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The Los Angeles Rams are a professional
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
team based in the
Los Angeles metropolitan area Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino C ...
. The Rams compete in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...
(NFL) as a member of the
National Football Conference The National Football Conference (NFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The NFC and its counterpart, the American Football Conference ( ...
(NFC)
West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
division. The Rams play their home games at
SoFi Stadium SoFi Stadium () is a 70,240-seat sports and entertainment indoor stadium in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, California, United States. SoFi occupies the former site of the Hollywood Park Racetrack, from Los Angeles International Airport an ...
in
Inglewood Inglewood may refer to: Places Australia *Inglewood, Queensland * Shire of Inglewood, Queensland, a former local government area *Inglewood, South Australia *Inglewood, Victoria *Inglewood, Western Australia Canada * Inglewood, Ontario *Inglewoo ...
, which they share with the
Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...
. The franchise was founded in
1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
as the
Cleveland Rams The Cleveland Rams were a professional American football team that played in Cleveland from 1936 to 1945. The Rams competed in the second American Football League (AFL) for the 1936 season and the National Football League (NFL) from 1937 to 19 ...
in
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S ...
. The franchise won the
1945 NFL Championship Game The 1945 NFL Championship Game was the 13th National Football League (NFL) championship game. Held on December 16, the Cleveland Rams defeated the Washington Redskins 15–14 at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. This was the last game bef ...
, then moved to Los Angeles in
1946 Events January * January 6 - The first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into four occupation zones. * January 10 ** The ...
, making way for
Paul Brown Paul Eugene Brown (September 7, 1908 – August 5, 1991) was an American football coach and executive in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). Brown was both the co-founder and first coach of the Clevela ...
's
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conferenc ...
of the
All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...
and becoming the only NFL championship team to play the following season in another city. The club played its home games at the
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a me ...
until 1980, when it moved into a reconstructed
Anaheim Stadium Angel Stadium of Anaheim is a baseball stadium located in Anaheim, California. Since its opening in 1966, it has served as the home ballpark of the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB), and was also the home stadium to the Los Angel ...
in
Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, ...
. The Rams made their first Super Bowl appearance at the end of the
1979 NFL season The 1979 NFL season was the 60th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XIV when the Pittsburgh Steelers repeated as champions by defeating the Los Angeles Rams 31–19 at the Rose Bowl. The Steelers ...
, losing
Super Bowl XIV Super Bowl XIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champi ...
to the
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
, 31–19. After the
1994 NFL season The 1994 NFL season was the 75th regular season of the National Football League. To honor the NFL's 75th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season. Also, a ...
, the Rams left southern California and moved to St. Louis,
Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
, becoming the St. Louis Rams. Five seasons later, the team defeated the
Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...
to win
Super Bowl XXXIV Super Bowl XXXIV was an American football game played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on January 30, 2000, to determine the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1999 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis ...
, 23–16. The club then lost
Super Bowl XXXVI Super Bowl XXXVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
, 20–17, to the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
. After the
2015 NFL season The 2015 NFL season was the 96th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL), and the 50th in the Super Bowl era. To celebrate the 50th season of the Super Bowl, a gold-plated NFL logo and other various gold-themed promotions ...
, the team sought and received approval from the other owners to move back to Los Angeles in time for the
2016 NFL season The 2016 NFL season was the 97th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL) and the 51st of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 8, 2016, with defending Super Bowl 50 champion Denver defeating Carolina in the ...
. The Rams appeared in
Super Bowl LIII Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Confe ...
but lost to the Patriots, 13–3. Three years later, the Rams defeated the
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...
23–20 to win
Super Bowl LVI Super Bowl LVI was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2021 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams defeated the American Football Conference ...
, becoming the second NFL team to win the Super Bowl in its home stadium. The club is the only NFL franchise to win
championships In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
representing three cities:
Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...
in
1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat. Events Below, ...
, Los Angeles in
1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...
and
2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
, and St. Louis in
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
.


Franchise history


Cleveland Rams (1936–1945)

The Cleveland Rams were founded in 1936 by Ohio attorney Homer Marshman and player-coach Damon Wetzel, a former Ohio State star who played briefly for the
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...
and
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
. Wetzel, who served as general manager, selected the "Rams", because his favorite
college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...
team was the
Fordham Rams The Fordham Rams are the varsity sports teams for Fordham University. Their colors are maroon and white. The Fordham Rams are members of NCAA Division I and compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference for most sports. In football, the Rams play in t ...
from
Fordham University Fordham University () is a private Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its original campus is located, Fordham is the oldest Catholic and Jesuit un ...
; Marshman, the principal owner, also liked the name choice. The team was part of the newly formed
American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...
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 team featured players such as William "Bud" Cooper, Harry "The Horse" Mattos,
Stan Pincura Stan Pincura (May 2, 1913 – February 12, 1979) 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 sch ...
, and Mike Sebastian. The Rams joined the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...
on February 12, 1937, and were assigned to the Western Division. The Rams would be the fourth in a string of short-lived teams based in Cleveland, following the Cleveland Tigers,
Cleveland Bulldogs The Cleveland Bulldogs were a team that played in Cleveland, Ohio in the National Football League. They were originally called the Indians in 1923, not to be confused with the Cleveland Indians NFL franchise in 1922. However, after team owner S ...
, and
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...
. From the beginning, they were a team marked by frequent moves, playing in three stadiums over several losing seasons. However, the team featured the Most Valuable Player of the 1939 season, rookie halfback Parker Hall. In June 1941, the Rams were bought by
Dan Reeves Daniel Edward Reeves (January 19, 1944 – January 1, 2022) was an American football running back and coach in the National Football League (NFL). During his 38 years in the NFL, Reeves participated in nine Super Bowls, the third most for a ...
and Fred Levy Jr. Reeves, an heir to his family's grocery-chain business that had been purchased by
Safeway Safeway is an American supermarket chain founded by Marion Barton Skaggs in April 1915 in American Falls, Idaho. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and features a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, del ...
, used some of his inheritance to buy his share of the team. Levy's family owned the Levy Brothers department store chain in Kentucky and he came to own the Riverside International Raceway. Levy owned part of the Rams with
Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with ...
, another of the owners, until Reeves bought out his partners in 1962. 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 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in ...
.


NFL Champions (1945)

The
team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to inf ...
finally achieved success in
1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat. Events Below, ...
, which was their last season in Ohio. Adam Walsh took over as head coach that season. Quarterback
Bob Waterfield Robert Stanton Waterfield (July 26, 1920 – March 25, 1983) was an American professional football player and coach. He played quarterback for the UCLA Bruins and Cleveland/Los Angeles Rams and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame i ...
, a rookie from
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
, 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 win their first NFL Championship, a 15–14 home field victory over the
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...
on December 16. The margin of victory was provided by a
safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly di ...
: Redskins great
Sammy Baugh Samuel Adrian Baugh (March 17, 1914 – December 17, 2008) was an American professional football player and coach. During his college and professional careers, he most notably played quarterback, but also played as a safety and punter. He ...
's pass bounced off the goal post, then backward, through his team's own
end zone The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field. ...
. The next season, NFL rules were changed to prevent this from ever again resulting in a score; instead, it would merely result in an incomplete pass.


First Los Angeles Rams era (1946–1994)

On January 12, 1946, Reeves was denied a request by the other NFL owners to move the Cleveland Rams to Los Angeles and the then-103,000-seat
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a me ...
.MacCambridge, 2005, pp. 15–16. He threatened to end his relationship with the NFL and get out of the professional football business altogether unless the transfer to Los Angeles was permitted.Littlewood, 1990, p. 160.Lyons, 2010, p. 118. A settlement was reached and, as a result, Reeves was allowed to move his team to Los Angeles.Yost, 2006, p. 57–58.Davis writes Halas engineered the approval of the Rams move to Los Angeles, Davis, 2005, p. 201–202.Lyons, 2010, p. 117–118. Consequently, the NFL became the first professional coast-to-coast sports entertainment industry. From 1933, when
Joe Lillard Joseph Johnny Lillard Jr. (June 15, 1905 – September 18, 1978) was an American football, baseball, and basketball player. From 1932 to 1933, he was a running back for the National Football League's (NFL) Chicago Cardinals. Lillard was the last ...
left the
Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ...
, through 1946, there were no black players in professional American football. After the Rams had received approval to move to Los Angeles, they entered into negotiations to lease the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Rams were advised that a precondition to them getting a lease was that they would have to integrate the team with at least one African-American; the Rams agreed.MacCambridge, 2005, p. 19.Levy, 2003, p. 92–93.Davis, 2005, p. 202.Strode, 1990, p. 140. Subsequently, the Rams signed Kenny Washington on March 21, 1946.Coenen, 2005, p. 123.MacCambridge writes he was signed on May 4, 1946. MacCambridge, 2005, p. 19.Ross, 1999, p. 82. The signing of Washington caused "all hell to break loose" among the owners of the NFL franchises.Rathet, 1984, p. 210. The Rams added a second black player,
Woody Strode Woodrow Wilson Woolwine Strode (July 25, 1914 – December 31, 1994) was an American athlete and actor. He was a decathlete and football star who was one of the first Black American players in the National Football League in the postwar era. Aft ...
, on May 7, 1946, giving them two black players going into the 1946 season. The Rams were the first team in the NFL to play in Los Angeles (the 1926 Los Angeles Buccaneers represented L.A. but were strictly a traveling team), but they were not the only professional football team to play its home games in the Coliseum between 1946 and 1949. The upstart
All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...
had the Los Angeles Dons compete there as well. Reeves was taking a gamble that Los Angeles was ready for its own professional football team—and suddenly there were two in the City of Angels. Reeves was proven to be correct when the Rams played their first pre-season game against the
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...
in front of a crowd of 95,000 fans. The team finished their first season in L.A. with a 6–4–1 record, second place behind the
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...
. At the end of the season Walsh was fired as head coach. The Coliseum was home for the Rams for more than 30 years, but the facility was already over 20 years old on the day of the first kickoff. In 1948, halfback Fred Gehrke painted horns on the Rams' helmets, making the first helmet emblem in pro football. Late in 1949, the Dons were folded into the Rams when the
All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...
ceased operations.


NFL champions (1951)

The Rams' first heyday in
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...
was from 1949 to 1955, when they played in the pre-Super Bowl era
NFL Championship Game Throughout its history, the National Football League (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national c ...
four times, winning once in
1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...
. During this period, they had the best offense in the NFL, even though there was a quarterback change from
Bob Waterfield Robert Stanton Waterfield (July 26, 1920 – March 25, 1983) was an American professional football player and coach. He played quarterback for the UCLA Bruins and Cleveland/Los Angeles Rams and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame i ...
to
Norm Van Brocklin Norman Mack Van Brocklin (March 15, 1926 – May 2, 1983), nicknamed "The Dutchman", was an American football quarterback and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He spent his first nine seasons with the Los A ...
in
1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...
. The defining Offensive players of this period were wide receiver
Elroy Hirsch Elroy Leon "Crazylegs" Hirsch (June 17, 1923 – January 28, 2004) was an American professional football player, sport executive and actor. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 197 ...
, Van Brocklin and Waterfield. Teamed with fellow Hall of Famer Tom Fears, Hirsch helped create the style of Rams football as one of the first big play receivers. During the 1951 championship season, Hirsch posted a stunning 1,495 receiving yards with 17 touchdowns. The popularity of this wide-open offense enabled the
Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC Wes ...
to become the first pro football team to have all their games televised in
1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...
.In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Rams went from being the only major professional sports franchise in Southern California and Los Angeles to being one of five. The
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...
moved from
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
in 1958, the
Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...
of the upstart
AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...
was established in 1960, the
Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...
moved from
Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origin ...
in 1960, and the
Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...
were awarded to
Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...
in 1961. In spite of this, the Rams continued to thrive in Southern California. In the first two years after the Dodgers moved to California, the Rams drew an average of 83,681 in 1958 and 74,069 in 1959. The Rams were so popular in Los Angeles that the upstart Chargers chose to move to
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
rather than attempt to compete with the Rams. The ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'' put the Chargers plight as such: " Hilton
he Chargers owner at the time He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
quickly realized that taking on the Rams in L.A. was like beating his head against the wall." During this time, the Rams were not as successful on the field as they had been during their first decade. The team's combined record from 1957 to 1964 was 24–35–1 (), but the Rams continued to fill the cavernous Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum regularly. While the National Football League's average attendance ranged from the low 30,000s to the low 40,000s during this time, the Rams were drawing anywhere from 10,000 to 40,000 fans more than the league average. In 1957, the Rams set the all-time NFL attendance record that stood until 2006 and broke the 100,000 mark twice during the 1958 campaign. The 1960s were defined by the great defensive line of
Rosey Grier Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier (born July 14, 1932) is an American actor, singer, Protestant minister, and former professional football player. He was a notable college football player for Pennsylvania State University who earned a retrospective plac ...
,
Merlin Olsen Merlin Jay Olsen (; September 15, 1940 – March 11, 2010) was an American football player, announcer, and actor. For his entire 15-year professional football career he was a defensive tackle with the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football Le ...
,
Deacon Jones David D. "Deacon" Jones (December 9, 1938 – June 3, 2013) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers, and the Washington Redskins. H ...
, and
Lamar Lundy Lamar J. Lundy, Jr. (April 17, 1935 – February 24, 2007) 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 w ...
, dubbed the "
Fearsome Foursome ''Fearsome Foursome'' may refer to: * Fearsome Foursome (comics), a Marvel comic book group * Fearsome Foursome (American football) The Fearsome Foursome was the dominating defensive line of the Los Angeles Rams of the 1960s and 1970s. Before ...
." It was this group of players who restored the on-field luster of the franchise in
1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
when the Rams reached (but lost) the conference championship under head coach George Allen. That 1967 squad became the first NFL team to surpass one million spectators in a season, a feat the Rams repeated 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, including the hiring of a young
Dick Vermeil Richard Albert Vermeil (; born October 30, 1936) is a former American football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles for seven seasons, the St. L ...
as one of the first
special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...
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 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
23–20 to
Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...
. Allen would leave after the 1970 season to take the head coaching job for the Washington Redskins. Quarterback
Roman Gabriel Roman Ildonzo Gabriel Jr. (born August 5, 1940) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was the second overall pick in the 1962 NFL Draft and played for the Los Angeles Rams for eleven seaso ...
played 11 seasons for the Rams 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 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 was the best of their eight seasons as teammates. In 1972,
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
industrialist Robert Irsay purchased the Rams for $19 million and then traded the franchise to Carroll Rosenbloom for his
Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...
and cash. The Rams remained solid contenders in the 1970s, winning seven straight
NFC West The National Football Conference - Western Division or NFC West is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Arizona Cardinals, the Los Ang ...
championships between 1973 and 1979. Though they clearly were the class of the NFC in the 1970s along with the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
and
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
, they lost the first four conference championship games they played in that decade, losing twice each to Minnesota (1974, 1976) and Dallas (1975, 1978) and failing to win a league championship.


Chuck Knox/Ray Malavasi years (1973-1982)

The Rams' head coach for this run was
Chuck Knox Charles Robert Knox (April 27, 1932 – May 12, 2018) was an American football coach at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. He served as head coach of three National Football League (NFL) teams, the Los Angeles Rams (1973–197 ...
, who led the team through 1977. His teams featured unremarkable offenses carried into the playoffs annually by elite defensive units. 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 Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
'' from 1984 to 1991, as well as Olsen, who retired after 1976, starred in ''
Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books is a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adolescence in the American Midwest (Wisconsin, Kansas, ...
''. During the 1977 off-season, the Rams, looking for a veteran quarterback, acquired
Joe Namath Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943) is a former American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. He played college fo ...
from the Jets. In spite of a 2–1 start to the
regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of ...
, Namath's bad knees rendered him nearly immobile and after a Monday night defeat in Chicago, he never played again. With
Pat Haden Patrick Capper Haden (born January 23, 1953) is the former athletic director at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles from August 2010 to June 2016. He played quarterback for the USC Trojans before playing professionally in ...
at the helm, the Rams won the division and advanced to the
playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...
, but lost at home to Minnesota. Chuck Knox left for the Bills in
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 ...
, after which
Ray Malavasi Ray Malavasi ( ; November 8, 1930 – December 15, 1987) was an American football coach who served as head coach of two professional teams: the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams. Early years Born in Passaic, New Jersey, Malavasi grew up in ne ...
became head coach. Going 12–4, the
team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to inf ...
won the NFC West for the sixth year in a row and defeated the
Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
, thus avenging their earlier playoff defeat. However, success eluded them again as they were shut out in the NFC Championship by the
Cowboys A cowboy is a professional pastoralist or mounted livestock herder, usually from the Americas or Australia. Cowboy(s) or The Cowboy(s) may also refer to: Film and television * ''Cowboy'' (1958 film), starring Glenn Ford * ''Cowboy'' (1966 film), ...
. It was the Rams' weakest divisional winner (an aging
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...
team that only achieved a 9–7 record) that achieved the team's greatest success in that period. Led by third-year quarterback
Vince Ferragamo Vince Anthony Ferragamo (born April 24, 1954) is an American former gridiron football player. He played professionally as a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) and the Canadian Football League (CFL). Early years Born in Torrance, ...
, the Rams shocked the heavily favored and two-time defending NFC champion
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
21–19 in the divisional playoffs, then shut out the upstart
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
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 Jackie Ray Slater (born May 27, 1954), nicknamed "Big Bad Jackie", is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle for 20 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played his entire career with the Rams f ...
, and Pro Bowl defenders Jack Youngblood and
Jack "Hacksaw" Reynolds John Sumner Reynolds (born November 22, 1947), nicknamed "Hacksaw", is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He was a first-round draft pick by the Los Angeles Rams in the 19 ...
. The Rams' opponent in their first
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...
was the defending champion
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
. The game was 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 10-point underdog, the Rams played Pittsburgh very tough, leading at halftime 13–10 and at the end of the third quarter 19–17. In the end, however, the Steelers asserted themselves, scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and shutting down the Rams offense to win their fourth Super Bowl, 31–19. Prior to the
1979 NFL season The 1979 NFL season was the 60th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XIV when the Pittsburgh Steelers repeated as champions by defeating the Los Angeles Rams 31–19 at the Rose Bowl. The Steelers ...
, owner Carroll Rosenbloom died in a drowning accident, and his widow, Georgia Frontiere, inherited 70 percent 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 is a baseball stadium located in Anaheim, California. Since its opening in 1966, it has served as the home ballpark of the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB), and was also the home stadium to the Los Angel ...
in nearby Orange County in 1980. The reason for the move was twofold. First, the NFL's blackout rule in effect then (repealed in 2015) forbade games from being shown on local television if they did not sell out within 72 hours of the opening kickoff. As the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum seated 92,604 at the time, it was rarely possible to sell that many tickets even in the Rams' best years, and so most Rams home games were blacked out. Second, this move was following the population pattern in Southern California. During the 1970s and 1980s, the decline of manufacturing industries in the northeastern United States combined with the desire of many people to live in a warmer climate caused a large-scale population shift to the southern and western states. As a result, many affluent new suburbs were built in the Los Angeles area. Anaheim Stadium was originally built in 1966 to be the home of the
California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ...
. To accommodate the Rams' move, the ballpark was reconfigured and enclosed to accommodate a capacity of 69,008 in the football configuration. With their new, smaller home, the Rams had no problem selling out games. In
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – In ...
, the
team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to inf ...
posted an 11–5 record, but only managed a wild card spot and were sent packing after a loss to the
Cowboys A cowboy is a professional pastoralist or mounted livestock herder, usually from the Americas or Australia. Cowboy(s) or The Cowboy(s) may also refer to: Film and television * ''Cowboy'' (1958 film), starring Glenn Ford * ''Cowboy'' (1966 film), ...
. Age and injuries finally caught up with the Rams in 1981, as they only won six games and missed the playoffs for the first time in nine years; adding to the woes was Ferragamo being wrested away by the
CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
's
Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes ( French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Cana ...
that year (although he returned the following season). After the 1982 season was shortened to nine games by a strike, the Rams went 2–7, the worst record in the NFC. In
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...
, the
Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...
moved to Los Angeles and took up residence in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The combined effect of these two moves was to divide the Rams' traditional fan base in two. This was coupled with the early 1980s being rebuilding years for the club, while the
Raiders Raider(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Paul Revere & the Raiders, an American rock band * "Raider", a track from the 1969 album ''Farewell Aldebaran'', by Judy Henske and Jerry Yester * "Raiders", a track from the 1987 album ''Young and ...
were winners of
Super Bowl XVIII Super Bowl XVIII was an American football game played on January 22, 1984, at Tampa Stadium between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XVII champion Washington Redskins and the American Football Conference ( ...
in the 1983 season. Meanwhile, the
Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...
won
championships In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
in
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – In ...
and
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...
en route to winning five titles in that decade, the
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...
won the
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...
in 1981 and
1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
, and even the
Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...
made a deep run in the playoffs in 1982, and acquired fan interest following the arrival of
Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...
in 1988. As a result, the Rams declined sharply in popularity during the 1980s, despite being playoff contenders for most of the decade.


John Robinson years (1983-1991)

The hiring of coach
John Robinson John Robinson may refer to: Academics *John Thomas Romney Robinson (1792–1882), Irish astronomer and physicist * John J. Robinson (1918–1996), historian and author of ''Born in Blood'' * John Talbot Robinson (1923–2001), paleontologist *Joh ...
in 1983 provided a needed boost for pro football in Orange County. The former
University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...
coach began by cutting the aged veterans left over from the 1970s teams. His rebuilding program began to show results when the
team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to inf ...
rebounded to 9–7 in
1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...
and defeated
Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
in the
playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...
. However, the season ended after a rout at the hands of the defending champion Redskins. Another trip to the playoffs in
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
saw them lose to the Giants. They made the NFC Championship Game in
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
after winning the division, where they were shut out by the eventual champion
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...
24–0. The most notable player for the Rams during that period was running back
Eric Dickerson Eric Demetric Dickerson (born September 2, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. Dickerson played college football for the Mustangs of Southern Meth ...
, who was drafted in 1983 out of
Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = " The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , p ...
and won the Rookie of the Year award. In 1984, Dickerson rushed for 2,105 yards, setting an NFL record. Dickerson ended his five hugely successful years for the Rams in 1987 by being traded to the
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
for a number of players and draft picks after a bitter contract dispute, shortly after the players' strike that year ended. Dickerson was the Rams' career rushing leader until 2010, with 7,245 yards. Despite this trade, the Rams remained contenders due to the arrival of the innovative offensive leadership of
Ernie Zampese Ernie Zampese (March 12, 1936 – August 29, 2022) was an American professional football coach in the National Football League (NFL). Playing for Santa Barbara High School, he was selected as the CIF Player of the Year in 1953 and went on to pla ...
. Zampese brought the intricate timing routes he had used in making the
San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
a state-of-the-art offense. Under Zampese, the Rams rose steadily from 28th rated offense in 1986 to 3rd in 1990. The late 1980s Rams featured a gifted young quarterback in
Jim Everett James Samuel Everett III (born January 3, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Rams. He played college football for the Purdue Boilerma ...
, a solid rushing attack and a fleet of talented wide receivers led by
Henry Ellard Henry Austin Ellard (born July 21, 1961) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams (1983–1993), Washington Redskins (1994–1998), and the New England Patriots (1998) of the Nation ...
and Flipper Anderson. After a 10–6 season in
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...
, the Rams were booted from the
playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...
by
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
. After one game of the 1987 season was lost to the players' strike, the NFL employed substitutes, most of which were given derogatory nicknames (in this case the Los Angeles Shams). After a 2–1 record, the Rams' regulars returned, but the team only went 6–9 and did not qualify for the
postseason The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
. The Rams managed to return in
1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
with a 10–6 record, but then were defeated by
Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...
in the wild card round.
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
won the first five games of
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
, including a sensational defeat of the defending champion 49ers. They beat the
Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...
in the
wild card game The Wild Card Series (formerly known as Wild Card Game from 2012 to 2019 and in 2021) are games that serve as the opening round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) postseason. A single wild card game was first instituted in 2012; best-of-three ...
, then beat the Giants in overtime before suffering a 30–3 flogging at the hands of the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. Although it was not apparent at the time, the 1989 NFC Championship Game was the end of an era. The Rams did not have another winning season for the rest of their first tenure in Los Angeles before moving to St. Louis. They crumbled to 5–11 in
1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...
, followed by a 3–13 season in
1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
.


Chuck Knox returns (1992-1994)

Robinson was fired at the end of the 1991 season. However, the return of Chuck Knox as head coach, after his successful stints as head coach of the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...
and
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...
, did not boost the Rams' sagging fortunes. His run-oriented offense marked the end of the Zampese tenure in 1993. Knox's game plans called for an offense that was steady, if unspectacular. Unfortunately for the Rams, Knox's offense was not only aesthetically unpleasing but dull as well, especially by 1990s standards. The Rams finished last in the
NFC West The National Football Conference - Western Division or NFC West is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Arizona Cardinals, the Los Ang ...
during all three years of Knox's second stint. As the losses piled up and the team was seen as playing uninspired football, the Rams' already dwindling fan base was reduced even further. By 1994, support for the Rams had withered to the point where they were barely part of the Los Angeles sports landscape. With sellouts becoming fewer and far between, the Rams saw more of their games blacked out in Southern California. One of the few bright spots during this time was Jerome Bettis, a bruising running back from Notre Dame earning the nickname "The Battering Ram". Bettis flourished as the only bright spot in Knox's offense, running for 1,429 yards as a rookie, and 1,025 in his sophomore effort. As had become increasingly common with sports franchises, the Rams began to blame much of their misfortune on their stadium situation. Anaheim Stadium was primarily suited for baseball, so the sightlines for football were deemed inadequate. With Orange County mired in a deep recession resulting largely from defense sector layoffs, the Rams were unable to secure a new or improved stadium in the Los Angeles area, which ultimately cast their future in Southern California into doubt. By 1995, the Rams fanbase in Southern California had withered to a shadow of its former self. Accusations and excuses were constantly thrown back and forth between the Rams fanbase, ownership, and local politicians. Many fans heavily blamed the ownership of Georgia Frontiere for the franchise's woes, while ownership cited the outdated stadium and withering fan support as direct factors. Frontiere quickly gave up and decided to move the Rams franchise to St. Louis. However, on March 15, 1995, the other league owners rejected her bid to move the franchise by a 21–3–6 vote. Commissioner Paul Tagliabue stated after rejecting the move, "This was one of the most complex issues we have had to approach in years. We had to balance the interest of fans in Los Angeles and in St. Louis that we appreciate very much. In my judgment, they did not meet the guidelines we have in place for such a move." The commissioner also added: "Once the bridges have been burned and people get turned off on a sports franchise, years of loyalty is not respected and it is difficult to get it back. By the same token, there are millions of fans in that area who have supported the Rams in an extraordinary way. The Rams have 50 years of history and the last 5 or so years of difficult times can be corrected." However, Frontiere responded with a thinly veiled threat at a lawsuit. The owners eventually acquiesced to her demands, wary of going through a long, protracted legal battle. Tagliabue simply stated that "The desire to have peace and not be at war was a big factor" in allowing the Rams move to go forward. In a matter of a month, the vote had gone from 21–6 opposed to 23–6 in favor, with the Raiders, who left the Coliseum and returned to Oakland later in 1995, abstaining. Jonathan Kraft, son of Patriots owner
Robert Kraft Robert Kenneth Kraft (born June 5, 1941) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Kraft Group, a diversified holding company with assets in paper and packaging, sports and entertainment ...
, elaborated on the commissioner's remarks by saying that "about five or six owners didn't want to get the other owners into litigation, so they switched their votes." Only six franchises remained in opposition to the Rams move from Los Angeles: the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Arizona Cardinals (who played in St. Louis from 1960 to 1987), and Washington Redskins. After the vote was over, Dan Rooney publicly stated that he opposed the move of the Los Angeles Rams because "I believe we should support the fans who have supported us for years."


St. Louis Rams (1995–2015)

The
1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
and 1996 seasons, the Rams' first two in St. Louis, were under the direction of former
Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. ...
head coach Rich Brooks. Their most prolific player from their first two seasons was the fan favorite Isaac Bruce.


Dick Vermeil/Mike Martz years (1997-2005)

In
1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
,
Dick Vermeil Richard Albert Vermeil (; born October 30, 1936) is a former American football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles for seven seasons, the St. L ...
was hired as the head coach. That same year, the Rams traded up in the
1997 NFL draft The 1997 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 19–20, 1997, at the Paramount T ...
to select future All-Pro offensive tackle, Orlando Pace. The team would struggle to find success in the first two seasons with Vermeil under the helm, going 5-11 in
1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
and 4-12 in
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
.


= Super Bowl XXXIV champions (1999)

= The 1999 season started with quarterback Trent Green injuring his leg in preseason play, which left him sidelined for the entire season; the starting job fell to backup
Kurt Warner Kurtis Eugene Warner (born June 22, 1971) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. His career, which saw him ascend f ...
, who came out of college as an undrafted free agent and whose career had included stints with the
Iowa Barnstormers The Iowa Barnstormers are a professional indoor football team based in Des Moines, Iowa. They are currently members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). They play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena, known in indoor football circles as "The ...
of the
Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
and the
Amsterdam Admirals The Amsterdam Admirals were a professional American football team based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, playing in the NFL Europe. History The Admirals were formed in 1995 as part of the NFL's plan to restart the World League of American Football, to ...
of
NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally ...
. Vermeil told the public that the Rams would "Rally around Kurt Warner, and play good football." Warner synced up with
Marshall Faulk Marshall William Faulk (born February 26, 1973) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and St. Louis Rams. He is widely regarded as one of the gre ...
and Isaac Bruce to lead the Rams to one of the most prolific offenses in history, posting 526 points for the season. This was the beginning of what later became known as "
The Greatest Show on Turf "The Greatest Show on Turf" was a nickname for the record-breaking offense of the St. Louis Rams during the 1999, 2000, and 2001 National Football League seasons. The offense was designed by attack-oriented offensive coordinator (during the 199 ...
". Warner shocked the league by throwing for 41 touchdowns. This led the Rams to
Super Bowl XXXIV Super Bowl XXXIV was an American football game played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on January 30, 2000, to determine the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1999 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis ...
, where they beat the
Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...
, 23–16. Warner was named the Most Valuable Player of the Super Bowl. Following the Rams' win, Vermeil retired, and Vermeil's offensive coordinator Mike Martz was hired as head coach. He managed to take the Rams to
Super Bowl XXXVI Super Bowl XXXVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
, where the team lost to the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
20–17. Martz helped the Rams establish a pass-first identity that posted an NFL record number of points over the course of three seasons (1999–2001). However, in the first round in the 2004 draft, the Rams chose Oregon State running back
Steven Jackson Steven Rashad Jackson (born July 22, 1983) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the St. Louis Rams. He played college football at Oregon State and was ...
as the 24th pick of the draft. Although the Rams were one of the most productive teams in NFL history at the time, head coach Martz was criticized by many as careless with game management. He often feuded 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 that they enjoyed him as a coach. In 2005, Martz was ill, and was hospitalized for several games, allowing assistant head coach
Joe Vitt Joe Vitt (born August 23, 1954) is an American football coach who last coached for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was previously the assistant head coach and linebackers coach of the New Orleans Saints of the National Foo ...
to coach the remainder of the season. Although Martz was cleared later in the season, team president John Shaw did not allow him to come back to coach the team. After the Rams fired Martz, former Minnesota offensive coordinator
Scott Linehan Scott Thomas Linehan (born September 17, 1963) is an American football coach who currently works as an offensive analyst for Missouri. He was most recently the passing game coordinator for LSU. He was previously the head coach of the St. Louis ...
took control of an 8–8
team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to inf ...
in
2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...
. In
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...
, Linehan led the Rams to a 3–13 record. Following the 2007 season, Georgia Frontiere died on January 18, 2008 after a 28-year ownership that began 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 Torry Jabar Holt (born June 5, 1976) is a former professional American football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons. He was named to the Pro Bowl seven times and retired with the 10th most rec ...
and
Steven Jackson Steven Rashad Jackson (born July 22, 1983) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the St. Louis Rams. He played college football at Oregon State and was ...
. 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. On January 17, 2009,
Steve Spagnuolo Stephen Christopher Spagnuolo (; born December 21, 1959) is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He rejoined Andy Reid after being a defensive assistant with ...
was named the new head coach of the franchise. In his previous post as defensive coordinator with the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...
, Spagnuolo masterminded a defensive scheme that shut down the potent offense of the previously undefeated and untied
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
, 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 Giants, Spagnuolo's first season as head coach of the Rams was disappointing as the team won only once in 16 attempts. On May 31, 2009, the '' St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' reported that the majority owners Rosenbloom and Rodriguez officially offered their majority share of Rams for sale. They retained the services of
Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, Ho ...
, 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'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' magazine's most recent estimate listed the Rams' value at $929 million. On the final day to do so, then-minority owner Stan Kroenke invoked his
right of first refusal Right of first refusal (ROFR or RFR) 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 transactio ...
to buy the 60% of the team that he did not already own. The original intended buyer,
Shahid Khan Shahid Rafiq Khan ( ur, ; born July 18, 1950)"Sha ...
, later acquired the
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...
after the 2011 season. 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 Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...
, the
Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (N ...
, the
Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...
, and the Pepsi Center (home to the Nuggets and the Avalanche). Kroenke, a real estate and sports mogul married to a
Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offic ...
, also owned
Altitude Sports and Entertainment Altitude Sports and Entertainment (usually referred to as simply Altitude) is an American regional sports cable and satellite television channel owned by Stan Kroenke's Kroenke Sports & Entertainment. The channel, which serves the Rocky Moun ...
. These interests violated the NFL's cross-ownership rule. Nevertheless, on August 25, 2010, NFL owners unanimously approved him 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 The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, with the fir ...
after finishing the 2009 season with a 1–15 record. The team used the pick to select quarterback
Sam Bradford Samuel Jacob Bradford (born November 8, 1987) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, most notably with the St. Louis Rams and Minnesota Vikings. He was also a member of the ...
from the
University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...
. 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 position during the preseason. On October 24, 2010, running back
Steven Jackson Steven Rashad Jackson (born July 22, 1983) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the St. Louis Rams. He played college football at Oregon State and was ...
passed
Eric Dickerson Eric Demetric Dickerson (born September 2, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. Dickerson played college football for the Mustangs of Southern Meth ...
as the franchise's career rushing leader. On February 4, 2011, Bradford was named the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year. He received 44 out of 50 possible votes from the nationwide panel of media members. The team and fans held high expectations for the upcoming season, but due to injuries to starters and poor execution, the Rams fell to a 2–14 record for the 2011 season. On January 2, 2012, head coach Spagnuolo and general manager Devaney were fired. McDaniels also left the team and returned to New England to become their offensive coordinator for the 2012 season. Under the terms of the lease that the Rams signed in St. Louis, the
Edward Jones Dome The Dome at America's Center is a multi-purpose stadium used for concerts, major conventions, and sporting events in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Previously known as the Trans World Dome from 1995 to 2001 and the Edward Jones Dom ...
was required to be ranked in the top tier of NFL stadiums through the 2015 season. The Rams were free to break the lease and either move without penalty or continue to lease the dome on a year-to-year basis. In May 2012, the dome was ranked by ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
'' magazine as the 7th worst major sports stadium in the United States. In a 2008 ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...
'' poll, St. Louis fans ranked it the worst of any NFL stadium with particularly low marks for tailgating, affordability and atmosphere. On January 20, 2012, it was announced that the Rams would play one home game a season at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
in London for each of the next three seasons. The first game was played against the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
on October 28, 2012. On August 13, 2012, it was announced that the Rams had withdrawn from the 2013 and 2014 games. At this time, the Rams began negotiations with St. Louis about what steps could be taken to remediate the "top tier" requirement of the lease. On March 10, 2015, the Rams traded starting quarterback
Sam Bradford Samuel Jacob Bradford (born November 8, 1987) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, most notably with the St. Louis Rams and Minnesota Vikings. He was also a member of the ...
and a 2015 fifth-round pick to the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
in exchange for Eagles' quarterback Nick Foles, a 2015 fourth-round pick, and a second-round pick in 2016. Foles had a 14–4 record as starter of the Eagles and an impressive touchdown to interception ratio of 46–17, while Bradford had an 18–30–1 record with the Rams. In the
2015 NFL draft The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previo ...
the Rams drafted running back
Todd Gurley Todd Jerome Gurley II (born August 3, 1994) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Rams. He played college football at Georgia, where he rece ...
. After Gurley was drafted, the Rams traded Zac Stacy to the New York Jets on May 2 for a 7th round pick. Stacy had led the team in rushing in 2013. The stadium "top tier" negotiations failed to produce a solution to keep the Rams in St. Louis for the long term. On December 17, 2015, the Rams defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31–23 in their final home game in St. Louis; their last game as the St. Louis Rams came two weeks later on the road against the San Francisco 49ers before moving back to Los Angeles for the 2016 season. Fans in St. Louis claimed Kroenke, a Missouri native, as well as Kevin Demoff, lied to the fans about their wishes to keep the Rams in St. Louis. In his final years, Kroenke was referred to "Silent Stan" as he refused to speak about the team and the potential move. In a last-ditch effort, St. Louis came up with a viable stadium plan to keep the team, but the NFL and the Rams' position was that the Rams followed the agreed-upon remediation process laid out in the Edward Jones Dome lease, and that St. Louis' hastily put together plan shifted too much of the stadium cost to the Rams franchise. Ultimately, the other NFL teams' owners voted to allow the Rams to move to Los Angeles.


Second Los Angeles Rams era (2016–present)

On January 5, 2015, the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'' reported that Kroenke and the Stockbridge Capital Group were partnering to develop a new NFL stadium on an
Inglewood Inglewood may refer to: Places Australia *Inglewood, Queensland * Shire of Inglewood, Queensland, a former local government area *Inglewood, South Australia *Inglewood, Victoria *Inglewood, Western Australia Canada * Inglewood, Ontario *Inglewoo ...
property owned by Kroenke. On February 24, 2015, the Inglewood City Council approved the stadium and the initiative with construction on the stadium planned to begin in December 2015. The Rams moved to their new stadium in Inglewood in 2020.The day following the conclusion of the 2015 regular season, the Rams,
Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...
, and
San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
all filed to move to Los Angeles. The same day, the NFL announced that any franchise approved for relocation would need to pay a $550 million fee. On January 12, 2016, the NFL team owners voted 30–2 to allow the Rams to return to Los Angeles. The Rams were the first major league sports team to move since 2011 when the
National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...
's
Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 seaso ...
left Atlanta and became the new
Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, p ...
. The team held a press conference at The Forum in Inglewood on January 15, 2016, to announce its return to Los Angeles to start play in the 2016 season and on that day the Rams began a campaign that lasted through February 8 and resulted in more than 56,000 season ticket deposits made. The
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a me ...
was the temporary home stadium of the Rams for four seasons (2016 to 2019) until
SoFi Stadium SoFi Stadium () is a 70,240-seat sports and entertainment indoor stadium in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, California, United States. SoFi occupies the former site of the Hollywood Park Racetrack, from Los Angeles International Airport an ...
was opened for the 2020 season. On February 4, 2016, the Los Angeles Rams selected Oxnard to be the site of their minicamp, off-season team activities, and off-season program that began on April 18. In March, it was announced that the Rams would be featured on HBO's '' Hard Knocks''. On March 30,
California Lutheran University California Lutheran University (CLU, Cal Lutheran, or Cal Lu) is a private university in Thousand Oaks, California. It was founded in 1959 and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but is nonsectarian. It opened in 1960 ...
and the Rams reached an agreement that allowed the team to have regular season training operations at CLU's campus for the next two years. The Rams paid for two practice fields, paved parking, and modular buildings constructed on the northwestern corner of the campus. On April 14, 2016, the Rams traded with the
Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...
for the first overall pick in the
2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft ...
, along with a fourth and sixth-round pick in the same draft. To acquire the picks, the Rams traded away their first-round pick, two second-round picks, and a third-round pick in 2016, and their first and third-round picks in the
2017 NFL draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia ...
. On April 28, 2016, the Rams made their first selection in the
2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft ...
by selecting
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
quarterback
Jared Goff Jared Thomas Goff (born October 14, 1994) is an American football quarterback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at California, where he set the Pac-12 Conference season records for pas ...
first overall. In June 2016, it was reported that the Rams had sold 63,000 season tickets, which was short of their goal of 70,000. Later on July 12, 2016, it was reported that they had sold 70,000 tickets, reaching their goal. In July 2016, the Rams signed a three-year agreement with
UC Irvine UC may refer to: Arts and entertainment * '' University Challenge'', a popular British quiz programme airing on BBC Two ** ''University Challenge (New Zealand)'', the New Zealand version of the British programme * Universal Century, one of the t ...
to use the university's facilities for training camp, with an option to extend it to two more years. On July 29, 2016, the ''Los Angeles Times'' reported that the Rams would host their first training-camp practice and "Rams Family Day" on Saturday, August 6 at the
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a me ...
, which was open to the public. The Rams played their first game in the Los Angeles area since 1994, a 22-year absence, with a preseason opener against the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on August 13. The Rams won, 28–24, in front of a crowd of 89,140, a record attendance for a pre-season game. On September 12, 2016, the Rams played their first regular-season game since returning to Los Angeles, where they lost to the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...
28–0 at
Levi's Stadium Levi's Stadium is an American football stadium located in Santa Clara, California, just outside San Jose in the San Francisco Bay Area. It has served as the home venue for the National Football League (NFL)'s San Francisco 49ers since 201 ...
. On September 18, in front of over 91,000 fans at the
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a me ...
, the Rams beat the
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...
9–3 in their first home regular-season game in Los Angeles since 1994, and their first game at the Coliseum since 1979. On December 12, 2016, the team fired head coach
Jeff Fisher Jeffrey Michael Fisher (born February 25, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach and general manager for the Michigan Panthers of the United States Football League (USFL). He is a former cornerback and return specialist. He ...
after starting the season 4−9. The team announced later that day that John Fassel would be taking over as interim head coach.


Sean McVay Era (2017-present)

On January 12, 2017, Washington Redskins offensive coordinator
Sean McVay Sean McVay (born January 24, 1986) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He became the youngest NFL head coach in the modern era when he was hired by the Rams in 20 ...
became the new head coach at the age of 30, which made him the youngest in modern NFL history, surpassing
Lane Kiffin Lane Monte Kiffin (born May 9, 1975) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels. Kiffin formerly was the offensive coordinator for the USC Trojans football The USC Trojans football program represent ...
who was 31 when hired by the
Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...
in 2007. The Rams began the year 3–2, much like their previous season in Los Angeles. However, the Rams became a quick surprise in the NFL when they won their next four games in a row, including blowouts of the
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play th ...
and
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...
. The games were highlighted by the resurgences of Jared Goff and Todd Gurley, who had mediocre performances in 2016. New acquisitions
Sammy Watkins Samuel Benjamin Watkins IV (born June 14, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills fourth overall in ...
, Robert Woods and draft selection
Cooper Kupp Cooper Douglas Kupp (born June 15, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Eastern Washington, where he won the Walter Payton Award as a junior, ...
at wide receiver made such big impacts that analysts were comparing the 2017 Rams to the "Greatest Show on Turf" Rams of the late 1990s and early 2000s. After scoring a league-worst 224 points in 2016, the Rams led the league in points scored with 478, the fourth-most in team history. On November 26, 2017, the Rams defeated the Rival
New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
26–20. The win was their eighth of the season, which secured the franchise's first non-losing year since 2006, as well as their first in Los Angeles since 1989. A week later, the Rams defeated the Cardinals 32–16 to secure a winning season for the first time since the 2003 season. On December 24, 2017, the Rams defeated the Tennessee Titans 27–23 to clinch their first NFC West title since 2003, and their first in Los Angeles since 1985; they finished the regular season with an 11–5 record. However, the team met an early exit in the first round of the playoffs at the hands of the defending conference champion Atlanta Falcons 26–13. In the 2018 off-season, the Rams acquired
Marcus Peters Marcus Peters (born January 9, 1993) is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft and was also a member of the Los Angeles Rams and the Baltimore Raven ...
from the
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...
. The team dealt Robert Quinn to the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
and
Alec Ogletree Alec Ogletree (born September 25, 1991) is an American football inside linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football for the University of Georgia and was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He had ...
to the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...
, and lost Trumaine Johnson to the
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The ...
in free agency before trading for five-time Pro Bowler Aqib Talib from the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
. The team continued building a defensively strong squad by signing free agent Ndamukong Suh, further bolstering their pass rush. Many experts and analysts began to label the Rams as a serious Super Bowl contender, and the Rams continued to build for a deep postseason run by picking up wide receiver Brandin Cooks in a trade with the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
, which replaced the loss of
Sammy Watkins Samuel Benjamin Watkins IV (born June 14, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills fourth overall in ...
to the Chiefs in free agency. The Rams then signed Cooks and running back Todd Gurley to five-year extensions, and offensive tackle
Rob Havenstein Rob Havenstein (born May 13, 1992) is an American football offensive tackle for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He played college footba ...
to a four-year extension. The Rams ended their off-season by signing defensive tackle
Aaron Donald Aaron Charles Donald (born May 23, 1991) is an American football defensive tackle for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Pittsburgh, where he received unanimous All-American honors, and ...
to a six-year contract worth $135 million. Donald had been holding out for some time as he had been seeking a new deal, and thus missed training camp for the second season in a row, despite privately training on his own. Donald's contract made him the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history, though this record was broken a day later when the
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...
signed newly acquired
Khalil Mack Khalil Delshon Mack (; born February 22, 1991) is an American football outside linebacker for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Buffalo, and was drafted by the Oakland Raiders with th ...
to a $141 million extension. The Rams opened their 2018 season on September 10 by defeating the
Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...
33–13 on
Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, ...
, scoring 23 unanswered second-half points in a game during which head coach McVay took on his former mentor,
Jon Gruden Jon David Gruden (born August 17, 1963) is a former American professional football coach who was a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He held his first head coaching position with the Raiders franchise during thei ...
, who was making his return to coaching. It was the first of two
Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, ...
appearances for the Rams in the season. The Rams continued their strong start with three straight wins at the
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a me ...
, shutting out the
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play th ...
34–0 in their home opener in Week 2, defeating the
Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...
35–23 in Week 3 and beating the
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
38–31 on
Thursday Night Football ''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to 2 ...
. Los Angeles then went three-for-three on the road with wins at
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...
(33–31),
Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
(23–20), and
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
(39–10). Returning home in Week 8, Los Angeles rallied to defeat the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the t ...
29–27 to improve to 8–0, their best start since
1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
. The Rams were the only remaining undefeated team in the NFL in 2018 until losing on the road to the
New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
in Week 9 at the
Mercedes-Benz Superdome The Caesars Superdome, commonly known as the Superdome (formerly known as Mercedes-Benz Superdome), is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the home stadium of the New Orleans Saint ...
. The Rams bounced back with three straight wins, defeating the
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...
36–31, and then winning a wild 54–51 shootout against the
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...
on ''
Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, ...
''. Following a bye week, the Rams beat the host
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...
30–16 in Week 13 to clinch both a playoff berth and their second straight
NFC West The National Football Conference - Western Division or NFC West is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Arizona Cardinals, the Los Ang ...
title. Los Angeles stumbled with back-to-back losses to the
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...
and
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
, and in the latter of those two games, franchise running back Todd Gurley suffered a leg injury that later led to inflammation, forcing him to miss the Rams' final two regular-season games, but the team finished strong with victories over the
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play th ...
and
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...
to clinch a first-round bye. The Rams' 13–3 record tied for the second-most wins in a single season in franchise history and were the most ever for any NFL team in Los Angeles. The Rams began their playoff run by defeating the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
30–22 in the divisional round to head to the
NFC Championship Game The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world ...
for the first time since January 2002. The following week, the Rams beat the Saints on the road 26–23 to advance to the Super Bowl for the first time since
Super Bowl XXXVI Super Bowl XXXVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
in January 2002, and since
Super Bowl XIV Super Bowl XIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champi ...
in January 1980 as a Los Angeles team. The game featured a controversial ending: on a third-down play inside the final two minutes with the score tied at 20, Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman made contact with Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis well before a pass from Saints quarterback
Drew Brees Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees i ...
had arrived. Additionally, Robey-Coleman delivered a helmet-to-helmet hit; however, no flag was thrown for pass interference or the illegal hit, leading to outrage from Saints players and fans as this denied New Orleans a first down, which would have likely put the game out of reach. After the game, there was speculation but no clear video evidence that the pass was tipped. The Rams lost in
Super Bowl LIII Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Confe ...
held at the
Mercedes-Benz Stadium Mercedes-Benz Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Opened in August 2017 as a replacement for the Georgia Dome, it serves as the home stadium of the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League ( ...
in
Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...
to the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
by a score of 13–3 in the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in history. It was the first time in 35 years that a Los Angeles team was featured in a Super Bowl. Rumors in the offseason swirled around Gurley and his knee injury, as despite a strong performance in the divisional round against the Cowboys, Gurley's performances in the NFC Championship and Super Bowl LIII were lackluster, and it was later reported after the Super Bowl that Gurley had arthritis in his knee. Nevertheless, Gurley would attempt to play a full slate in 2019. Meanwhile, the Rams' biggest free agency losses included offensive linemen
Rodger Saffold Rodger P. Saffold III (born June 6, 1988) is an American football guard for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the second round, 33rd overall in the 2010 NFL Draft. He played colleg ...
and John Sullivan, and defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh departed for Tampa Bay. Los Angeles did however make notable acquisitions during free agency, including linebacker Clay Matthews and safety Eric Weddle. The Rams opened their NFC title defense with a close victory over the
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...
, 30–27, and followed it up by defeating the Saints 27–9 in a highly anticipated rematch of the previous NFC Championship Game. Los Angeles then won their third straight game, a tight battle with the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conferenc ...
, though quarterback Jared Goff seemed to struggle. Goff's struggles would continue into the following week, where the Rams would lose a wild, high-scoring duel with the Buccaneers 40–55. Safety John Johnson, who was one of the team's strongest defensive players, suffered a season-ending injury in the loss. The Rams then met the divisional rival Seahawks on
Thursday Night Football ''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to 2 ...
, in what was another extremely tight game which saw Clay Matthews flagged for a controversial roughing the passer penalty on Seattle quarterback
Russell Wilson Russell Carrington Wilson (born November 29, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played his first 10 seasons for the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson is widely regarded ...
, which kept Seattle's eventual winning drive alive. Greg Zuerlein then missed a last-second field goal, which lost the game for the Rams by one point, 29–30. Gurley, who had suffered a quad injury against Seattle, would miss the Rams' Week 6 bout with the 49ers, in addition to Matthews and other key members of the Rams' offensive line. The depleted Rams lost 20–7, a game in which Goff was held to a career-low 78 yards passing and took four sacks. Two days after the loss, cornerback Marcus Peters was traded to the
Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...
in exchange for linebacker
Kenny Young Kenny Young (born Shalom Giskan, April 14, 1941 – April 14, 2020) was an American songwriter, musician, producer and environmental campaigner who wrote and in some cases produced hit songs for The Drifters, Ronnie Dove, Herman's Hermits, Mark ...
. Los Angeles then traded two first-round picks and a fourth-round pick to the
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...
in exchange for cornerback
Jalen Ramsey Jalen Lattrel Ramsey (born October 24, 1994) is an American football cornerback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State and was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars fifth ov ...
, who contributed well despite playing on a snap count in the Rams' 37–10 victory over the Falcons. The Rams defeated the
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...
24–10 in London before dropping a low-scoring battle with the
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
17–12. Between the games against the Bengals and Steelers, Aqib Talib, who was on injured reserve, was traded to the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
. Throughout the season, the Rams' offensive line had taken multiple injuries, which led to second-string players such as Bobby Evans and David Edwards getting significant playing time in the latter half of the year. The Rams, who were also missing wide receiver Robert Woods for a week, defeated the Bears 17–7 at home before being dismantled by the Ravens 45–6, with Baltimore scoring touchdowns on their first six drives while Goff and Gurley, the latter of whom had been significantly limited throughout the season, continued to struggle. Los Angeles responded with a 34–7 rout over the Cardinals, where rookie safety
Taylor Rapp Taylor Rapp (born December 22, 1997) is an American football safety who is a free agent. He played college football at Washington, and was selected by the Rams in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Early years Rapp was born in Atlanta, G ...
notched his first career interception, which he returned for a touchdown, while Goff threw his first passing touchdown in a month after going all of November without a single one. The team then turned in one of their strongest first-half performances of the year in a 28–12 victory over the Seahawks, in what was the final primetime NFL game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Rams, however, were unable to keep their momentum in a 21–44 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, dealing the team a devastating blow to their playoff chances and forcing them into a must-win game against the 49ers. The Rams led late in the game, but the 49ers won the wild affair 34-31 via a field goal after a miscommunication between Ramsey and Rapp on the final drive of the game led to a blown coverage, which put San Francisco in scoring position. The loss eliminated the Rams from playoff contention, denying them an opportunity to repeat as NFC Champions. In their final game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the team went out on a high note, defeating the Cardinals 31–24. Like the rest of the NFL, the Rams were forced to navigate a difficult offseason when the global COVID-19 pandemic struck, meaning offseason free-agent visits, college player visits, the Draft, and other team activities would be conducted virtually, and there would be no preseason held. In free agency, the Rams chose to release Todd Gurley after his lackluster 2019, where he finished with career-lows in touchdowns and rushing yards after being significantly limited by his knee injury. The Rams also traded Brandin Cooks, who, due to recurring concussion issues, missed multiple games the previous year. The team filled those holes by drafting running back Cam Akers and receiver
Van Jefferson Vanchi LaShawn Jefferson Jr. (born July 26, 1996) is an American football wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ole Miss and Florida and was selected by the Los Angeles Ra ...
. However, the Rams would lose Cory Littleton and
Dante Fowler Dante Antwane Fowler Jr. (born August 3, 1994) is an American football defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida. Fowler was selected third overall by the Jacksonville Jagua ...
in free agency, and were set to lose
Michael Brockers Michael Seth Brockers (born December 21, 1990) is an American football defensive tackle who is a free agent. He played college football at LSU. He was considered to be one of the best defensive tackle prospects in the 2012 NFL Draft, where he w ...
to the Ravens until a failed physical allowed him to return to Los Angeles on a 3-year deal. Kicker Greg Zuerlein would also depart, signing with the Cowboys, and he was replaced by rookie
Sam Sloman Samuel Cole Sloman (born September 19, 1997) is an American football placekicker for the Vegas Vipers of the XFL. He played college football at Miami University, and in 2019 he made 86.7% of his field goal attempts (leading all kickers in the ...
. One week before the start of the season, Jalen Ramsey was signed to a 5-year, $102 million deal, making him the highest-paid cornerback in league history. The Rams' 2020 season also marked the long-awaited opening of
SoFi Stadium SoFi Stadium () is a 70,240-seat sports and entertainment indoor stadium in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, California, United States. SoFi occupies the former site of the Hollywood Park Racetrack, from Los Angeles International Airport an ...
. At a cost of over $5 billion, SoFi Stadium is the most expensive stadium in the world, and hosts a seating capacity of approximately 70,000. Unfortunately, the ongoing pandemic made it impossible for the Rams to host any fans during their inaugural campaign at their new home. The team, which had also undergone a rebranding of logos, colors and uniforms, won their first game of the 2020 season by a score of 20–17 over the Cowboys, a game which featured a controversial ending, in which Dallas receiver
Michael Gallup Michael Gallup (born March 4, 1996) is an American football wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Colorado State. Early years Gallup attended Monroe Area High School in Mon ...
was flagged for offensive pass interference against Ramsey, which denied Dallas a large gain that would've been enough to put them in scoring position. Many argued that Ramsey "sold it" and was not completely interfered with making a play on the ball. The Rams would win their Week 2 game with a 37–19 rout over the Philadelphia Eagles, where Jared Goff, who appeared to have shrugged off last year's struggles, completed his first 14 consecutive passes and threw for three touchdowns, all to tight end
Tyler Higbee Tyler Higbee (born January 1, 1993) is an American football tight end for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Western Kentucky and was drafted by the Rams in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL ...
. The Rams then took part in a close battle with the Buffalo Bills, who led 28-3 before the Rams nearly pulled off the biggest comeback win in team history, but lost 35–32 on a controversial pass interference call against
Darious Williams Darious Williams (born March 15, 1994) is an American football cornerback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UAB Blazers football, UAB. Early life and high school Williams was born ...
. Williams, however, would respond by snagging a game-winning interception in a surprisingly low-scoring battle against the Giants, with a final score of 17–9. After a 30–10 win over the
Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...
in Week 5, the Rams would struggle in a 24–16 loss to a depleted San Francisco 49ers team. The defense stole the show in a bounce-back 24–10 win over the Bears in primetime, but the team then suffered an ugly 28–17 loss to the Dolphins. Despite Los Angeles shutting out Miami in the second half, Jared Goff struggled heavily against Miami's defense, only completed 35 of his 61 pass attempts while throwing two interceptions and losing two fumbles. After the bye week, Darious Williams would continue to impress, securing two interceptions in the Rams' 23–16 win over the Seahawks in Week 10. The Rams would then enter a crucial Monday battle against the Buccaneers, who were bolstered by the acquisition of
Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...
in the offseason. Brady, however, struggled against the Los Angeles defense, as rookie safety
Jordan Fuller Jordan Fuller (born March 4, 1998) is an American football safety for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State, and was selected by the Rams in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. E ...
picked off Brady twice, while Goff turned in a solid performance with just under 400 yards passing and 3 touchdowns, two of which were the first career touchdowns for Akers and Jefferson. Kicker Matt Gay also made his Rams debut. However, Goff went right back to struggling in a 23–20 loss to the 49ers, a game that saw the defense play incredibly strong, but poor decisions and throws from Goff never extended the Rams' lead in time to prevent a comeback. The following week, both the offense and defense shined in a 38–28 victory over Arizona, and in a highly anticipated rematch of Super Bowl LIII, the Rams dismantled the Patriots 24–3. However, in Week 15, in the biggest upset of the year, the Rams shockingly gave the 0-13
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The ...
their first win of the season, 23–20. Los Angeles went down by 13 points before scoring, and crucial mistakes from Goff as well as strong performances from the Jets defense put the game too far out of reach for the Rams offense. At this point in the season, many had suggested that the Rams needed to replace the turnover-prone Goff at quarterback, and calling the otherwise stellar team "a quarterback away" from being a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Goff, however, broke his thumb late in a 20–9 loss to Seattle, and in their season finale against the Cardinals,
John Wolford John Thomas Wolford (born October 16, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Wake Forest and signed with the New York Jets as an undrafted fre ...
made his first career start after Goff had surgery on his throwing hand. Despite not passing for any touchdowns, Wolford played strong, as did the Los Angeles defense, and the Rams took down the Cardinals 18–7, while the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the t ...
' victory over the Chicago Bears clinched the Rams a playoff berth. Wolford was given the start over Goff in the Rams' Wild Card round game against the Seahawks, though early on in the game, a rough hit by Seahawks safety
Jamal Adams Jamal Lee Adams (born October 17, 1995) is an American football strong safety for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU, and was drafted sixth overall in the 2017 NFL Draft by the New Yo ...
took Wolford out of the game with a neck injury. Goff, who was playing with a bandaged throwing thumb, came into the game and helped to steady the Rams' offense while the defense took over the rest of the game, and the Rams eliminated their rivals with a 30–20 win. However, Rams superstar defender Aaron Donald missed most of the second half with a rib injury, and the next week, with Wolford declared out due to his neck injury, Goff had to step in again in the Divisional round against a heavily favored Packers team. Goff played a more solid game, but Donald, who was apparently limited by his injury, was a non-factor in the game, and the Packers' mistake-free offense was too much for the Rams to overcome. Green Bay won 32–18 to advance to the NFC Championship.


= Super Bowl LVI champions (2021)

= Before
Super Bowl LV Super Bowl LV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2020 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the American Football Confere ...
had even been played, the Rams agreed to a blockbuster trade, as they dealt an inconsistently performing Jared Goff to the
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...
in exchange for Detroit's own quarterback,
Matthew Stafford John Matthew Stafford (born February 7, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia, where he was a first-team All-American, and was selected ...
. Acquiring Stafford came at a steep price, as Los Angeles gave up a 2021 third-round pick and two first-round picks in 2022 and 2023. The offseason saw more losses, as defensive coordinator Brandon Staley left to become the head coach of the crosstown rival Chargers, while the team also traded
Michael Brockers Michael Seth Brockers (born December 21, 1990) is an American football defensive tackle who is a free agent. He played college football at LSU. He was considered to be one of the best defensive tackle prospects in the 2012 NFL Draft, where he w ...
to the Lions, and chose not to retain impending free agents John Johnson,
Gerald Everett Skarino Gerald Rashard Everett (born June 25, 1994) is an American football tight end for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at South Alabama, and was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the ...
and Josh Reynolds. The Rams added more depth at wide receiver, signing free agent
DeSean Jackson DeSean William Jackson (born December 1, 1986) is an American football wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears, where he was recognized as a con ...
and drafting Tutu Atwell. Another addition came when the team suffered the loss of Cam Akers for the season due to an Achilles injury, and veteran Sony Michel was tapped as the replacement. Prior to the start of the season, SoFi Stadium was given the clearance to allow fans to attend Rams games for the first time during the pandemic. The Rams opened their 2021 season on
Sunday Night Football Sunday Night Football may refer to: * ''NBC Sunday Night Football'', the Sunday night broadcast of American NFL games by NBC since 2006 * ''ESPN Sunday Night Football'', the Sunday night broadcast of American NFL games from 1987 to 2005 by ESPN * ...
against the Chicago Bears. In front of a full capacity crowd, Matthew Stafford exploded in his Los Angeles debut, throwing for three touchdowns and 321 yards as the Rams defeated the Bears 34–14. The Rams followed it up with a close 27–24 win over the Indianapolis Colts before a strong victory against the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 34–24. The Rams were handed their first loss of the season against the division rival Arizona Cardinals, ending their perfect record against the Cardinals under Sean McVay, though the team was able to bounce back in a wild 26–17 win over another division opponent, the Seattle Seahawks, before a blowout win over the New York Giants 38–11. The Rams then squared off with Stafford's former team, the Lions, while also facing their former quarterback Jared Goff, a back-and-forth matchup that resulted in the Rams prevailing 28–19. A day after defeating the Lions, the team traded linebacker
Kenny Young Kenny Young (born Shalom Giskan, April 14, 1941 – April 14, 2020) was an American songwriter, musician, producer and environmental campaigner who wrote and in some cases produced hit songs for The Drifters, Ronnie Dove, Herman's Hermits, Mark ...
to the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
, and later confirmed that DeSean Jackson would be permitted to seek a trade. Jackson would later be released into free agency after the team was unable to find a trade partner. On Halloween, the Rams offense exploded for a 38–22 win over the
Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their home games at NR ...
. A day after the victory, the Rams made a blockbuster move, acquiring Pro Bowl linebacker
Von Miller Vonnie B'VSean Miller (born March 26, 1989) is an American football outside linebacker for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). Miller played college football at Texas A&M, where he earned consensus All-American honors and ...
from the Broncos in exchange for two draft picks. However, Miller was unable to make his debut the week he was traded, as he was still dealing with an ankle injury. On November 11, Los Angeles would then make another blockbuster move, signing former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to a one-year deal. However, the new acquisitions did not result in immediate dividends as the Rams lost three straight games to fall to 8–4. Turnovers plagued Los Angeles in both a 28–16 loss to the
Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...
on
Sunday Night Football Sunday Night Football may refer to: * ''NBC Sunday Night Football'', the Sunday night broadcast of American NFL games by NBC since 2006 * ''ESPN Sunday Night Football'', the Sunday night broadcast of American NFL games from 1987 to 2005 by ESPN * ...
and a 31–10 rout at the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...
on
Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, ...
, L.A.'s fifth straight loss to their traditional rival. Following a bye week, the Rams fell on the road at Green Bay in 36–28 loss to the Packers that dropped Los Angeles to 8–4. A 37–7 win at home versus the
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...
ended the Rams' skid, which was then followed by a resounding 30–23 victory on the road against
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
. Despite missing half a dozen starters due to
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
protocols, the Rams pulled away in the second half as Matthew Stafford threw touchdown passes to
Cooper Kupp Cooper Douglas Kupp (born June 15, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Eastern Washington, where he won the Walter Payton Award as a junior, ...
,
Van Jefferson Vanchi LaShawn Jefferson Jr. (born July 26, 1996) is an American football wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ole Miss and Florida and was selected by the Los Angeles Ra ...
and Odell Beckham Jr. to thrust L.A. back into the NFC West Division race. Though COVID-19 issues caused the Rams' home game against
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...
to be postponed for two days, Los Angeles clamped down on the Seahawks 20-10 for its third straight victory. In that game,
Cooper Kupp Cooper Douglas Kupp (born June 15, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Eastern Washington, where he won the Walter Payton Award as a junior, ...
caught nine passes for 136 yards and two TDs, and his 122 receptions through 14 games surpassed the Rams' single season receptions record held by Hall of Fame wide receiver Isaac Bruce. The Rams clinched their fourth NFC playoff berth in five seasons the following week by holding off the host
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
30–23. After going winless (0-3) in November, the Rams won four straight in December, though in their final game of the regular season, blew a 17–0 lead to the 49ers in their sixth straight loss to their division rivals, a result that allowed San Francisco into the postseason. Despite this, the Seahawks' victory over the Cardinals that same week allowed the Rams to finish in 1st place in the NFC West. Also, in a surprising development, Cam Akers was able to take the field in the Rams' regular season finale, having made an unprecedented quick recovery from his torn Achilles, though he took a very limited number of snaps in the game. Akers would go on to be a full participant in the Rams' postseason. In the playoffs, the Rams closed out the Wild Card round by defeating the divisional rival
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play th ...
in a 34–11 rout, taking place in the first ever Monday Night Football playoff game. One week later, against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
, the Rams jumped out to a 27–3 lead before Tom Brady and the Buccaneers stormed back into the game and tied it with under a minute remaining, though Cooper Kupp caught two deep passes from Matthew Stafford, and Matt Gay kicked a game-winning field goal that allowed the Rams to advance to the NFC Championship, where they would again face their divisional rival
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...
. The 49ers led 17-7 late in the game, but a sideline speech from Aaron Donald to the rest of the team's defense reinvigorated Los Angeles to come back and eventually take a 20–17 lead. Shortly after, with just over one minute remaining, Donald tackled 49ers quarterback
Jimmy Garoppolo James Richard Garoppolo (born November 2, 1991), nicknamed Jimmy G, is an American football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Eastern Illinois, where he set the school r ...
mid-throw, and his desperate pass was picked off by
Travin Howard Travin Howard (born May 10, 1996) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at TCU. Early years Howard was born in Longview, Texas, where he became a star at Longview High School. Playing safety, he e ...
, allowing the Rams to reach
Super Bowl LVI Super Bowl LVI was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2021 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams defeated the American Football Conference ...
, where they would face the
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...
. In the Super Bowl, the Rams took an early 13–3 lead on touchdowns from Kupp and Beckham, but Beckham went down with a non-contact ACL injury to end the first half, by which point Los Angeles' lead was cut to 3. The second half began with disaster, as Bengals quarterback
Joe Burrow Joseph Lee Burrow (born December 10, 1996) is an American football quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint with Ohio State, Burrow played college football at LSU, where he won the Heisma ...
connected with
Tee Higgins Tamaurice William "Tee" Higgins (born January 18, 1999) is an American football wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson, where he won the 2019 College Football Play ...
for a 75-yard touchdown, though replay footage showed Higgins appear to get away with grabbing Jalen Ramsey's facemask. No flag was thrown, and the Bengals eventually took a late 20–16 lead, but the Rams orchestrated a game-winning drive featuring multiple connections between Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp, and after a flurry of penalties near the end zone, Stafford and Kupp connected one final time for the Rams to take a 23–20 lead. On Cincinnati's final drive, the Bengals faced a 4th & 1 near mid-field, and, in a moment mirroring his game-winning tackle of Jimmy Garoppolo two weeks ago, Aaron Donald tackled Joe Burrow, and his final desperation throw fell incomplete, giving the Rams their second Super Bowl win as well as their first Super Bowl win in Los Angeles. This also marked the second year in a row that a team that played in the Super Bowl played in their home stadium (
SoFi Stadium SoFi Stadium () is a 70,240-seat sports and entertainment indoor stadium in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, California, United States. SoFi occupies the former site of the Hollywood Park Racetrack, from Los Angeles International Airport an ...
), as in
Super Bowl LV Super Bowl LV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2020 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the American Football Confere ...
, the Buccaneers won against the Chiefs in Raymond James Stadium. However, the Rams were designated as the away team, as in even-numbered years, the AFC is designated as the home team. After becoming Super Bowl champions, there was some doubt as to whether Aaron Donald and Sean McVay would return to the team, as reports began to circulate shortly before the Super Bowl that Donald was considering retirement, and McVay had been offered a TV deal with ESPN. However, McVay would state that he had no intention of going to TV, and later during a press conference, McVay said that Donald had communicated to him that he would also return. McVay later received a contract extension, as did wide receiver
Cooper Kupp Cooper Douglas Kupp (born June 15, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Eastern Washington, where he won the Walter Payton Award as a junior, ...
, while Donald's current deal was restructured to increase his guaranteed money to $95 million through the 2024 NFL season. Meanwhile, veteran offensive lineman
Andrew Whitworth Andrew James Whitworth (born December 12, 1981) is a former American football tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He spent his first 11 seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals and his final five with the Los Ange ...
announced his retirement shortly into the offseason. The Rams made a move at wide receiver near the start of free agency, signing free agent and former
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...
and
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...
wideout Allen Robinson to a three-year deal. Wide receiver Robert Woods, who had missed a majority of the previous season with a torn ACL, was the odd man out, as he was dealt to the
Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...
for a late round pick in 2023. Shortly before the Woods trade, the Rams extended quarterback Matthew Stafford on a four-year deal. The Rams also lost Von Miller to the Buffalo Bills in free agency, though eventually filled the hole by signing free agent linebacker and former division rival
Bobby Wagner Bobby Joseph Wagner (born June 27, 1990) is an American football inside linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Utah State, and was drafted in the second round of the 2012 NFL Dra ...
to a five-year deal. Wagner after signing with Los Angeles stated that he wanted to remain on the West Coast, and that "playing the Seahawks (his former team) twice a year was the cherry on top." In May 2022, it was publicly announced that Rams owner Stan Kroenke had purchased for approximately $150 million a 34-acre property in Woodland Hills that included The Promenade shopping mall. A month later, news was released revealing Kroenke as the buyer of an adjacent 31-acre property in Woodland Hills for $175 million. The combined 65-acre property is expected to be developed into a permanent team headquarters and practice facility.


Team value

''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' magazine estimated the worth of the team in 2015 as $1.45 billion, which at the time were the 28th most valuable NFL team and 44th most valuable sports team in the world. However, after moving back to Los Angeles, it was reported by
CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W ...
that the Rams' value shot up to $2.9 billion (doubling in value) placing them third in the NFL (only behind the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
and the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
). On September 15, 2016, Forbes released their 2016 "The Business of Football" valuations list the Los Angeles Rams value was $2.9 billion making the team the sixth most valuable team in the NFL. In 2021, Forbes released their annual NFL team values list. The Rams were ranked fourth on the list, at $4.8 billion, behind the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
,
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
, and
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...
. Although the move from St. Louis to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
was
controversial Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...
, the move was evidently worth it in terms of valuation. The franchise is one of the fastest growing sports teams in the world and achieved unprecedented year-by-year rankings as previously mentioned.


Culture

Given the extensive history of Los Angeles' relationship within the film and music industries; a large number of celebrity fans have shown their support for the Rams following their relocation in 2016. Such celebrities include: Taran Killam,
Jessica Alba Jessica Marie Alba ( ; born April 28, 1981) is an American actress and businesswoman. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in '' Camp Nowhere'' and '' The Secret World of Alex Mack'' (1994), and rose to prominence at age 19 ...
,
Ryan Seacrest Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American media personality and producer. He is the co-host of '' Live with Kelly and Ryan'', as well as the host of multiple media shows including ''American Idol'', ''American Top 40'', and ' ...
,
John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...
, YG,
Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...
,
Rebel Wilson Rebel Melanie Elizabeth Wilson (born Melanie Elizabeth Bownds; 2 March 1980) is an Australian actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. After graduating from the Australian Theatre for Young People in 2003, Wilson began appearing as Tou ...
, and
Niall Horan Niall James Horan ( ; born 13 September 1993) is an Irish singer-songwriter. He rose to prominence as a member of the boy band One Direction, formed in 2010 on the singing competition '' The X Factor''. The group released five albums and went ...
. A fair amount of celebrity fans had been longtime fans of the team even during their original tenure in Los Angeles prior to their relocation to St. Louis such as actors Danny Trejo,
Robert Patrick Robert Hammond Patrick (born November 5, 1958) is an American actor. Known for portraying villains and honorable authority figures, he is a Saturn Award winner with four other nominations. Patrick dropped out of college when drama class sparked ...
,
Cedric the Entertainer Cedric Antonio Kyles (born April 24, 1964), better known by his stage name Cedric the Entertainer, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He hosted BET's ''ComicView'' during the 1993–1994 season and '' Def Comedy Jam'' in 1995. He is b ...
,
Bryan Cranston Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) is an American actor and director who is best known for portraying Walter White in the AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and Hal in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–20 ...
, Ty Burrell,
Rob Lowe Robert Hepler Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker, and podcast host. He made his acting debut at the age of 15 with ABC's short-lived sitcom ''A New Kind of Family'' (1979–1980). Following numerous television roles in ...
, musicians such as
Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commer ...
guitarist
Tom Morello Thomas Baptist Morello (born May 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He is best known for his tenure with the rock band Rage Against the Machine and then with Audioslave. Between 2016 and 2019, More ...
,
Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albu ...
bassist
Nikki Sixx Nikki Sixx (born Frank Carlton Serafino Feranna Jr.; December 11, 1958) is an American musician, best known as the co-founder, bassist, and primary songwriter of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. Prior to forming Mötley Crüe, Sixx was a me ...
,
Blink 182 Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their sound has ...
bassist
Mark Hoppus Mark Allan Hoppus (born March 15, 1972) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer best known as the bassist and co-lead vocalist for the rock band Blink-182, being the only constant member and the only one to appear on every album ...
,
Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...
bassist
Flea Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, ...
, and
N.W.A. N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip hop group whose members were among the earliest and most significant popularizers and controversial figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, and the group is widely considered ...
member
DJ Yella Antoine Carraby (born December 11, 1961), better known by his stage name DJ Yella, is an American DJ, rapper, record producer and film director from Los Angeles, California. DJ Yella began his career as a member of the World Class Wreckin' C ...
. Actor Terry Crews is another notable fan as he was also drafted by the Rams in 1991 during his brief NFL career. Following the Rams' announced sale of seat licenses in 2016,
Magic Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in the ...
was the first person reported to have purchased season tickets.


Rivalries


San Francisco 49ers

The Rams’ rivalry with the 49ers extends back to the 1950s following the inception of the 49ers in 1950 when both teams were original members of the
NFC West The National Football Conference - Western Division or NFC West is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Arizona Cardinals, the Los Ang ...
. The rivalry began to rise in intensity during the 1970s when the two clubs would regularly fight for control of the division. The 1980s even yielded more notable matchups between the two teams, predominantly in favor of the 49ers. The two teams have met in the postseason 3 times including the 1989 NFC Championship. Following the Rams’ move to St. Louis in 1995, the rivalry did not have the same geographical hatred between San Francisco and Los Angeles, but there were still notable matchups between the two teams as the Rams’ re emerged successful in the postseason at the beginning of the millennium. The rivalry has recently gained more elements of relevance within the league as the Rams returned to Los Angeles in 2016. ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...
'' considers their rivalry the 8th best of all time in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...
. The 49ers and Rams are also the only two teams who have been a part of the NFC West since it was formed in . Notable Recent similarities between the teams include the hiring of two former
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...
offensive staff as head coaches for both clubs.
Sean McVay Sean McVay (born January 24, 1986) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He became the youngest NFL head coach in the modern era when he was hired by the Rams in 20 ...
and
Kyle Shanahan Kyle Michael Shanahan (born December 14, 1979) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons, wh ...
have both been credited with turning their respective teams around and making returns to the postseason; McVay managed to return the Rams to the Super Bowl in 2018, while Shanahan made an appearance the following season. Most recently, in 2021–22, Shanahan's 49ers defeated the Rams twice in the regular season, but McVay's Rams got redemption by defeating San Francisco in that year's NFC Championship Game, and Los Angeles would go on to win
Super Bowl LVI Super Bowl LVI was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2021 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams defeated the American Football Conference ...
.


Seattle Seahawks

The Rams' rivalry with the
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...
came into existence in 2002 following the Seahawks’ relocation to the NFC West. The first notable matchup between the two clubs occurred in the 2004 NFC Wild card round when the Rams managed to defeat the Seahawks in Seattle 27–20 and currently hold the streak for the only two wins against the Seahawks at home during the postseason. Much of the intensity waned as the Rams declined in competition throughout the 2000s and early 2010s, but several notable matchups between the two clubs would still occur. Most Recently the rivalry has grown exponentially in animosity between the two clubs with notable moments of taunting or violence occurring. Following the Rams’ return to Los Angeles in 2016, and subsequent playoff success (most recently with A Super Bowl victory in 2022); the Rivalry has increased in intensity; especially as Seattle's Legion Of Boom era teams waned in competition. Tensions especially ran high during the 2021 Wild Card game following a widely publicized taunt from Safety Jamal Adams during a postgame conference after a tough win over the Rams during week 16. The Rams would go onto decimate the Seahawks in the wild card game, with cornerback
Jalen Ramsey Jalen Lattrel Ramsey (born October 24, 1994) is an American football cornerback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State and was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars fifth ov ...
and quarterback
Jared Goff Jared Thomas Goff (born October 14, 1994) is an American football quarterback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at California, where he set the Pac-12 Conference season records for pas ...
expressing their satisfaction to get retribution following Adams' comments and cigar gesture. The Seahawks lead the series 25–24, but the Rams have won both playoff meetings.


Los Angeles Raiders/Los Angeles Chargers

Initially considered the "Battle of Los Angeles" during the Raiders' tenure in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994, the rivalry was nonexistent as the Rams had also moved to St. Louis the same year. The Raiders unsuccessfully attempted to move back to Los Angeles in 2015 after a failed joint stadium project with the then-San Diego Chargers. The intercity rivalry was revived only with the
Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...
being the city's AFC team following the Rams' return to Los Angeles in 2016, and their move from San Diego in 2017. Hostility erupted between the two clubs during a 2017 joint scrimmage at the Rams' training camp in
Irvine, California Irvine () is a master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on December 28, 197 ...
. Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman and Chargers receiver Keenan Allen initiated an altercation and multiple players rushed into the skirmish, creating an uproar from the crowd. Following the hiring of coach Sean McVay in 2017, the Rams managed to win back-to-back division titles, including an appearance in Super Bowl LIII during McVay's second season as head coach. The Chargers experienced their own playoff success by boasting a 12–4 record in 2018 and making an appearance in the 2018 AFC divisional round but also losing to the New England Patriots. The Rams lead the only regular-season matchup in Los Angeles thus far.


Arizona Cardinals

One of the oldest matchups for the Cardinals as both teams first met during the 1937 NFL Season whilst the Rams played in Cleveland, and the Cardinals were still originally located in Chicago. The Rivalry has resurged in recent years as both teams found playoff success, despite the Cardinals' best efforts; the Rams have been 9-1 since hiring head coach
Sean McVay Sean McVay (born January 24, 1986) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He became the youngest NFL head coach in the modern era when he was hired by the Rams in 20 ...
in 2017. The Week 17 matchup of the 2020 season saw both teams playing for a playoff birth; despite the injury to quarterback
Jared Goff Jared Thomas Goff (born October 14, 1994) is an American football quarterback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at California, where he set the Pac-12 Conference season records for pas ...
the Rams managed to pull off a victory over the cardinals in a 7–18 loss that would eliminate them from the postseason. The Cardinals' streak would end against the Rams the following season, they would also manage to steal the lead of the NFC from the Rams and start the season 7–0. The following matchup would see the Rams pull off a win on Monday Night Football, the Cardinals would also struggle by losing 6 of 10 games since their 7–0 start. The Cardinals would clinch a wild card berth after a week 17 win over the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
, ironically they would play the Rams in Los Angeles and lose in a 34-11 blowout loss that would see Kyler Murray throw 2 interceptions with one returning for a pick 6. The Rams own the series 47-39-2 in addition to 2 postseason wins in 1975 and 2022 respectively.


Dallas Cowboys

The rivalry between the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
and the Los Angeles Rams became prominent during the 1970s and 1980s. The Cowboys met the Rams eight times during that span and split those meetings. Two of those matchups decided the NFC's representative in the Super Bowl, with the Cowboys prevailing on both occasions. As of 2021, the series is currently tied 18–18, with the Rams leading 5–4 in the playoffs.


Logos and uniforms

The Rams were the first NFL team to have a logo on their helmets. Ever since halfback Fred Gehrke, who worked as a commercial artist in off-seasons, painted
ram Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...
horns 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 switched 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 In typography, a serif () is a small line or stroke regularly attached to the end of a larger stroke in a letter or symbol within a particular font or family of fonts. A typeface or "font family" making use of serifs is called a serif typeface ...
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 Des Plaines is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 60,675. The city is a suburb of Chicago and is located just north of O'Hare International Airport. It is situated on and is named after the ...
, 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 University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...
-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 1962–1963 the team's road white jersey featured a
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
-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 The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
, who introduced their blue-white-silverblue uniform that season, have worn white at home ever since), as owner
Dan Reeves Daniel Edward Reeves (January 19, 1944 – January 1, 2022) was an American football running back and coach in the National Football League (NFL). During his 38 years in the NFL, Reeves participated in nine Super Bowls, the third most for a ...
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 newly merged NFL, 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 the 10th game of 1967 through the 1971 opener, a stretch of 48 games; it was a tradition that continued under coaches Harland Svare, George Allen, and
Tommy Prothro James Thompson "Tommy" Prothro Jr. (July 20, 1920 – May 14, 1995) was an American football coach. He was the head coach at Oregon State University from 1955 to 1964 and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1965 to 1970, compil ...
. 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. Yellow-gold was restored to the team's color scheme 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 preseason games and then disappeared). Players' names were in contrasting white. The white jersey had similarly shaped blue horns, 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 in the middle of the blue section; they disappeared upon their move to St. Louis in 1995. From 1973 to 1976 the Rams were the only team to wear white cleats on the road and royal blue cleats at home; since 1977, they have worn white ones. 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. The jersey numerals were made thicker and blunter in 1975. The Rams primarily wore blue at home with this combination, but after 1977 occasionally wore white at home. The team wore its white jerseys for most of its 1978 home dates, including its postseason games with the
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
and the Dallas Cowboys—the latter is the only postseason game the Cowboys have ever won while outfitted in their blue jerseys. The gray face masks became navy blue in 1981. The Rams wore white jerseys exclusively in the
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...
and
1993 season File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The White House (Moscow), Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Cze ...
s, as well as other selected occasions throughout their 15 seasons in Anaheim. On April 12, 2000, the St. Louis Rams debuted new logos, team colors and uniforms. The Rams' primary colors were changed from royal blue and yellow to ''Millennium Blue'' and ''New Century Gold''. A new logo of a charging 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 electing to wear the white set in a pre-season game in San Diego in 2001. The helmet design essentially remained the same as it was in 1948, except for updates to the coloring, navy blue field with gold horns. The 2000 rams' horn design featured 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 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
and 2001 seasons. Additionally, the ''TV numbers'' on the jerseys, which had previously been on the sleeve, moved up to the shoulder pad. 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 The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...
and
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...
, the Rams reverted to gold pants with their white jerseys. In 2005, the Rams wore the blue pants 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 did away with the gold pants after they were used for only one regular-season game at Seattle. The blue jerseys with white pants and white jerseys with blue pants combinations 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 they wore blue pants with the blue jersey. The Rams ceased wearing the New Century gold pants after Nike took over as the NFL's uniform supplier in 2012. During their time in St. Louis, the Rams had worn blue at home. Like most other teams playing in a dome, the Rams did not need to wear white to gain an advantage with the heat. The Rams wore their white jerseys and blue pants in St. Louis against the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
, on October 19, 2008, forcing the Cowboys to wear their "unlucky" blue uniforms, and won the game 34–14. On October 21, 2012, the Rams wore white jerseys and white pants against the Green Bay Packers. 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. The Rams wore the throwback uniforms for two home games in 2009, on October 11 against the Minnesota Vikings and on December 20 against the Houston Texans. The Rams wore their 1999 throwbacks again on October 31, 2010, when they beat the
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...
20–10. The throwbacks have since then seen action for two select regular-season games each year since. 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 The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...
and
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...
. Four days after the NFL approved their return to Los Angeles, the team made slight changes to its branding. The only change to the team's wordmark logo was the location name, from St. Louis to Los Angeles, to reflect the team's move. The team's colors were retained. The Rams also announced there would be no significant changes to the team's uniforms, apart from the newly updated logos with the Los Angeles location name. In a March 21, 2016 interview with the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'', team chief operating officer Kevin Demoff said that there would be no uniform change for the team until 2019 (the year that the new stadium was originally planned to open). However, the stadium completion was pushed back one year into 2020 in May 2017, pushing the rebrand back to 2020 along with it. On August 11, 2016, the team announced on Twitter that it would wear its all-white uniforms for five of the team's eight home games during the 2016 season as a nod to the Fearsome Foursome era; the Rams wore their alternative royal blue and gold throwback uniforms for the other two games at the Coliseum and wore their midnight blue jerseys at their international game at
Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium () in Twickenham, south-west London, England, is a rugby union stadium owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), English rugby union governing body, which has its headquarters there. The England national rugby union team plays ...
. Throughout the 2016 season, the Rams' signage around the stadium, end zones, and other uses of the logo showed a variation that was only colored in blue and white, leading some fans to believe the team's upcoming rebrand would involve gold being completely dropped from the color scheme. For the 2017 season, the Rams announced they would be wearing helmets similar to the Fearsome Foursome era: Millennium blue helmets with white helmet horns and, voted on by fans, a white face mask. Fans also voted for a new pants design, which was a single blue stripe down the side of white pants, as well as an inverse design for road games. The team also began using the blue and white logo as their primary logo, confirming that they would be phasing out gold from their color scheme, although gold remained on the jerseys due to an NFL rule that teams must have the same jersey design for at least a minimum of five seasons. The Rams also announced a fan vote via
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
to decide which two home games they would wear throwback uniforms. Fans selected the October 8, 2017, game against the Seahawks and the December 31, 2017, game against the 49ers, the same two opponents the Rams wore throwbacks against the prior season. In their Week 3 road game against the 49ers, the Rams also participated in
NFL Color Rush The NFL Color Rush was a promotion done in conjunction with the National Football League (NFL) and Nike that promotes so-called "color vs. color" matchups with teams in matchup-specific uniforms that are primarily one solid color with alternatin ...
, wearing throwback-style all-yellow uniforms with blue detailing and blue numbers, as well as yellow horns on the helmets and white stripes outlined in blue on the pants. On July 27, 2018, the Rams announced that they would wear their throwback royal blue and yellow primary color uniform for home games at the
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a me ...
for the 2018 season. In conjunction with the change, the team retired its navy blue and metallic gold uniform. The Rams' white uniform remained unchanged, and its one alternate uniform is the yellow Color Rush uniform. Additionally, the team confirmed their new rebrand would take place in 2020 to coincide with the opening of their new home stadium,
SoFi Stadium SoFi Stadium () is a 70,240-seat sports and entertainment indoor stadium in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, California, United States. SoFi occupies the former site of the Hollywood Park Racetrack, from Los Angeles International Airport an ...
. On March 23, 2020, the Rams officially unveiled a new logo set and color scheme. The new primary logo features stylized "LA" lettering with a ram's horn forming and spiraling out of the top of the "A," with gradients to show curvature similar to a real ram's horn. A website showcasing the new look says the letters were included "ensuring that the Rams are forever tied to the city of Los Angeles." The secondary logo is a ram's head that combines several elements from previous logos of the team. New wordmarks were introduced as well, and the team's new colors were revealed as "Rams Royal" (royal blue) and "Sol" (yellow). Despite the optimism of the Rams' design team; the logo was very poorly received by a majority of the fanbase. COO Kevin Demoff stated that the two key elements the team kept in mind were the horns, which had long been symbolic of the team, and the royal blue and yellow color scheme. Demoff stated that the team had studied every single previous look for inspiration, and the goal was to "weave together this history into a new, modern look...respecting our past and representing our future." The Rams officially revealed the club's new uniform designs on May 13, 2020. The team initially introduced three combinations, two of which included a royal blue jersey with yellow and white gradient numbers, as well as yellow sleeve striping similar to the new shape of the horns. Blue pants with similar gradient stripes were introduced, alongside yellow pants with solid white and blue stripes. The road jersey was given a new "bone grey" color, which featured white and yellow sleeve patterns and blue numbers. Bone grey pants were featured alongside the road jersey, which included a white stripe with a thinner yellow stripe. All three combinations used a brand new metallic blue helmet design, featuring blue facemasks and the new styling of the horns similar to the team's logos. Later, however, the Rams wore three additional combinations: blue jerseys and bone grey pants, bone grey jerseys and blue pants and bone grey jerseys and yellow pants. They also wore bone grey socks as a variation to their all-bone grey look. On July 13, 2021, the Rams unveiled a white alternate uniform. This set was a modernized version of the team's 1973–1999 road uniform set, complete with blue rounded numbers and "Rams" patch on the left shoulder. Initially, the Rams wore yellow pants with the alternate white uniforms, but in Week 10 of the 2021 season, they wore blue pants with this set. The Rams chose the white alternates with yellow pants as their
Super Bowl LVI Super Bowl LVI was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2021 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams defeated the American Football Conference ...
uniform. On July 30, 2022, the Rams announced that the white uniform would supplant the bone uniform as its primary road uniform.


Season-by-season record

The table below shows the five most recent
NFL regular season The National Football League (NFL) regular season begins on the weekend following the first Monday of September (i.e, the weekend following the Labor Day holiday) and ends in early January, after which that season's playoffs tournament begins. I ...
records along with their respective finish in the
NFL playoffs The National Football League (NFL) playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the regular season to determine the NFL champion. Currently, seven teams from each of the league's two conferences qualify for the playoffs. A tie-breaki ...
. The Los Angeles Rams appeared in the postseason in four of the five last seasons, including a
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...
championship in the
2021 NFL season The 2021 NFL season was the 102nd season of the National Football League (NFL). The season was the first to feature a 17-game regular season schedule as the league expanded the season from 16 games. The regular season started on September 9, ...
and an appearance in the
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...
–the first since
2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...
–after the
2018 NFL season The 2018 NFL season was the 99th season of the National Football League (NFL) and the 53rd of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 6, 2018, with the NFL Kickoff Game with defending Super Bowl LII champion Philadelphia defeating ...
. Recent notable honors with current members of the Los Angeles Rams include
NFL Coach of the Year The National Football League Coach of the Year Award is presented annually by various news and sports organizations to the National Football League (NFL) head coach who has done the most outstanding job of working with the talent he has at his disp ...
in 2017 for
Sean McVay Sean McVay (born January 24, 1986) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He became the youngest NFL head coach in the modern era when he was hired by the Rams in 20 ...
,
Super Bowl MVP The Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award, or Super Bowl MVP, is presented annually to the most valuable player of the Super Bowl, the National Football League's (NFL) championship game. The winner is chosen by a panel of 16 football writer ...
for
Cooper Kupp Cooper Douglas Kupp (born June 15, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Eastern Washington, where he won the Walter Payton Award as a junior, ...
in 2021, and
NFL Defensive Player of the Year Several organizations give out NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards that are listed in the ''NFL Record and Fact Book'' and ''Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League''. The Associated Press (AP) has been givi ...
in 2017, 2018, and 2020 for
Aaron Donald Aaron Charles Donald (born May 23, 1991) is an American football defensive tackle for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Pittsburgh, where he received unanimous All-American honors, and ...
. ''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, W–L% = Winning percentage''


Notable players


Current roster


Retired numbers

Numbers that have been retired by the Rams:


Hall of Famers

Former Rams in the
Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...
include
Joe Namath Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943) is a former American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. He played college fo ...
(12),
Marshall Faulk Marshall William Faulk (born February 26, 1973) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and St. Louis Rams. He is widely regarded as one of the gre ...
(28), Ollie Matson (33), Orlando Pace (76), Andy Robustelli (84),
Dick "Night Train" Lane Richard Lane (April 16, 1928 – January 29, 2002), commonly known as Dick "Night Train" Lane, was an American professional football player who was a cornerback for 14 years in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Los Angele ...
(81),
Kurt Warner Kurtis Eugene Warner (born June 22, 1971) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. His career, which saw him ascend f ...
(13), and coach Earl "Dutch" Clark. Three other figures associated with the Rams are members of the Hall of Fame, but were elected more on the basis of their accomplishments outside the Rams: *
Sid Gillman Sidney Gillman (October 26, 1911 – January 3, 2003) was an American football player, coach and executive. Gillman's insistence on stretching the football field by throwing deep downfield passes, instead of short passes to running backs or ...
, inducted as a coach, was head coach for five seasons, but had his greatest success in the same position with the
San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
. *
Pete Rozelle Alvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle (; March 1, 1926 – December 6, 1996) was an American businessman and executive. Rozelle served as the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) for nearly thirty years, from January 1960 until his retirement i ...
, inducted as a contributor, served the Rams as public relations director and later general manager, but his induction was based mainly on his 29 years as
NFL commissioner The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...
. *
Tex Schramm Texas Earnest Schramm Jr. (June 2, 1920 – July 15, 2003) was an American football executive who was the original president and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys franchise of the National Football League (NFL). Schramm, usually referred to ...
, also inducted as a contributor, was a Rams executive for 9 years, but had his greatest impact as president and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys for their first 29 years of existence. * Gil Brandt, also inducted as a contributor, was a Rams scout for 3, but like Schramn, his greatest impact was his involvement with the Dallas Cowboys for their first 29 years of existence.


St. Louis Football Ring of Fame

Former Rams were included in the
St. Louis Football Ring of Fame The Dome at America's Center is a multi-purpose stadium used for concerts, major conventions, and sporting events in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Previously known as the Trans World Dome from 1995 to 2001 and the Edward Jones Dom ...
, which was located in
The Dome at America's Center The Dome at America's Center is a multi-purpose stadium used for concerts, major conventions, and sporting events in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Previously known as the Trans World Dome from 1995 to 2001 and the Edward Jones D ...
. All players included are
Hall of Famers A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...
, but there have been a few exceptions for team executives and coaches.


Awards


Notable coaches


Head coaches


Current staff


Radio and television

The Rams were the first NFL team to televise their home games; in a sponsorship arrangement with
Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...
television, all home games of the
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 (AAFC) expanded the league to 13 teams. Meanwhile, television brought a new era to the game. The Los Angele ...
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 original stint in Los Angeles all games were broadcast on
KMPC KMPC (1540 AM, "Radio Korea", 라디오코리아) is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California. It is owned by P&Y Broadcasting Corporation. Radio Korea is a division of the Radio Korea Media Group. The station airs Korean– ...
radio (710 AM); play-by-play announcers were
Bob Kelley Robert J. Kelley (May 17, 1917 – September 9, 1966) was an American sportscaster, best known as the radio play-by-play announcer for the Rams pro football team from that NFL franchise's inception in 1937 in Cleveland, after its move to Los Ang ...
(who accompanied the team from Cleveland and worked until his death in 1966),
Dick Enberg Richard Alan Enberg (January 9, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American sportscaster. Over the course of an approximately 60-year career, he provided play-by-play of various sports for several radio and television networks, including ...
(1966–1977), Al Wisk (1978–1979), Bob Starr (1980–1989, 1993), Eddie Doucette (1990),
Paul Olden Paul Olden (born 1954) 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. Early life and career Born in Chicago, Olden moved with his ...
(1991–1992), and
Steve Physioc Steve Physioc () is a retired American sportscaster who has called play-by-play for various baseball, basketball, and football teams. He retired while working with the Kansas City Royals, who he had worked with since February of 2012. Early life ...
(1994). Analysts included
Gil Stratton Gil Stratton Jr. (June 2, 1922 – October 11, 2008) was an actor and sportscaster who was born in Brooklyn, New York. He most recently resided in Toluca Lake, California, until his death from congestive heart failure. Early life Stratton wa ...
, Steve Bailey,
Dave Niehaus David Arnold Niehaus (February 19, 1935 – November 10, 2010) 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 ...
(1968–1972),
Don Drysdale Donald Scott Drysdale (July 23, 1936 – July 3, 1993) was an American professional baseball player and television sports commentator. A right-handed pitcher for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers for his entire career in Major League Baseball, D ...
(1973–1976),
Dick Bass Richard Lee Bass (March 15, 1937 – February 1, 2006) was an American football running back from who played for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL) from 1960 to 1969. Early life and education Born in Georgetown, Missis ...
(1977–1986), Jack Youngblood (1987–1991), Jack Snow (1992–1994), and
Deacon Jones David D. "Deacon" Jones (December 9, 1938 – June 3, 2013) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers, and the Washington Redskins. H ...
(1994). During the team's stint in St. Louis it had a few broadcast partners. From 1995 to 1999 the Rams games were broadcast on KSD 93.7 FM. From 2000 to 2008
KLOU KLOU (103.3 FM) is a radio station with a classic hits format in St. Louis, Missouri, specializing in hits from the 1980s and 1990s with some 1970s hits mixed in. Its transmitter is located in Gravois, and operates from studios in St. Louis ...
FM 103.3 was the Rams' flagship station with
Steve Savard Steve Savard is an American sports anchor and the former "Voice of the St. Louis Rams", serving in that role from 1999 to 2015. He was the lead news anchor and former sportscaster at KMOV in St. Louis, Missouri. Savard, a St. Louis native, atten ...
as the play-by-play announcer. Until October 2005, Jack Snow had been the color analyst since 1992, dating back to the team's original stint in Los Angeles. 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. From 2009 until 2015, the Rams' flagship radio station was 101.1 FM WXOS, a sports station in St. Louis affiliated with
ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternately platform-agnostically branded as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN ...
. Savard served as the play-by-play man with D'Marco Farr in the color spot and Brian Stull reporting from the field. Preseason games not shown on a national broadcast network were seen on
KTVI KTVI (channel 2) is a television station in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside CW owned-and-operated station KPLR-TV (channel 11). Both stations share studios o ...
in St. Louis; preseason games are produced by the Kroenke-owned
Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
-based
Altitude Sports and Entertainment Altitude Sports and Entertainment (usually referred to as simply Altitude) is an American regional sports cable and satellite television channel owned by Stan Kroenke's Kroenke Sports & Entertainment. The channel, which serves the Rocky Moun ...
, which shares common ownership with the Rams. Months after the Rams returned to Los Angeles, it was announced on June 9, 2016, that their anchor station would be CBS' O&O station
KCBS-TV KCBS-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent outl ...
will air pre-season games that are not on national television. The KCBS broadcasting team includes Andrew Siciliano (play-by-play announcer),
Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...
former running backs
Eric Dickerson Eric Demetric Dickerson (born September 2, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. Dickerson played college football for the Mustangs of Southern Meth ...
and
Marshall Faulk Marshall William Faulk (born February 26, 1973) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and St. Louis Rams. He is widely regarded as one of the gre ...
providing color commentary. In 2017
NFL Network NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and NF ...
analyst
Daniel Jeremiah Daniel Jeremiah (born December 5, 1977) is an analyst for the NFL Network, and a writer with NFL.com. He also serves as a color commentator for Los Angeles Chargers games on KFI radio. Jeremiah was a starting quarterback at Northeastern Louis ...
replaced Dickerson. KCBS's
Jill Arrington Tiffany "Jill" Arrington (born July 27, 1972) is an American sportscaster and reporter. She previously was a sports anchor at KCBS and KCAL in Los Angeles for three years. Before that, she was in the same position at Fox Sports 1 and Fox Spor ...
and Rams reporters Dani Klupenger and Myles Simmons also provide insight; a pre-game show airs a half-hour before each game in addition former Rams quarterback
Jim Everett James Samuel Everett III (born January 3, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Rams. He played college football for the Purdue Boilerma ...
and former defensive back and sports anchor/director Jim Hill provides an inside look into each upcoming game with player profiles, live interviews from booth and sideline updates and a 30-minute postgame that provides game breakdown, film analysis, and press conference look-ins with head coach
Sean McVay Sean McVay (born January 24, 1986) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He became the youngest NFL head coach in the modern era when he was hired by the Rams in 20 ...
and select players. Spanish-language game coverage is provided by Spanish-language sister stations Univision 34 (one home game) and UniMás 46 (two away games) in Spanish. In 2016, the Rams' news and highlights where shown on ''Rams Primetime Live'' on
KABC-TV KABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast Flagship (broadcasting), flagship of the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network. ...
on Saturday nights after college football games during the regular season, hosted by sports anchor Rob Fukuzaki, sports reporter Ashley Brewer and
traffic reporter Traffic reporting is the near real-time distribution of information about road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike s ...
Alysha Del Valle. Starting with the 2021 preseason, KABC-TV is televising Rams preseason games, along with the weekly Rams 360 show. Under the league's current national TV contracts for regular-season games, Fox O&O
KTTV KTTV (channel 11) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNetworkTV ou ...
carries the bulk of the team's games due to Fox holding the rights to the NFC contract, along with ''
Thursday Night Football ''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to 2 ...
''. KCBS carries Sunday afternoon games in which the Rams host an AFC team (pending any Rams Sunday game that the league later decides in mid-season to " cross-flex" between Fox and CBS).
KNBC KNBC (channel 4) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Corona- ...
airs '' NBC Sunday Night Football'' and some selected Thursday night games produced by NBC. As for games that air on
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
's ''
Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, ...
'', KABC simulcasts these cable games carries those games as the two channels share common ownership. The league's blackout policy is not currently in effect, meaning that besides road games, all Rams home games are televised in the Los Angeles market, regardless of attendance. If the Chargers and Rams are both playing at the same time on Sunday afternoons on a certain network (for instance, a Rams road game against an AFC opponent at the same time as a Charger home game with an NFC opponent with both on Fox, or the reverse where the Rams are on the road against an AFC opponent and the Chargers are at home against an AFC opponent on CBS), in the Los Angeles market, Fox and CBS have authorization to carry the additional game on their secondary sister stations; Fox games air on KCOP-TV, while CBS games are aired on
KCAL-TV KCAL-TV (channel 9) is an independent television station in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside CBS West Coast flagship KCBS-TV (channel 2). Both stations share studios at the CBS ...
. On June 20, 2016, the Rams announced their Los Angeles-area radio broadcasting rights agreements. As of 2016, the Rams' official flagship radio station is KSPN-AM, while the team's official FM radio station is
KCBS-FM KCBS-FM (93.1 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. It is owned by Audacy, Inc., and broadcasts an adult hits music format branded as "93.1 Jack FM". Unlike most radio stations airing t ...
(owned by
Entercom Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corporation, it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning 235 radio stations across 48 media ...
). On July 19, 2016, the Rams announced that they had reached an agreement with KWKW for
Spanish-language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a global language with more than 500 million native speakers, mainly in the Am ...
coverage of the team. The Rams' radio English broadcast team is J.B. Long (
play-by-play In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...
voice announcer), Maurice Jones-Drew (color analyst), and D'Marco Farr (sideline reporter) with Mario Solis and Troy Santiago comprising the Spanish broadcast team. ESPN 710 also broadcasts a three-hour pre-game broadcast show featuring Steve Mason,
Kirk Morrison Kirk David Morrison (born February 19, 1982) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft and also played for the Jacksonville Jagu ...
(former NFL linebacker) and Eric Davis as well as a two-hour post-game show with
Travis Rodgers Travis Rodgers is a sports talk radio personality on Los Angeles ESPN affiliate KSPN (AM). He was the host of the Yahoo! Sports Radio program, ''Travis Rodgers Now,'' which aired weekdays 12-2pm EST. He also co-hosted the KLAA 830 AM program ''ESP ...
, Morrison, and Davis, Jeff Biggs will cover the Rams during halftime.


Radio affiliates

Source:


English


Spanish


See also

* History of the National Football League in Los Angeles


References


External links

*
Los Angeles Rams
at the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...
official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Los Angeles Rams 1946 establishments in California National Football League teams American Football League (1936) teams American football teams established in 1936 Sports teams in California Kroenke Sports & Entertainment 1936 establishments in Ohio Sports teams in Ohio