How many cities have the Rams called home? Exploring relocation history of the storied franchise
The Los Angeles Rams are one of the oldest franchises in the NFL. Founded in 1936 by Homer Marshman and Damon Wetzel, the team has called three different cities home throughout its lifetime.
These cities include Cleveland, St. Louis and Los Angeles.
Currently owned by billionaire Stan Kroenke, the franchise boasts of being the only team in the NFL to have won championships in three different cities (Cleveland in 1945, St. Louis in 1999 and Los Angeles in 1951 and 2021.
Foundation and early years of the Cleveland Rams
The franchise began its journey in Cleveland when the team was founded in 1936. They joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1937 and were assigned to the Western Division.
The Cleveland Rams won the NFL Championship in 1945 marking the start of the team's success.
Back when the Rams were a #Cleveland team and won it all... "The Cleveland Rams: The City's Pre-Browns NFL Champions" clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/781 #SuperBowlSunday #CLE #ThisWasCLE https://t.co/JOElGdNFqr
However, their time in Cleveland was short-lived as they decided to move from the city in 1946, a decade after its founding. The Rams were fourth in a string of teams that spent limited time in Cleveland after the Tigers, the Bulldogs, and the Indians.
The Los Angeles Rams: Part 1
The team moved to Los Angeles in 1946 and this changed the fortunes of the franchise. The team became very popular and saw great success during their time in the city of Angels, winning seven divisional titles and one NFL Championship.
Woody Strode, Jackie Robinson and Kenny Washington. In 1946, Strode and Washington played for the LA Rams, the first black players in the NFL since 1933. Strode would later become a movie star, most famously in Spartacus. Woody from the Toy Story movies was named after him. https://t.co/i1674nDFOZ
Selling out their stadium was, however, a herculean task for the team in the 80s and 90s despite their on-field success. There was pretty much a declining interest in the NFL inside the LA market, and this warranted the team to relocate.
A Missouri adventure for the St. Louis Rams
The Rams relocated to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1995 after 48 solid years in LA. The Cardinals left the city for Arizona in 1987 and St. Louis had begun to approach teams for relocation ever since.
Citing stadium concerns in Los Angeles, the franchise saw St. Louis as a good fit and relocated in 1995.
The Rams first game in St. Louis at Busch Stadium. (1995) #stlrams https://t.co/Bwqhyqp2jg
The early years were a successful one for the St. Louis Rams, as they won the Super Bowl in 1999 and recorded numerous off-field successes. The team would, however, start to struggle in 2002 and were unable to find their feet within the city. As such, they decided to move away in 2015.
The Los Angeles Rams: Part 2
Citing stadium concerns just as in the previous relocation, the Rams filed for a relocation to Los Angeles. They were among the three teams, alongside the Oakland Raiders and the San Diego Chargers, who wanted to move to the city.
The NFL owners met in Houston in January 2016 to decide which teams would gain approval.
Rams approved to relocate to Los Angeles: on.nfl.com/1mU0N4Z https://t.co/I3xrlDGtD6
After hours of negotiation and lobbying, voting was conducted and the owners favored the Rams' relocation to Los Angeles. This was primarily due to its proposed Inglewood project. This ended their 21-year tenure in St. Louis, much to the displeasure of their Missouri-based fans.
The return to Los Angeles has been a successful one for the franchise. The team has its own state-of-the-art stadium and has recorded significant on-field success, winning the Super Bowl in 2021.
After a poor 2022 season, the on-field future of the franchise is murky, but whatever happens will transpire in Los Angeles for the foreseeable future.