In 1937, the Cleveland Rams were founded by Homer Marshman, a Cleveland attorney. The NFL placed the Cleveland Rams into the NFL Western Division to replace the St. Louis Gunners. Dan Reeves, the son of a New York grocer, purchased the Rams in 1941. Chile Walsh was hired in 1942 as an assistant coach, and was promoted to general manager in 1944. He offered a finders fee of $100 to anyone recommending a player who made the team. Chile hired his brother, Adam, as head coach in 1945, whereupon they promptly won the NFL championship, going 9-1-0 on the season. Rookie QB Bob Waterfield passed for 1,609 yards an 14 TDs. Top receiver was Jim Benton, with 1,067 yards and 8 TDs. The title game was played on Dec. 15, 1945, in Cleveland. The Rams defeated the Washington Redskins 15-14 in a showdown pitting the Rams rookie QB Bob Waterfield against the Redskins veteran QB Sammy Baugh.

On January 11, 1946, Reeves asked permission to move the team to Los Angeles, California. Many owners were concerned about the added cost of cross-country travel expenses. Beginning a fine tradition, Reeves offered to pay to the owners an additional $5,000.00 over the existing guarantee when their team played the Rams on the West Coast. The deal was approved, and the Rams became the first NFL team to move West. This began a trend that would spill over to other professional sports, and continue for decades.

The Rams post a record of 6-4-1 in their first season in Los Angeles, 1947.

In 1948, the Rams became the first team in the NFL to have a team emblem on their helmets when halfback Fred Gehrke painted horns on the helmets.

In 1949, the Rams win their first division title in Los Angeles. QB Bob Waterfield and Rookie QB Norm Van Brocklin led the team to an 8-2-2 record. Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch caught 22 passes as the league's first flanker. Tom Fears had 77 receptions for 1,013 yards. In spite of this, the Philadelphia Eagles (11-1-0) held the Rams to only 10 completions for 98 yards, and allowed only 21 yards rushing to defeat the Rams 14-0 in the NFL Championship Game.

The Rams became the first NFL team to have all their games - both home and away - televised in 1950.

In 1951, the Rams reversed their television broadcast policy and televised only their away games. They win their third consecutive division title with a 8-4-0 record. They go on to beat the Cleveland Browns 24-17 in the in the first nationally broadcast NFL Championship Game.

Under new coach Sid Gillman, the Rams (9-2-1) once again win their division in 1955. The Cleveland Browns (9-2-1) defeat the Rams 38-14 in the NFL Championship Game.

In 1960, Pete Rozelle, previous general manager of the Los Angeles Rams, is named the new NFL commissioner.

In 1967, the NFL split into 4 divisions. The Rams (11-1-2) win the Coastal Division, but lose in the playoffs to the Green Bay Packers 28-7.

They again win their division in 1969, going 11-3-0 behind Roman Gabriel's 24TD passes and a strong defensive line known as the Fearsome Foursome. The Minnesota Vikings defeat the Rams in the Conference Playoff game 23-20.

The NFL and AFL merge in 1970, with the NFL teams becoming the National Football Conference (NFC) and the AFL teams becoming the American Football Conference (AFC). Each conference has 3 divisions. The winner of each division, plus one wildcard team from each conference, go to the playoffs.

Roman Gabriel is traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, and new coach Chuck Knox sees John Hadl direct the Rams to the Western Division title in 1973 behind a 12-2-0 record. The Rams lose to the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs 27-16.

In 1974, the Rams repeat as Division champions with a 10-4-0 record behind James Harris, the first black to be a regularly starting quarterback in post-WWII history. They defeat the wildcard Washington Redskins 19-10 in the playoffs, but lose the NFC championship game to the Minnesota Vikings by a score of 14-10.

The Rams once again win the Western Division in 1975, going 12-2-0 behind the strongest defense in the NFC, allowing only 135 points in 14 games. They defeat the St. Louis Cardinals 35-23 in the playoffs, but once again lose in the NFC championship game. A strong Dallas Cowboy defense limits the Rams to only 22 yards rushing and intercepts 3 times in a 37-7 victory.

In 1976, the Rams win their Division with a 10-3-1 record. They defeat the Dallas Cowboys 14-12 in the playoffs, but lose to the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC championship game 24-13.

The Rams post a record of 10-4-0 in 1977 to win the Western Division. The Minnesota Vikings defeat the Rams 14-8 in the playoffs.

In 1978, the NFL expands to a 16 game season and adds an additional wildcard team to the playoffs. The division winner with the best record receives a bye for the first round of the playoffs. The Rams again win their division with a record of 12-4-0. They win their playoff game 34-10 against the Minnesota Vikings, but lose to the Dallas Cowboys 28-0 in the Championship game.

The Rams win their 7th consecutive Division title in 1979 with a 9-7-0 record. They defeat the Dallas Cowboys 21-19 in the playoff game, and finally win the Conference title by defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-0. In their first Super Bowl appearance, The Rams take a 19-17 lead over the Pittsburgh Steelers into the fourth quarter, but give up two TDs and lose 31-19.

In 1980, the Rams make the playoffs as a wildcard team, but are defeated in the first playoff game by the Dallas Cowboys 34-13.

The Rams again enter the playoffs as a wildcard in 1983. They win their first playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys 24-17, but lose in the second round to the Washington Redskins by a score of 51-7.

In 1984, the Rams again earn the wildcard berth in the playoffs. They lose in the first round to the New York Giants 16-13.

In 1985, the Rams (11-5-0) once again win the Western Division title by defeating the San Francisco 49ers in a showdown game. They defeat the Dallas Cowboys 20-0 in the first round of the playoffs, and are defeated by the Chicago Bears 24-0 in the second round.

1986 sees the Rams again in the playoffs as a wildcard team, losing in the first round to the Washington Redskins 19-7.

In 1988, the wildcard Rams lose in the first playoff game to the Minnesota Vikings by a score of 20-17.

1989 marks the last appearance of the Rams in the playoffs for the next 10 years, with 14 playoff appearances over the previous 17 years behind 7 different quarterbacks. Again as a wildcard contender, the Rams post two consecutive playoff victories on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants. They lose the NFC Championship game to the San Francisco 49ers.

The year 1991 marks some rather dubious achievements for the Rams. Their 3-13 season sets a franchise record for the most defeats in a season. And for the first time in its history, no Rams player makes the Pro Bowl team.

In 1995, the Los Angeles Rams become the first team in the NFL to move from West to East as they relocate to St. Louis, which the St. Louis Cardinals had vacated in 1988. They retain the Rams logo, uniform, and colors. After a disastrous 23-57 record over the previous 5 seasons, they bring in Rich Brooks as the new head coach and Steve Ortmayer as the new general manager, and make sweeping changes in personnel. The 1995 Rams roster shows 22 new players on the scene. Part way through the season, they move into the brand new state of the art TWA Dome located in downtown St. Louis. They finish the season with a 7-9 record.

Dick Vermeil is hired by the Rams as head coach in 1997. Vermeil, who had coached the Philadelphia Eagles to the Super Bowl in 1980. During his first two seasons with the Rams, Vermeil posts a 9-23 record.

1999 aw the Rams, who had one of the worst records of the 1990s, win the divisional title with a 13-3 record after making some player, coach, and front office changes. Among the changes: Mike Martz coming in as offensive coordinator and Charlie Armey is hired as Vice President of Player Personnel. The Rams success continued as they went on to win Super Bowl XXXIV by defeating the Tennessee Titans 23-16 in one of the most exciting championship games ever played. Vermeil won Coach of the Year honors; Quarterback Kurt Warner, breaking several NFL records, earned both the NFL and Super Bowl MVP; Running Back Marshall Faulk and Wide Receiver Isaac Bruce, along with Warner, become the standouts of the 1999 season.

The 2000 season saw the same powerful offense, but for some reason it appeared that the defense had simply forgotten how to play or lost their desire. For we saw them drop from a #6 ranking all the way out of the top ten. This was a major blow to the Rams as well as losing Kurt Warner for more than 5 weeks, combined with the poor play of the defense and special teams, it was no wonder that they were not able to achieve a SB repeat. Yet they did finish 10-6 and remained the best offense in the NFL. Nothing to sneeze at.

In 2001 the Rams continued to create havoc in the NFL and once again scored over 500 points for the season. Their best record in the NFL of 14-2 led them to their 2nd SB in just 3 years. Unfortunately for the Rams and a few choice calls made by the ever increasing miserable NFL officiating the Rams lost the SB by a last second field goal, ending the game with a score of 20-17.

2002 would turn out to be one of the Rams worst seasons since 1998, coming off a disappointing SB loss and riddled with injuries throughout the season the Rams just couldn't get enough wind behind their sails to pull off a winning season. A very disappointing season indeed for these boys.

***How The Rams Got Their Name

According to Hal Lebovitz, Homer Marshman, founder of the Cleveland team, met one day with reporters. Realizing he had to come up with a name for the team, he asked their suggestions. The consensus was that it should be a short name so as to fit easily into a headline. Fordham, in New York, was a big football school at the time, and their team name, "Rams," seemed to fit the criteria perfectly. Saying, "We can't get one shorter than that," the name was adopted by the Cleveland team.

***Rams Famous Firsts

The first professional sports team to move West of the Mississippi
The first NFL team in the post-WWII era to employ black players
The first to use an insignia or logo on the helmet
The first to play before one million spectators in a season
Participated in the first game to use sudden-death in overtime The first to employ a full-time scouting staff
The first to employ a full-time special teams coach (Dick Vermeil - 1969)
The first to regularly televise away games
First team to have a player selected to 14 consecutive Pro-Bowl appearances (Merlin Olsen)
The first team to win seven consecutive division titles (1973-79)
The first team with more than six defeats to play in the Super Bowl (1979 record: 9-7)
The first NFL team to move back East
The first NFL team to loose all 8 divisional games one year, then win all 8 divisional games the next.
The first franchise to win a NFL championship in 3 different cities (Cleveland 1945; Los Angeles 1951; St. Louis 1999

And history is still in the making with these Rams of ours....so stay tuned....cause we are living history...right now, right here!!! Let's hope that 2002 will have been a lesson well learned and that history will NOT repeat itself!