Los Angeles Rams

The Rams were founded in Cleveland in 1936 by Homer Marshman and played their first decade in northeast Ohio. The early years were defined by wartime disruptions — the team actually suspended operations for the 1943 season due to World War II — but the Rams returned in 1944 and won the 1945 NFL Championship, defeating the Washington Redskins 15-14 in a frigid game at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

Despite the championship, owner Dan Reeves — who had purchased the team in 1941 — was dissatisfied with the Cleveland market and made the audacious decision to move the franchise to Los Angeles for the 1946 season. It was the first time an NFL team had ventured west of Chicago, and many of Reeves's fellow owners thought he was out of his mind. But Reeves saw the future: Los Angeles was booming, the weather was perfect for football, and the enormous Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum could seat over 100,000 fans.

In a move that was both morally courageous and historically significant, the Rams signed Kenny Washington and Woody Strode in 1946, making them the first team to reintegrate after the NFL's unofficial ban on Black players since 1934. The signing was partly driven by a requirement from the Coliseum Commission, but it preceded Jackie Robinson's integration of baseball by a full year.

The Rams thrived in Los Angeles. Playing in the Coliseum, they drew massive crowds and became synonymous with the glamour and ambition of postwar California. The franchise introduced helmet logos — the iconic ram horns that became the first helmet decals in NFL history — and pioneered the use of television, becoming the first team to have all its games televised in 1950.

On the field, the Rams were spectacular. Bob Waterfield and Norm Van Brocklin formed one of the first great quarterback tandems, and the team reached three consecutive NFL Championship Games from 1949 to 1951, winning the title in 1951 with a 24-17 victory over the Cleveland Browns. The 1950 and 1951 teams featured two of the most explosive offenses in NFL history to that point.

Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch, Tom Fears, and Deacon Dan Towler were among the era's biggest stars, and the Rams' wide-open passing attack was years ahead of its time. But the franchise's success tapered off in the mid-1950s, and by the end of the decade, the Rams were no longer the dominant force they had been.

The Rams rebuilt around one of the most famous defensive lines in NFL history — the Fearsome Foursome of Deacon Jones, Merlin Olsen, Lamar Lundy, and Rosey Grier. Deacon Jones, who coined the term "sack," was arguably the most dominant pass rusher in the game's history, and Olsen became one of the most decorated players of his era.

Under George Allen in the late 1960s and Chuck Knox in the 1970s, the Rams were consistently excellent, winning seven consecutive NFC West titles from 1973 to 1979. But the franchise could not break through to the Super Bowl under Knox, losing in the NFC Championship Game multiple times. The Rams finally reached Super Bowl XIV after the 1979 season under Ray Malavasi, but fell 31-19 to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The era was defined by regular-season brilliance and postseason frustration — a pattern that would recur throughout franchise history. The Rams were rarely bad, often very good, and almost never quite good enough.

The Rams moved from the Coliseum to Anaheim Stadium in 1980, a decision driven by owner Carroll Rosenbloom's desire for a more suburban, modern venue. Rosenbloom drowned in 1979, and his wife Georgia Frontiere inherited the team — becoming one of the few female owners in NFL history.

The early 1980s produced one of the franchise's greatest individual performers: Eric Dickerson, who rushed for an NFL-record 2,105 yards in 1984 — a mark that still stands. Dickerson was traded to the Indianapolis Colts in 1987 in a multi-player deal that weakened the franchise. The Rams reached the NFC Championship Game after the 1985 and 1989 seasons but lost both times.

By the early 1990s, the Rams were struggling on and off the field. Attendance at Anaheim Stadium was declining, and Frontiere was exploring relocation options. After the 1994 season, she moved the team to St. Louis, ending nearly five decades of football in the Los Angeles market.

The move to St. Louis began inauspiciously — the Rams went 17-47 in their first four seasons in Missouri. But in 1999, everything changed. Dick Vermeil took over as head coach, and when starting quarterback Trent Green tore his ACL in the preseason, an undrafted backup named Kurt Warner got his chance. What followed was the greatest rags-to-riches story in NFL history.

Warner threw 41 touchdowns, won the MVP award, and led the "Greatest Show on Turf" — one of the most explosive offenses ever assembled — to Super Bowl XXXIV. The Rams defeated the Tennessee Titans 23-16 in a game decided by Kevin Dyson being tackled one yard short of the goal line on the final play. It was a championship born of improbability, and Warner was its improbable hero.

The Rams reached the Super Bowl again after the 2001 season but lost to the New England Patriots in one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history. The Greatest Show on Turf gradually disbanded, and the franchise spent the next decade mired in mediocrity. The Rams made the playoffs just once between 2004 and 2016, and by 2015, owner Stan Kroenke was maneuvering to move the franchise back to Los Angeles.