Ram-Cowboy Exhibition in London Planned

The National Football League is working on arrangements for the Rams and the Dallas Cowboys to play an exhibition game in London next summer, Ram owner Georgia Frontiere said Saturday.

Frontiere said the game originally was her idea--not only to play but to tie it in with tours of American military bases near London and Frankfurt, West Germany, with any profits going to charity.

“There are five Air Force bases around London alone,” she said. “Can you imagine what it would mean to our servicemen?”

The Rams were scheduled to play the Hall of Fame Game at Canton, Ohio, against the Kansas City Chiefs next summer but have already been excused from that commitment by the NFL. The game against the Cowboys would be an extra exhibition, preceding the other four.

Frontiere has been trying to arrange the game for four years. She and husband Dominic spend each summer in England, where he conducts the London Symphony.

Last year, they became unofficial sponsors of a team that plays in an English semipro football league. The team is the Greenwich Rams, whose colors are also blue and gold.

NFL games are seen tape-delayed on English television, and the Super Bowl attracts large audiences for live satellite telecasts despite being played in the middle of the night.

“The interest is incredible,” Frontiere said, “and the Rams are one of their favorite teams.”