Glory Days T he state of Ohio has a proud football history In fact many people consider it to be the birthplace of the professional game When the NFL announced plans to expand in 1937 the league turned to Cleveland Ohio The city already had a team called the Rams and owner Homer Marshman was eager to be part of the NFL Cleveland’s early stars included Johnny Drake Chet Adams Jim Benton and Ted Livingston They helped form a competitive team but the Rams did not have a winning season until 1945 That year a rookie named Bob Waterfield joined the club He was a talented quarterback who also kicked field goals The Rams found a perfect coach in Adam Walsh He believed that strong-armed passers such as 6
Waterfield were the future of football The Rams went 9 1 in 1945 and won their first NFL championship A few months later fans were shocked to learn that the Rams were moving to Los Angeles California Dan Reeves was now the team owner He believed that the Rams would draw more fans out West where the population was skyrocketing Other sports teams had thought of doing the same thing The Rams were the first to actually take the chance It turned out to be a great move The Rams had a star-studded team Waterfield and Norm Van Brocklin shared time at quarterback Waterfield usually played the first and third quarters and Van Brocklin would come in for the second and fourth quarters They had two excellent receivers in Tom Fears and Elroy Crazy Legs Hirsch Three big running backs Dan Towler Tank Younger and Dick Hoerner made up the Bull Elephant backfield Towler and Younger were two of the NFL’s top African-American stars In an era when there weren’t many black players in the league the Rams were pioneers Other African-American stars who took the field for Los Angeles included Kenny Washington Woody Strode LEFT Bob Waterfield was picked to be on the cover of the NFL Guide in 1946 ABOVE Tank Younger was an early African-American star 7
Dick Night Train Lane and Bob Boyd The team reached the NFL Championship Game four times from 1949 to 1955 The Rams won the league title once in 1951 The team struggled after the glory years of the 1950s By the mid-1960s however the Rams were competitive again The key was their defensive line of Deacon Jones Merlin Olsen Rosey Grier and Lamar Lundy who together were known as the Fearsome Foursome They got help from linebackers Maxie Baughan and Jack Pardee and defensive backs Eddie Meador and Clancy Williams Quarterback Roman Gabriel guided a strong offense that included receivers Jack Snow and Bernie Casey and running backs Les Josephson and Dick Bass Los Angeles won its division seven years in a row during the 1970s The Rams reached the Super Bowl for the first time in 1980 Again their defense led the way Jack Youngblood Jack Reynolds Fred Dryer and Isiah Robertson were all hard-hitting stars The offense relied on a balanced attack that featured receiver Harold Jackson and running back Lawrence McCutcheon The Rams continued their fine play during the 1980s Their best player was Eric Dickerson He was a tall graceful running back with LEFT Eric Dickerson ABOVE Jack Youngblood 9
