THE ST. LOUIS RAMS : So Close, So Often--So Long : The Los Angeles Rams Had Some Great Players and Some Great Teams in 49 Seasons, and They Had One NFL Title and One Super Bowl Appearance to Show for It

Half a century ago, Southern California got the Rams because the franchise’s owner was dissatisfied with his financial situation in the Midwest.

Sometimes, what goes around does come around.

The Cleveland Rams won the 1945 NFL championship, upsetting a Washington Redskin team led by the legendary Sammy Baugh, 15-14. After the game, owner Daniel F. Reeves petitioned the league to move to Los Angeles.

Initially, most NFL owners and league officials objected. But when Reeves proved that he had lost $50,000 during that championship season, they gave him permission. The Rams became the West Coast’s first NFL franchise.

Today, $50,000 might not cover the telephone bill run up by the parties hammering out the deal that will send the Rams to St. Louis, but the bottom-line business of pro football obviously has changed very little in 50 years.

The Ram franchise, on the other hand, has seen more than its share of upheaval during its stay in Los Angeles and Anaheim, first under the reign of Reeves, who died of cancer in 1971. The next year, Robert Irsay bought the team from Reeves’ estate and traded it to Carroll Rosenbloom for the Baltimore Colts. When Rosenbloom drowned in 1979, his widow, Georgia, became majority owner.

They’ve had their quarterback controversies, ranging from the sublime--Norm Van Brocklin vs. Bob Waterfield--to, well, Pat Haden vs. James Harris. It finally came down to Chris Miller vs. Chris Chandler, the winner each week being whoever was ambulatory.

They’ve had their coaching controversies too. How about George Allen? Reeves fired him after a 10-3-1 1968 season, then rehired him two weeks later in the face of a player mutiny. Two years later, Allen became coach of the Washington Redskins. In 1978, Rosenbloom rehired Allen again . . . for two weeks. He fired him after the second exhibition game.

The Rams have won a few big ones on the field, but mostly they have seen their hopes quashed on the spongy grass of San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, the frozen turf of Minnesota’s Metropolitan Stadium and under the friendly Southland sunshine at the Coliseum and even the Rose Bowl.

Few longtime Ram fans will forget images of the steam billowing above the heads of huffing Ram defensive linemen after another fox-and-hare chase of Viking quarterback Fran Tarkenton. Or the agony of another playoff loss on another frigid afternoon in Minnesota.

Or Dallas running back Preston Pearson sprinting under Roger Staubach spirals as the Cowboys scored a combined 65 points in the 1975 and ’78 NFC championship games. Or Dallas’ “Doomsday Defense” allowing the Rams a total of seven points in those two games.

Or Dieter Brock bouncing passes 10 yards short of Ram receivers with another Super Bowl berth on the line on a blustery day in January of 1986, when the Rams were shut out, 24-0, by the Bears at Chicago’s Soldier Field.

Or Eric Dickerson gaining 16 yards during another playoff drubbing, 1983’s 51-7 loss to Washington.

Or how about Ram quarterback Jim Everett throwing himself onto the ground in the fetal position when the nearest 49er was three yards away during a 30-3 loss to San Francisco in the 1989 NFC championship game?

There are, however, a few season-ending high points for the Los Angeles Rams’ highlight film. They won their only championship in 1951, when Van Brocklin and Tom Fears teamed for a 73-yard scoring pass play to beat Cleveland, 24-17.

And in 1967 and ‘69, they won the now extinct Playoff Bowl, a matchup of second-place teams in the Eastern and Western conferences, with a 30-6 victory over Cleveland and a 31-0 defeat of Dallas.

But most Ram memories tend to degrees of bittersweet.

The Rams haven’t had a sniff at the playoffs in the ‘90s, but they made regular appearances in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. Eight times, they were one victory short of a spot in the Super Bowl.

They made it once.

Two days before Christmas in 1967, the Rams were overmatched against Green Bay at Milwaukee as the Packers scored three touchdowns rushing and sacked Roman Gabriel five times on their way to a 28-7 rout in the conference title game.

Two days after Christmas in 1969, the Rams shook off the effects of freezing Minnesota temperatures and had a 20-14 lead with 12 minutes to play. But Viking quarterback Joe Kapp orchestrated a long, time-consuming drive and scored from a yard out to keep the Rams out of another Super Bowl.

In 1974, ’75 and ‘76, the second, third and fourth seasons of Chuck Knox’s first stint as coach, the Rams won 32 games, lost nine and tied one.

In 1974, a fumble by Lawrence McCutcheon on the Minnesota 19-yard line and an interception of a pass by Harris inside the Viking five spelled disaster during a 14-10 NFC championship game loss in Minnesota.

The next year, the fans in blue and gold at the Coliseum were blue again. Everyone knew by halftime there would be no Rams in the Super Bowl as Dallas jumped to a 21-0 lead en route to a 37-7 romp.

And Ram fans had their holiday spirit doused again a year later. A blocked field goal and a blocked punt put the Rams in a hole, but they crawled back to within four points. Then Chuck Foreman turned a short pass by Tarkenton into a 57-yard romp and Sammy Johnson scored from 12 yards out to seal a 24-13 triumph for the host Vikings.

Two years later, Ram followers were crushed yet again when Dallas shut out the Rams, 28-0, in another NFC title-game disappointment at the Coliseum.

But the Rams finally got their shot at a Super Sunday on Jan. 20, 1980 after a less-than-awe-inspiring 9-0 victory over a fledgling Tampa Bay team in the NFC championship game. They faced Pittsburgh, an experienced, veteran team that had won three of the previous five Super Bowls.

The Steelers were heavily favored, but a year earlier, Warren Beatty had led the Rams to a Super Bowl victory over Pittsburgh in the movie “Heaven Can Wait,” and Steeler quarterback Terry Bradshaw figured that was a bad omen.

For three quarters, it looked as if he was right. The Rams led, 19-17, going into the final quarter, and Ram fans at the Rose Bowl could see the promised land. Ram quarterback Vince Ferragamo, starting only his eighth game in the NFL, was on target. Bradshaw wasn’t. He had thrown three interceptions.

The Rams seemed to know exactly what the Steelers’ offense would do, having the advantage of a coaching staff that included defensive coordinator Bud Carson, offensive coordinator Lionel Taylor and defensive line coach Dan Radakovich, all former Steeler assistants.

The Pittsburgh offensive scheme had not changed . . . with one exception. The exception was 60-Prevent-Slot-Hook- and-Go, a play Bradshaw later said he hadn’t been able to complete once in a week of practice.

It worked twice in the fourth quarter, however, and both times John Stallworth seemed to float above the Ram secondary before making the catch and escaping downfield. The first play resulted in a 73-yard touchdown and a 24-19 Steeler lead.

The second--after linebacker Jack Lambert intercepted Ferragamo’s pass at the Steeler 14-yard line--was good for 45 yards. It set up a one-yard touchdown run by Franco Harris that sent the Ram faithful onto the Southland’s freeways deflated again.

Ray Malavasi was the coach when the Rams made their only Super Bowl appearance, but he’ll probably be best remembered for falling asleep during a morning radio show and snoring while the host asked questions such as, “How exciting will your offensive game plan be this Sunday?”

Seven head coaches have had tenures of three or fewer seasons since the franchise moved West, including Joe Stydahar, who guided the Rams to their only championship in 1951, and Waterfield, who suffered through a 9-24-1 record in 2 1/2 seasons in the early ‘60s.

But when most think of Los Angeles Rams’ coaches, they think of Allen, Knox and John Robinson.

Allen came to the Rams in 1966, after the franchise had won a bitter legal battle with Bear owner George Halas, who had refused to relieve Allen from his duties as an assistant in Chicago. Allen will be remembered for his tidiness and devotion to geriatric defensive players. He didn’t mind if a player dogged it in practice, but if he threw a paper cup on the ground, Allen went berserk.

Still, his players loved him, especially the veterans. Allen’s starting linebackers and defensive backs in 1970 averaged almost 33 years of age. And Allen was a winner, compiling a 49-19-4 record for a .708 winning percentage at the helm of the Rams.

For a while, Knox was the winningest Ram coach, with a .780 winning percentage during his first five-year stint with the club. But Knox II began in 1992 and was pretty much an exercise in futility. Knox was fired in early January.

Robinson arrived from USC on Valentine’s Day in 1983, and it proved to be a sweet move for a franchise in desperate need of an image lift. The Rams had gone 6-10 in 1981 and 2-7 in the strike-shortened ’82 season and owner Georgia Frontiere had become the subject of fan and media ridicule.

Robinson, the orator and the coach, came to the rescue and the Rams made six playoff appearances in the next seven years. But another NFC championship game defeat, the embarrassing 30-3 debacle in San Francisco after the 1989 season, marked the beginning of the end for Robinson. The Rams were a combined 8-24 in the two seasons after that loss and Robinson resigned before the final game of the 1991 season.

Although they might have hated the coaches at times, Ram fans have always had plenty of charismatic players to love. From Jon Arnett to Tony Zendejas, every letter in the all-time roster contains a name that invokes warm feelings of a guy with horns on his helmet.

In 1991 and ‘92, the Rams did not have a representative in the Pro Bowl, but every other year since moving from Cleveland, they have had at least two.

Hall of Fame tackle Merlin Olsen went to 14 Pro Bowls; guard Tom Mack was honored 11 times; linebacker Les Richter eight; defensive ends Jack Youngblood and Deacon Jones and offensive tackle Jackie Slater seven; Van Brocklin, linebacker Isiah Robertson, guard Dennis Harrah and centers Rich Saul and Doug Smith six, and defensive back Eddie Meador, halfback Arnett, running back Lawrence McCutcheon and guard Kent Hill five times.

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Los Angeles Rams: 1946-1994

The Rams’ Southern California run lasted nearly a half century, and while there were a number of successful seasons, the team has only one NFL championship to show for it.

1946: Dan Reeves moves team from Cleveland to Los Angeles. Record crowd of 95,000 packs Coliseum to see Rams win exhibition rematch of ’45 NFL title game. Coach Adam Walsh resigns after season.

1948: Clark Shaughnessy is new coach. Halfback Fred Gehrke paints yellow horns on blue helmet. Other teams are soon dressing up their headgear.

1950: Assistant Joe Stydahar replaces Shaughnessy. Rams become one of first NFL teams to have games regularly televised. They lose NFL title game to Cleveland.

1951: Norm Van Brocklin’s 73-yard touchdown pass to Tom Fears in fourth quarter of title game beats Browns, 24-17; L.A. has a champion.

1955: New coach is Sid Gillman. Team loses NFL title to Browns.

1960: Bob Waterfield is coach. Rams, out to spoil Cardinals’ first game as a St. Louis team, lose, 43-21. Maybe Arizona Cardinals can return the favor for the St. Louis Rams’ 1995 opener.

1962: Roman Gabriel and Merlin Olsen drafted in first round, but Rams finish with their worst record. Waterfield resigns in midseason, replaced by Harland Svare. Bob Hope sells interest in team.

1963: Reeves sells 49% of ownership to group that includes Gene Autry.

1966: George Allen succeeds Svare after Chicago Bears owner George Halas loses court battle to keep him under contract.

1967: Rams beat Johnny Unitas and Baltimore Colts for the Coastal Division title, 34-10, then lose to eventual Super Bowl II champion, Green Bay.

1969: Rams lose to Minnesota in playoffs, but Gabriel is unanimous NFL MVP pick.

1970: Allen’s contract not renewed despite five consecutive winning seasons, 49-17-4 record.

1971: Reeves dies of cancer; Tommy Prothro coaching era begins with a youth movement.

1972: Carroll Rosenbloom swaps his Colts franchise for Rams, fires Prothro and picks young Detroit assistant Chuck Knox to coach.

1975: Defense dominates in late season, but Dallas scores 37 to win NFC title game.

1977-78: Knox goes to Buffalo. Rosenbloom hires (then fires) Allen and hires Ray Malavasi.

1979: Rosenbloom dies; his widow, Georgia, becomes majority owner. Rams lose Super Bowl to Steelers, 31-19.

1980: Rams lose season debut in Anaheim to Detroit.

1983: USC’s John Robinson is new coach.

1984: Eric Dickerson breaks O.J. Simpson’s single-season rushing record of 2,003 yards on Dec. 4. He finishes with 2,105.

1986: Rams trade for rights to Jim Everett, who becomes most prolific passer in franchise history.

1988: Everett sets four team single-season passing records and ties a fifth.

1991: Rams lose club-record 10 in a row to finish season and Robinson’s tenure.

1992: Knox begins second reign. Rams set team record by overcoming a 24-point deficit to beat Tampa Bay.

1994: Rams exercise escape clause in lease with Anaheim.

1995: Rams announce intention to move to St. Louis.

Source: Times reports; Researched by JOHN WEYLER/Los Angeles Times