Fans party in Newport to welcome back the Rams

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Former Los Angeles Rams defensive back and guest bartender LeRoy Irvin pours a Horns Up Ram-a-rita, a margarita made in honor of the Rams’ return to Southern California, during a welcome-back party Tuesday evening at the Stag Bar + Kitchen in Newport Beach. (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)

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Rams fans Nicole Hellmred, Christina LiBrizzi and Rita Emery, from left, hold the Stag Bar + Kitchen’s Horns Up Ram-a-rita in honor of the NFL team’s return to Los Angeles. The Stag Bar will donate proceeds from sales of the drink during Tuesday’s welcome-back party to the charity Give Cancer the Bird. (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)

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Rams fans wearing the NFL team’s blue and yellow colors turn out Tuesday at the Stag Bar + Kitchen in Newport Beach for a party welcoming the team back to Los Angeles. (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)

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Former Los Angeles Rams cheerleaders gather at a party Tuesday at the Stag Bar + Kitchen in Newport Beach to welcome the Rams back to Southern California after two decades in St. Louis. (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)

By Daily Pilot staff

Aug. 3, 2016 1:48 PM PT

Football fans excited about the return of the NFL’s Rams to Los Angeles celebrated Tuesday evening at the Stag Bar + Kitchen in Newport Beach with a welcome-back party that also served as a fundraiser for a cancer charity.

Former L.A. Rams defensive back LeRoy Irvin, who played from 1980 to 1989, served drinks as guest bartender.

The Stag Bar will give proceeds raised during the event from sales of food and the featured drink, the Horns Up Ram-a-rita, to the charity Give Cancer the Bird.

“So many of our guests have fond memories of the Rams back in the day, and we couldn’t be happier to have the team back,” said Stag Bar owner Mario Marovic.

The team was the Los Angeles Rams from 1946 to 1994, then called St. Louis home from 1995 to last year.

Its first season back in L.A. will start Sept. 12.