St. Louis Rams
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Template:NFL team The St. Louis Rams are a National Football League team based in St. Louis, Missouri.
- Founded: 1937
- Formerly known as: Cleveland Rams (1937-1945), Los Angeles Rams (1946-1994; actually located in Anaheim 1980-1994).
- Home field: Edward Jones Dome
- Previous home fields:
- Cleveland Municipal Stadium (1937, 1939-1941, 1944-1945)
- Shaw Stadium (1938)
- League Park (1942)
- Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (1946-1979)
- Anaheim Stadium (1980-1994)
- Busch Stadium (First half of 1995 season)
- Uniform colors: Navy Blue and Gold
- Helmet design: Golden ram horns on a navy blue background
- League championships won: 1945, 1951, 1999: once in three of the four cities in which they have played
- Super Bowl appearances: XIV (lost), XXXIV (won), XXXVI (lost)
- Head Coach: Mike Martz
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Franchise history
Template:Expandsect In 1999 and 2001, the Rams reached the Super Bowl with an explosive offense (nicknamed "The Greatest Show on Turf") led by league MVP Kurt Warner and Offensive Player of the Year Marshall Faulk. In the latter year, the explosive Rams offense was complemented by an equally high-ranked defense. During this period, the Rams were also noted for a colorful celebration conducted by their offensive players in the end zone after scoring a touchdown; the celebration, known as the "Bob and Weave," was eventually banned by the commissioner's office, along with all other "prolonged and premeditated" displays of this sort.
On January 30, 2000, the St. Louis Rams defeated the Tennessee Titans in the Super Bowl, on the heels of a 1999 regular season which saw them win 13 out of 16 games. Injured starting quarterback Trent Green was replaced by former Iowa Barnstormers Arena Football League star Kurt Warner, who led the team to its first winning season since moving from L.A. (and, indeed, the franchise's first such campaign since 1990).
In the 2000 regular season, the Rams finished 10-6, losing the National Football Conference's Western Division title on tie-breakers to the New Orleans Saints (who had also won ten games); the Rams went on to lose to the Saints in the first round of the playoffs, for which they did qualify as a wild card.
In 2001, the Rams went 14-2 (including a spectacular 8-0 on the road) and again reached the Super Bowl, this time losing to the New England Patriots on Adam Vinatieri's last-second field goal.
In 2002, the Rams disappointed with a 7-9 final record (after starting out 0-5), but uncovered a future superstar in the person of Marc Bulger, who filled in for injured quarterback Kurt Warner and won every game in which he both started and finished.
The 2003 Rams had a regular-season record of 12-4 and won their division once again, but lost to the Carolina Panthers in the second round of the playoffs after having earned a bye in the first round.
In June 2004, Warner was released by the Rams and signed a free agent contract with the New York Giants, leaving the starting quarterback job to Bulger.
In January 2005, after finishing the regular season 8-8, the Rams became the first team in NFL history without a winning record in the regular season to win a playoff game, doing it against the Seattle Seahawks with a 27-20 win.
Players of note
Pro Football Hall of Famers
- Bob Brown
- Eric Dickerson
- Elroy Hirsch
- Tom Mack
- Joe Namath
- Merlin Olsen
- Jackie Slater
- Bob Waterfield
- Jack Youngblood
Current players
- Adam Archuleta
- Isaac Bruce
- Marc Bulger
- Marshall Faulk
- Torry Holt
- Steven Jackson
- Leonard Little
- Orlando Pace
- Jeff Wilkins
- Aeneas Williams
New Players
Retired numbers
- 7 Bob Waterfield
- 29 Eric Dickerson
- 74 Merlin Olsen
- 78 Jackie Slater
- 85 Jack Youngblood
Not to be forgotten
- Flipper Anderson
- Henry Ellard
- Vince Ferragamo
- Jerry Gray
- Pat Haden
- Deacon Jones
- Todd Lyght
- Merlin Olsen
- Norm Van Brocklin
- Kurt Warner
- Bob Waterfield
- Les Richter
External links
St. Louis Rams official web site (http://www.stlouisrams.com/)