Los Angeles Rams 1945 Cleveland Rams LIVING UP TO THEIR NAME In the 1930s Fordham University in New York produce produce some of the best football teams in the country The Fordham Rams were noted for their strong offensive line These players were called the Seven Blocks of Granite Buzz Wetzel admired Fordham Wetzel was general general manager of a new National Football League NFL team It was located in Cleveland Ohio He called his team the Rams The name implied speed and power Unfortunately those qualities were lacking when the team began play in 1937 Their college namesake went 7 0 1 that season The Fordham Rams were ranked third in the country But Cleveland finished at a woeful 1 10 9
Los Angeles Rams In 1939 Cleveland went 5 5 1 Rookie quarterback Parker Hall led the league in completions He earned the Most Valuable Player MVP award Aside from that season the Rams posted losing records It took another rookie to spark the team in 1945 The story was practically a Hollywood script The rookie was quarterback Bob The Rifle Waterfield Like Hall Waterfield was named the league’s MVP He led the Rams to a 9 1 season Cleveland topped its division The Rams hosted the Washington Redskins for the 1945 NFL Championship Game A blizzard blew into Cleveland The game-day temperature dropped to 2 F 18 9 C In the first quarter Washington quarterback Sammy Baugh threw a pass from his own end zone The ball hit the goalpost It bounced to the frozen turf Under existing rules it was a safety The Rams received two points In the end those points decided the game Each team scored two touchdowns Washington made both extra points The Rams missed one But they held on to win A sportswriter gave Waterfield credit for the win Waterfield literally beat the Washington Redskins 15 14 singlehanded he wrote Owner Dan Reeves rewarded Waterfield with a new left Bob Waterfield 10
Los Angeles Rams GRIDIRON GREATS HELMET HISTORY Until 1948 all NFL players wore plain leather helmets Rams halfback Fred Gehrke had been an art major in college He painted golden yellow ram’s horns on the team’s headgear Owner Dan Reeves paid him 1 per helmet Making one for every player took him several months When the Rams wore them for the first time everyone in the stands leaped to their feet Fans applauded the new look Other teams quickly added designs to their helmets Today all NFL teams except the Cleveland Browns display logos on their helmets 11
