The Origin Of the Rams Franchise

[BigDaddyPace]

Back in 1996, when the Rams first moved to St. Louis, I heard that the actual birthplace of the franchise was not in Cleveland, but in St. Louis. I heard that before the team played one game they uprooted to Cleveland and changed thier name to the Rams. I can't recall who I heard this from (becuase I was 13 at the time) but I think it was a knowledgable source because I believed it for so long. Can any of you guys prove/disprove this assertion?

[general counsel]

the rams started in cleveland in 1936 in the old afl. they entered the nfl in 1937. they did not start in st louis. Homer Marshman, a prominent cleveland attorney, was the original majority owner.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

[general counsel]

One area where your friend might have been confused. When the rams entered the nfl, they replaced the St Louis Gunners, a franchise that folded after the 1935 season, two years before the rams joined the nfl.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

[RealRam]

The rams started in Cleveland in 1936 in the old AFL. They entered the NFL in 1937. They did not start in St Louis. Homer Marshman, a prominent Cleveland attorney, was the original majority owner.

Ramming speed to all

CG

One area where your friend might have been confused. When the rams entered the NFL, they replaced the St Louis Gunners, a franchise that folded after the 1935 season, two years before the rams joined the NFL. -- GC

This is 100% true! Absolutely accurate. Nicely done, GC.

[Keenum]

And wasn't the idea of the franchise actually born in a car-sales place?

[GSOT]

Back when the Rams first moved to Saint Louis it was a pretty decent sized story in the media that the Rams where comeing BACK to Saint Louis.. Depending on where you look some sources will say that Homer BOUGHT the Saint Louis gunners, players, and coaches and moved them to Cleveland.. On the other hand some will say they just replaced them. So honestly I don't know for fact.

[general counsel]

gsot, if you had a link, that would be great. I have never heard that he bought players and coaches. I am not saying that is wrong, only that i have never read that and i have done a ton of research on this topic.

I have just gone back to the definitive article by Hal Lebovitz on the formation of the team which appears in the 1987 Book Five Decades of Rams football by Joseph Hession which is packed with great info. The Lebovitz article contains an interview with marshman himself and there is nother about acquiring the gunners, in fact its the opposite. The football guy that was trying to put together the team was damon buzz wetzel, the ohio state star who actually named the team and again, no mention of the gunners.

The 1937 rams had 4 players from the 1936 team and 10 draft picks.

Thus, i am sure that marshman did not buy the gunners team, players or coaches.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

[RealRam]

I have just gone back to the definitive article by Hal Lebovitz on the formation of the team which appears in the 1987 Book Five Decades of Rams football by Joseph Hession which is packed with great info. The Lebovitz article contains an interview with Marshman himself and there is nother about acquiring the Gunners, in fact it's the opposite. The football guy that was trying to put together the team was Damon Buzz Wetzel, the Ohio state star who actually named the team and again, no mention of the Gunners.

The 1937 Rams had 4 players from the 1936 team and 10 draft picks.

Thus, I am sure that Marshman did not buy the Gunners team, players or coaches.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

Again, I fully agree. Here's a quote from the Rams Official Web site to reinforce the above facts posted by GC:

The franchise was originated in Cleveland in 1936 as a member of the American Football League. In 1937 the team joined the NFL. Principal owner 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. The original uniform colors were red and black, also the colors of Fordham U.

[ramsanddodgers]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clevela...281936-1945.29

Cleveland Rams (1936-1945)
The Cleveland Rams were founded by attorney Homer Marshman in 1936. Their name, the Rams, comes from the nickname of Fordham University. Rams was selected to honor the hard work of the players that came out of that university. They were part of the newly formed American Football League. The following year they joined the National Football League and were placed in the Western division to replace the St. Louis Gunners, who disbanded after the 1934 season. From the beginning, they were a team marked by frequent moves playing in three stadiums over several losing seasons. The franchise suspended operations and sat out the 1943 season because of a shortage of players during World War II and resumed playing in 1944. The team finally achieved success in 1945, which proved to be their last season in Ohio, achieving a 9-1 record and winning their first NFL Championship, a 15-14 home field victory over the Washington Redskins on December 16. They eventually regretted leaving the superb football town of Cleveland, especially following the great success of the Cleveland Browns shortly after their departure.

[general counsel]

the last sentance of that winepedia is horsedookey. Dan reeves never regretted leaving cleveland. He was the first professional sports franchise west of the mississippi and drew huge crowds in la for years and years.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

[ramsanddodgers]

the last sentance of that winepedia is horsedookey. Dan reeves never regretted leaving cleveland. He was the first professional sports franchise west of the mississippi and drew huge crowds in la for years and years.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

My understanding is that entries into Wikipedia are not necesarily fact and that history of the Rams is no doubt the result of just one person's research which can just as easily offer up that persons opinion as part of the mix.

In 1946, Rams' owner Dan Reeves, fed up with poor attendance at Cleveland Stadium and competing against the Cleveland Browns (then members of the All-America Football Conference), the Rams became the first NFL team based on the West Coast. (There had been a team called the Los Angeles Buccaneers in 1926, but they played their schedule on the road only.) Reeves inked a deal with the city to lease the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and the team played there from 1946 to 1979.

The next paragraph offers up the excuse of poor attendance for the move, but I would doubt Reeves had many, if any, regrets in having moved the team to L.A..

[ramsanddodgers]

From the archives and OldRamsFan.....

Rams History

Rams History

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For some of our younger Rams fans who might not know here are some facts about our Rams or for some of the newer fans who might not have known about >>

Rams History :

Back in 1934, the St. Louis Gunners joined the NFL by purchasing the defunct Cincinnati Reds NFL team. The Reds had lost their first 8 games before they were suspended from the league for defaulting on payments. The St. Louis Gunners, coached by Charles "Chile" Walsh, went 1-2 in their remaining 3 games. Then the Gunners, too, were dropped when they went bankrupt...
In 1937, the Cleveland Rams were founded by Homer Marshman, a Cleveland attorney. The NFL placed the Cleveland Rams into the NFL Western Division to replace the St. Louis Gunners. Dan Reeves, the son of a New York grocer, purchased the Rams in 1941. Chile Walsh was hired in 1942 as an assistant coach, and was promoted to general manager in 1944. He offered a finders fee of $100 to anyone recommending a player who made the team. Chile hired his brother, Adam, (adam was very good friends with my Uncle's) as head coach in 1945, whereupon they promptly won the NFL championship, going 9-1-0 on the season. Rookie QB Bob Waterfield passed for 1,609 yards an 14 TDs. Top receiver was Jim Benton, with 1,067 yards and 8 TDs. The title game was played on Dec. 15, 1945, in Cleveland. The Rams defeated the Washington Redskins 15-14 in a showdown pitting the Rams rookie QB Bob Waterfield against the Redskins veteran QB Sammy Baugh...

[BigDaddyPace]

One area where your friend might have been confused. When the rams entered the nfl, they replaced the St Louis Gunners, a franchise that folded after the 1935 season, two years before the rams joined the nfl.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

There ya go. The STL Gunners. Thanks for the clarification GC.

[RAMMAN68]

Back in 1996, when the Rams first moved to St. Louis, I heard that the actual birthplace of the franchise was not in Cleveland, but in St. Louis. I heard that before the team played one game they uprooted to Cleveland and changed thier name to the Rams. I can't recall who I heard this from (becuase I was 13 at the time) but I think it was a knowledgable source because I believed it for so long. Can any of you guys prove/disprove this assertion?

Just to clarify, the Rams first season in STL was 1995.