Los Angeles Rams
The only NFL franchise to win championships representing three different cities.
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The team plays its home games at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, which it shares with the Los Angeles Chargers. They are headquartered at the Rams Village at Warner Center in Los Angeles.
Quick Facts
- Primary context
- NFC West Division & Playoff History
- Defining matchup type
- Playoff Eliminations
- Notable period
- 2000s NFC Championship Contention
- Status
- Active Inter-Conference Rivalry
Lore & Background
The franchise was founded in 1936 as the Cleveland Rams in Cleveland, Ohio. The franchise won the 1945 NFL Championship Game, then moved to Los Angeles in 1946, making way for Paul Brown's Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference 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 until 1980, when it moved into a reconstructed Anaheim Stadium in Orange County, California. The Rams made their first Super Bowl appearance at the end of the 1979 NFL season, losing Super Bowl XIV to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 31–19. After the 1994 NFL season, the Rams left Southern California and moved to St. Louis, Missouri, becoming the St. Louis Rams. Five seasons later, the team defeated the Tennessee Titans to win Super Bowl XXXIV, 23–16 in the first season of the 'Greatest Show on Turf' era, in which they also made Super Bowl XXXVI but lost 20–17 to the New England Patriots. After the 2015 NFL season, the team sought and received approval from the other owners to move back to Los Angeles in time for the 2016 NFL season. The Rams appeared in Super Bowl LIII but lost to the Patriots, 13–3. Three years later, the Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23–20 to win Super Bowl LVI, becoming the second NFL team to win the Super Bowl in its home stadium. The club is the only NFL franchise to win championships representing three different cities: Cleveland in 1945, St. Louis in 1999, and Los Angeles in 1951 and 2021.
Reader's Guide
The Cleveland Rams were founded on April 11, 1936, by Ohio attorney Homer Marshman and player-coach Damon Wetzel. The team was part of the newly formed American Football League and finished the 1936 regular season in second place with a 5–2–2 record. The Rams joined the National Football League on February 12, 1937, and were assigned to the Western Division. 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. The team achieved success in 1945, winning their first NFL Championship. On January 12, 1946, Reeves was denied a request by the other NFL owners to move the Cleveland Rams to Los Angeles, but a settlement was reached and the move was permitted. The Rams signed Kenny Washington on March 21, 1946, and added Woody Strode on May 7, 1946, becoming the first NFL team to integrate. The Rams' heyday in Southern California was from 1949 to 1955, when they played in the pre-Super Bowl era NFL Championship Game four times, winning once in 1951. During the 1951 championship season, Elroy Hirsch posted 1,495 receiving yards with 17 touchdowns. The 1950 Los Angeles Rams became the first professional football team to have all their games televised.
More in Great Rivalries & Feuds
Elsewhere in Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced