Rozelle’s Call to Autry Solves Ram Problem

National Football League Commissioner Pete Rozelle, in a telephone call to Angel owner Gene Autry Wednesday, persuaded the Angels to allow the Rams to play their home opener in Anaheim Stadium on Sept. 20, as scheduled.

Thus ended--for now--the latest spat between the Rams and Angels, who have had a stormy relationship since they began sharing Anaheim Stadium in 1980.

The teams still are engaged in a four-year court battle over the Rams’ plans to develop a high-rise office building and parking structure on the existing stadium parking lot.

The latest dispute, however, was over a clause in the Angels’ stadium lease that prohibits the Rams from playing in Anaheim Stadium within 36 hours before an Angel game without written permission from the Angels.

The Rams’ 1987 schedule calls for a home game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 20. The Angels are scheduled to open a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox the next night.

The Angels waived that clause this month, after receiving a written request from the Rams, enabling the Rams to play the Seattle Seahawks in an exhibition game the day before the Angels opened a 12-game home stand. After that Ram-Seahawk game, Angel representatives expressed concern over the condition of the playing field, particularly the outfield.

They also said that they had not received a request for the Sept. 20 date and did not intend to make that date available to the Rams.

Dick Beam, the Rams’ director of operations, maintained that the NFL--not the Rams--was responsible for scheduling the game, and was therefore responsible for making certain the stadium would be available.

The Angels maintained that they were merely following the guidelines of their lease.

Neither side appeared willing to budge until Rozelle intervened.

In a prepared statement, Autry said that he got the assurances he wanted in a phone call from Rozelle Wednesday morning.

“We discussed the entire situation at great length,” Autry said. “We realize the Rams are in an awkward postion, and we do not want to see their fans inconvenienced due to a mistake by the NFL.

“At the same time, Commissioner Rozelle assures me there will be no future regular-season or preseason games scheduled within the 36-hour time frame. He also emphasized that the NFL will absorb any cost in making sure the field is turned back into proper playing condition for a major league game.”

The NFL has a contract with CBS to televise the game on the date it was scheduled. Rescheduling the game for Sept. 19 would have put the NFL in breach of that contract. Playing the game on a Saturday would also have violated the NFL’s agreement with the National Collegiate Athletic Assn., which calls for the pros to wait until after the college season to play Saturday games.

Beam said he received a call from an Anaheim city official Wednesday afternoon, informing him of Autry’s decision and assuring him that the field will be converted for baseball in time. “I’m extremely happy that everything was worked out,” Beam said.