NFL franchise story

St. Louis Rams

The Rams' franchise line crosses Cleveland, Los Angeles and St. Louis, connecting early integration, the Fearsome Foursome, the Greatest Show on Turf and Sean McVay's modern champion.

Every era · The defining players · Five essential games

The franchise timeline

Every era of the Los Angeles Rams.

Move through the franchise chronologically. The jerseys identify each chapter’s central cast, and every card opens the complete story of that era.

Historical reference: Los Angeles Rams official NFL team page ↗

The beginning

Franchise era

1937—1948

Bob Waterfield

Tom Fears

Kenny Washington

A title team becomes Los Angeles's first major pro club

Cleveland champions move west

The Rams won the 1945 championship, moved to Los Angeles and signed Washington, helping reintegrate the modern NFL.

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Chapter 01

1937—1948

Franchise era

1949—1972

Norm Van Brocklin

Deacon Jones

Merlin Olsen

Wide-open offense gives way to a legendary line

Stars and the Fearsome Foursome

Los Angeles produced record crowds, prolific passing and one of football's most feared defensive fronts.

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Chapter 02

1949—1972

Franchise era

1973—1989

Jack Youngblood

Eric Dickerson

Henry Ellard

Division dominance keeps colliding with a dynasty

A perennial NFC power

The Rams won seven straight division titles and reached the 1979 Super Bowl, but Dallas, Minnesota and San Francisco repeatedly blocked the path.

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Chapter 03

1973—1989

Franchise era

1990—1998

Jim Everett

Jerome Bettis

Isaac Bruce

A franchise changes cities while rebuilding

Decline and the move to St. Louis

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.

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Chapter 04

1990—1998

Franchise era

1999—2004

Kurt Warner

Marshall Faulk

Isaac Bruce

Speed and spacing transform the league

The Greatest Show on Turf

Warner's emergence, Faulk's versatility and a deep receiving corps produced two Super Bowls and the championship after the 1999 season.

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Chapter 05

1999—2004

Franchise era

2005—2016

Steven Jackson

Chris Long

Aaron Donald

St. Louis struggles before Los Angeles gets the Rams back

The long rebuild and return home

Jackson carried years of losing, Donald arrived as a foundational defender and the franchise returned to Los Angeles in 2016.

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Chapter 06

2005—2016

Franchise era

2017—present

Matthew Stafford

Aaron Donald

Cooper Kupp

Modern offense evolves into a veteran championship bet

The McVay era

McVay changed the offense immediately, reached two Super Bowls and won the second after the Rams traded aggressively for Stafford and veteran stars.

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Chapter 07

2017—present

Present day

The essential watchlist

Five St. Louis Rams games to start with.

Curated from the franchise’s defining eras, championship stakes and the games that still carry its story.

#01 · Conference Championship

Conference Championship

1945

WASHINGTON

CLEVELANDRAMS

1945-12-16

Washington vs Cleveland Rams

1945-12-16

#02 · Conference Championship

Conference Championship

Cleveland Browns vs Los Angeles Rams

1951-12-23

#03 · Super Bowl

Pittsburgh Steelers vs Los Angeles Rams

1980-01-20

#04 · Super Bowl

St. Louis Rams vs Tennessee Titans

2000-01-30

#05 · Super Bowl

Los Angeles Rams vs Cincinnati Bengals

2022-02-13

Season history

Every season

89 seasons · newest first

Game archive

Latest games

1,344 total · loaded 10 at a time