After 10 Years, Rams Are Still His Cross to Bear
Randy Cross, the right guard for the San Francisco 49ers, remembers the first time he ever played against the Rams.
“My rookie year, 1976, I was a captain for the Monday night game at the Coliseum,” Cross said. “That’s when James Harris was the (Ram) quarterback and we sacked him 10 times.”
Cross takes no credit for the sacks. He doesn’t even remember how well he played that night. What he remembers is the coin toss.
“I was introduced to Hacksaw (Reynolds) and (Dave) Elmendorf and Merlin Olsen. I grew up idolizing Merlin Olsen. I was a defensive lineman in high school and I thought he was the greatest ever.
“So at the introductions I said, ‘Hi, Hacksaw,’ and ‘Hi, Dave,’ and when I got to Merlin I shook his hand and said, ‘Nice to meet you, Mr. Olsen.’
“He said, ‘I am getting old.’ ”
Cross has faced off against the Rams almost 20 times since, as he will Sunday at Anaheim. Olsen and Elmendorf and Hacksaw are long gone, but the rest is familiar.
“As much as the faces have changed and the organization has changed and the (coaching) staff has changed, at both the Coliseum and Anaheim, they’ve sort of stayed the same,” Cross said. “They’ve always been a quick-fire offense and a real good defense.”
And, of course, even the fact that the Rams have a new quarterback, Steve Bartkowski, that situation is the same.
“Gee, it surprises me, they’ve got a quarterback that can throw long,” Cross said, deadpanned.
“I grew up down there (in Tarzana). They’ve always had 14 quarterbacks yelling and screaming at each other--’I ought to be the starter’--and (the coaches saying), ‘This is our guy, damn it, he’s gonna be our man.’ Then two sacks and two interceptions and half a quarter later he’s out.
“But Bart’s the kind of guy that’s been through so much negative (with the Atlanta Falcons) that to be put in a great situation like he has now is the best thing that ever happened to him.
“It’s a good match. He’s not the kind of quarterback that wants to run around, and God knows they’ve got the girth in front of him to protect him.”
Cross said that although the Rams were the only pro team in Los Angeles when he was young, he never dreamed of playing for them. He wasn’t even a fan. Otherwise, his life might have been scarred by their annual roller coaster to misfortune.
“I watched ‘em dominate the league and then lose to Minnesota and lose to Green Bay and lose to Cleveland and teams like that in the playoffs.
“My father influenced me and he had always been a 49er fan, so he raised me to like the 49ers and UCLA.”
Cross played at UCLA before the 49ers drafted him on the second round in ’76. In his first few seasons the Rams and 49ers weren’t much of a rivalry. The 49ers won that first game, 16-0, but then lost the next nine in a row before sweeping the ’81 series en route to their first Super Bowl championship. The 49ers have now won 7 of the last 10, including the last 5 at Anaheim.
“It’s more evenly matched now,” Cross said. “Early in my career, the rivalry was all from one end, like the rivalry your little brother has when he’s 5 years old. He’d love to be able to beat you at something.
“It’s a fun game. It’s always a great game to play. You know it’s going to be about the most physical game you play all year.”
The 49ers will be favored again Sunday against the Rams.
Ram Notes:
Set a couple rushing records, collect a couple of rushing titles and geez, the expectations. Ram running back Eric Dickerson carried 38 times for 193 yards and two touchdowns Sunday against St. Louis and yet Coach John Robinson was not ready to call it a great performance. Speaking at a Monday press luncheon, Robinson said: “He rushed for 190 yards but I think he’s capable of a better game. So does he. He never really broke a long one. One or two runs could have been popped.” . . . While on the subject of Dickerson, reporters asked Robinson if he thought he could use him 38 times a game for an entire season. “If you can sustain the 5.5 yards per carry average he did, and get 200 yards like he did, we might use him 50 times a game,” he joked. “I think if you rush 38 times and get only 47 yards, then that’s bad. But at no time in that game was Eric tired.”. . . Is Ram holdout wide receiver, Henry Ellard, running out of money? Not according to his agent, Mike Blatt. Though Ellard is not being paid by the Rams, Blatt said Ellard has invested well and will make close to $100,000 this season as part owner of a hotel, office building and apartment complex. Ellard and the Rams last spoke Aug. 25 at a meeting in Stockton. Blatt said the chances of signing Ellard within the month are slim. “(Ram vice president of finance) John Shaw is making an example of Henry,” Blatt said. “He’s setting himself up for next year’s negotiations. And it will effect everyone, from Dickerson on down.” . . . Out of After a less than spectacular college career, Rick DiBernardo has landed a job with the St. Louis Cardinals. DiBernardo, an All-Southern Section player at Edison High School, is a rookie linebacker who also plays on special teams and handles long snapping duties on punts and field goals. DiBernardo was not drafted after a college career in which he made 62 tackles and started five games for Notre Dame. He was signed as a free agent by Tampa Bay who traded him to St. Louis for a future draft pick.