My All Time Favorite Rams Players

The Rams have one of the longest legacies in professional football. Beginning in 1937 in Cleveland, the Rams have moved a total of four times. The team has had its fair share of outstanding players on its team as well. The team moved to Los Angeles in 1946 where it stayed until the end of the 1994 season. It was then based out of St. Louis until 2015. The Rams moved back to Los Angeles for the 2016 season.

The Rams are known for having some of the best and most prolific offenses in the NFL. Those early Los Angeles teams had Hall of Famers like Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch, Norm Van Brocklin and Tom Fears whose popularity allowed the team to become the first NFL team to have its games broadcasted on television. In the ’60s, the Rams had one of the most feared defensive lines in the league and some of the best defensive players in Rams history. Deacon Jones and Merlin Olsen led the “Fearsome Foursome” and though the team was successful, it didn’t make much hay in the playoffs.

After the team moved to St. Louis in 1995, it took a while, but after a few years of great drafting, the Rams again had one of the best offenses in the league. Superstars like Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce are considered some of the best Rams ever, and the best football players ever. The team won its first Super Bowl after the 1999 season, defeating the Tennessee Titans. A bunch of the greatest players in Rams history were on this team.

OFFENSE

QUARTERBACKS

Bob Waterfield

 

 Kurt Warner

 

RUNNING BACKS

Marshall Faulk

 

Eric Dickerson

 

Dan Towler

 

 

KR – Ollie Matson

Position:  Running Back-Flanker #33
Height:  6’2″          Weight:  220
Born:  May 1, 1930 in Trinity Texas
Died:  February 19, 2011 in Los Angeles California (80)
College:  San Francisco
Drafted:  Chicago Cardinals picked in the 1st Round (3rd Overall) in 1952 Draft
Career:  1952 – 1966 – Chicago Cardinals (1952-1958), Los Angeles Rams (1959-1962), Detroit Lions (1963), Philadelphia Eagles (1964-1966)
Highlights:  6 time Pro Bowler and 5 time First Team All Pro.  Ollie Matson was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1972.  Matson played in 171 games over his 14 year career.  He ran for 5,137 yards and scored 40 rushing touchdowns.  He also caught 222 passes for 3,285 yards and 23 touchdowns.  He was also an integral part of the Special Teams unit as a punt/kick return specialist.  Over his career he had 143 kick returns for 3,746 yards and 6 touchdowns with 3 of those returns in excess of 100 yards and an average of 26.2 yards per return.  He also returned 65 punts for 595 yards and 3 touchdowns with the long return at 78 yards.  In 1955 he averaged 18.8 yards per punt return and scored 2 touchdowns.

 

WIDE RECEIVERS

Elroy Hirsch

 

Henry Ellard

 

Isaac Bruce

 

Torry Holt

 

 

TIGHT ENDS

David Hill

 

 

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN

Jackie Slater

 

Tom Mack

 

Doug Smith

 

Dennis Harrah

 

Orlando Pace

 

 

DEFENSE

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN

Dave “Deacon” Jones

 

Merlin Olsen

 

Larry Brooks

 

Jack Youngblood

 

LINEBACKERS

Isiah Robertson

 

Jack Reynolds

 

Kevin Greene

 

Les Richter

 

DEFENSIVE BACKS

LeRoy Irvin

 

Aeneas Williams

 

Dick “Night Train” Lane

Position:  Defensive End-Defensive Back #81
Height:  6’1″          Weight:  194
Born:  April 16, 1927 in Austin Texas
Died:  January 29, 2002 in Austin Texas (74)
College:  Western Nebraska CC
Drafted:  Undrafted
Career:  1952 – 1965 – Los Angeles Rams (1953-1953), Chicago Cardinals (1954-1959), Detroit Lions (1960-1965)
Highlights:  7 time Pro Bowler and 3 time First Team All Pro.  Dick “Night Train” Lane was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1974.  He played in 157 games during his 14 year career and had 68 interceptions with 2 returned for touchdowns along with 11 fumble recoveries with 1 returned for a touchdown.

Ed Meador

 

Nolan Cromwell

 

Jerry Gray

 

 

SPECIAL TEAMS

K – Norm Van Brocklin

 

P – Jeff Wilkins (1997-2007)

PR – LeRoy Irvin

 

KR – Ron Brown

 

NICKNAME

• Founder Homer Marshman and his general manager, Damon “Buzz” Wetzel picked the Rams name because Wetzel had said his favorite football team had always been the Fordham Rams and Marshman liked the sound of the name.

TEAM NAMES

• Cleveland Rams (1937-1942, 1944-1945)
• Los Angeles Rams (1946-1994)
• St. Louis Rams (1995-2015)
• Los Angeles Rams (2016-)

HEAD COACHES

• George Allen (1966-1970)
• Rich Brooks (1995-1996)
• Dick Vermeil (1997-1999)
• Mike Martz (2000-2005)
• Joe Vitt (2005)
• Scott Linehan (2006-2008)
• Jim Haslett (2008)
• Steve Spagnuolo (2009-2011)
• Jeff Fisher (2012-2016)
• John Fassel (2016)
• Sean McVay (2017-Present)

SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS

• Super Bowl XXXIV (1999) – St. Louis Rams defeat Tennessee Titans 23-16

SUPER BOWL APPEARANCES

• Super Bowl XIV (1979) – Los Angeles Rams vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
• Super Bowl XXXIV (1999) – St. Louis Rams vs. Tennessee Titans
• Super Bowl XXXVI (2001) – St. Louis Rams vs. New England Patriots

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES

• 1999, 2001

DIVISION CHAMPIONS

• 1999, 2001, 2003

PLAYOFF APPEARANCES

• 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004

PLAYOFF RECORD

• 19-24 .791

HALL OF FAME PLAYERS

• Marshall Faulk RB (1999-2005)
• Jackie Slater G (1995)
• Ollie Matson RB (1959-1962)

RETIRED NUMBERS

• 7 Bob Waterfield QB (1945-1952)
• 28 Marshall Faulk RB (1999-2005)
• 29 Eric Dickerson RB (1983-1987)
• 74 Merlin Olsen DT (1962-1976)
• 75 Decon Jones DE (1961-1971)
• 78 Jackie Slater G (1976-1995)
• 80 Isaac Bruce WR (1994-2007)
• 85 Jack Youngblood DE (1971-1984)

PRO BOWL MVP

• 2004 Marc Bulger QB

AWARDS

COACH OF THE YEAR

• 1999 Dick Vermeil

DEFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

• None

OFFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

• 2010 Sam Bradford QB

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

• None

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

• 1999 Marshall Faulk RB
• 2000 Marshall Faulk RB
• 2001 Marshall Faulk RB

NFL MVP

• 1999 Kurt Warner QB
• 2000 Marshall Faulk QB
• 2001 Kurt Warner QB

SUPER BOWL MVP

•  Super Bowl XXXIV – Kurt Warner QB (1999)

The St. Louis Rams were founded in 1937 as the Cleveland Rams. The Rams won two NFL Championships in 1945 and 1951 and then had a long drought. They returned to prominence under the Marshall Plan and won Super Bowl XXXIV against the Tennessee Titans 23-16 behind an MVP performance by Kurt Warner.

 

©MMXIX My All Time Favorites, all pictures and logos, team names are property of the National Football League. This site is not affiliated with the NFL or St. Louis Rams.  All Football Cards are low resolution scans from a personal collection and each is credited with the production company name and year.  This site is maintained for research purposes only.