Los Angeles Rams · Franchise era 4 of 7
Decline and the move to St. Louis: the Los Angeles Rams story
The story in one sentence
The final Anaheim teams faded before Georgia Frontiere moved the club to St. Louis, where Bruce became the first piece of a sudden offensive leap.
A franchise changes cities while rebuilding
Jim Everett, Jerome Bettis and Isaac Bruce gave the era its recognizable core.
Its ending created the conditions for the greatest show on turf.
Timeline
How it unfolded
Before 1990
What came before
The Rams won seven straight division titles and reached the 1979 Super Bowl, but Dallas, Minnesota and San Francisco repeatedly blocked the path.
- 16TradeApril 20, 1996
April 20, 1996
The trade that made Jerome Bettis a Pittsburgh icon
The Rams had shifted away from Bettis after only three seasons. Pittsburgh saw the power runner capable of restoring the identity lost when Franco Harris departed.
To PIT19963RDround asset
To LAR19962NDround asset1997PICKround assetJerome Bettis to PittsburghPIT receives Jerome Bettis, 1996 3rd-round pickLAR receives 1996 2nd-round pick, 1997 fourth-round pick4 original assets · 1 outcomes tracedOpen trade → After 1998
What came next
Warner's emergence, Faulk's versatility and a deep receiving corps produced two Super Bowls and the championship after the 1999 season.
The core