/default.aspx
Response: I don’t trust Yulia Tymoshenko and I definitely don’t trust Yanukovych. I don’t want to see Ukraine getting cozy with that fascist Putin.
I just checked Tymoshenko’s page on wikipedia, and it says she thinks she is the re-incarnation of Eva Peron, speaking of fascists. That’s scary. I don’t think Ukraine will benefit form her being in power.
Comment by Somevosewam — February 14, 2010 @ 1:21 am