Wilson Urges NFL to Block Ram Move : Football: Letter to Tagliabue outlines reasons why governor is speaking out against proposed shift to St. Louis.

Gov. Pete Wilson announced Sunday that he has sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue urging the league to reject the Rams’ planned moved to St. Louis.

Wilson also sent telegrams to each NFL owner, according to Leigh Steinberg, co-chairman of the Save the Rams task force. Tagliabue and the NFL owners are in Phoenix this week for league meetings.

The vote on the Rams is expected this week.

In the letter to Tagliabue, Wilson wrote, “My administration has been successful in encouraging other businesses not to flee our Golden State. And it is perfectly clear that this potential move is not in the best interest of California.”

Among Wilson’s points in the letter was the fact that the Rams generate nearly $50 million a year in economic activity, provide 500 jobs in the community and the loss could have a big effect on civic morale in Orange County.

Wilson is acting in support of the recently passed state Senate resolution that asks the league to reject the Rams’ move. The Assembly rejected the same resolution.

Rams owner Georgia Frontiere already has signed a contract with the city of St. Louis that includes a new $258-million, 70,000-seat stadium in which to play. St. Louis has been without a football team since 1988 when the Cardinals moved to Tempe, Ariz.

When Frontiere made the official announcement of the Rams’ intention to move to St. Louis in mid-January, Steinberg said that the fight had just begun.

And Sunday he was pleased that Wilson had joined in.

“It’s especially gratifying to have Gov. Wilson step into this fight at a really critical moment,” Steinberg said from Phoenix. “I believe these things do matter. . . . I’m just really pleased that the governor has weighed in dramatically at this time.”

The Rams need 23 of the 30 owners to approve the move.

But if that doesn’t happen, in order for the Rams to move, the team would have to file an anti-trust lawsuit against the NFL as the Raiders did before moving from Oakland to Los Angeles in 1982.