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Thursday, August 19, 2010

Los Angeles Rams Uniform and Team History


Los Angeles Rams uniform evolution poster

Please click on the evolution of the Rams uniform poster above for a close-up version of the poster. The descriptions below give you some insight and background about the uniforms and/or eras depicted in the poster.

Fall 2022: To purchase a reasonably priced 8" x 24" plaqued mounted version of the Rams poster that's ready to hang on your wall, please visit Heritage Sports Stuff.

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Cleveland Rams 1937 uniform - St. Louis Rams 1937 uniform
Cleveland Rams 1940 uniform - St. Louis Rams 1940 uniform
1937 & 1940
The well-traveled and storied Rams franchise began operations in 1936 as the Cleveland Rams, and was originally part of a league that was known as the AFL (American Football League) – not to be confused with the AFL that started in 1960.

However, in 1937 the NFL granted Homer Marshman an expansion franchise for the City of Cleveland for $10,000, and thus, the Cleveland Rams joined the 9 existing NFL teams to become the NFL’s 10th franchise. Marshman had named the team after one of the top collegiate teams of this era – the Fordham Rams – largely because he liked the school and the team’s nickname.

Playing their home games at ‘League Park’, the Rams had a very trying inaugural season – going 1-10. That being said, players such as rookie sensation Johnny Drake, Ted Rosequist, and Charles (Ookie) Miller looked great in this unique red & blue uniform [PLEASE NOTE: This blog formerly said the 1937 uniform was Red and Black, but I believe it was in fact Red and Dark Blue - see note below for more detail] which was only used for the 1937 season. By 1938, the team would convert the color scheme to the more recognizable and familiar blue & yellow-gold.

Note the red chest number, and the red ‘yoke’ that ran continuously from the neckline – all the way down the length of the sleeves. This is a familiar look to hockey fans, less so to football fans. For a few other football examples, see the 1930’s Giants, the 1960 Cowboys and the 1967 Steelers.

The 1940 Rams, shown here in a beautiful blue jersey with yellow yoke, fared slightly better than their ’37 counterpart – going 4-6-1. As mentioned earlier, in 1938, the franchise converted the uniform’s colors from red & blue to blue & yellow-gold. The jersey’s ‘yoke’ no longer runs the length of the sleeves – rather stopping at the shoulders, and the pants are now white - featuring a slender, dark blue stripe down the leg.

Aug 14, 20013 update:
The nice folks at St. Louis Post Dispatch wrote a great article about the St. Louis Rams uniform history, including kindly a adding a reference to this blog. When I read the article, I wondered why they were referring to the 1937 uniform as Red and Black, when I have believed it was Red and Dark Blue. I know the uniform image above looks quite black, so at first glance people would naturally think the jersey was red and black, but our intention when painting this image 10+ years ago was for it to be a dark blue. I then I realized that even in my own text above I referred to it as being red and black when I meant to say it was red and blue.

My point is that I am not 100% sure if the color scheme was red and blue (which I believe), or red and black. I have just spent several hours going over Cleveland Plain Dealer articles from 1937 (and 1936) to see if I could clarify, and the closest I could come was this article in the Sept 11, 1937 Plain Dealer reporting on the Rams' opening game the night before (a 28-0 loss to the Detroit Lions). The article says "From the murky depths of the stadium, a drizzling rain glinting from their shiny new uniforms, the Cleveland Rams, newcomers to the National Pro Football League, last night took a good, long look at what lies ahead."



Allow me to expand a bit more on the history of the uniform.

The Cleveland Rams took their colors from the Fordham University Rams football team. Fordham's traditional primary color is maroon, and it's hard to get a complete grasp on what other color besides white may or may not have been used by Fordham in the 1930's (ie on their helmets) - some football programs from the era seem to suggest blue, and that adds to my reasoning why I think blue was the Cleveland Rams other color as opposed to black.

The one other supporting thought I have for 1937 being blue vs black is that between the 1937 and 1938 seasons, the Rams were apparently told by the NFL that their jersey was too close in colour to other NFL teams, and thus they switched to yellow and blue for 1938, ie they "swapped" red for yellow but kept blue. Not proof by any means, but a bit more support for blue vs black.

With respect to Fordham, many readers might say "Fordham - who's that?" Fordham, which is in the Bronx (New York City), was a force to be reckoned with in college football in the 1930's - here's what our friends at Wikipedia have to say about the Fordham football team, especially the teams of the 1930's:

"First recognized as a sport at St. John's College in 1882, Fordham in its hey-day played before sellout crowds at the Polo Grounds and Yankee Stadium. In the mid-1930s, Fordham boasted what might have been the greatest offensive and defensive line in college history — the "Seven Blocks of Granite". Tackle Ed Franco was a consensus All-American. So was center Alex Wojciechowicz who later became an All-Pro with Detroit and Philadelphia. Guard Vince Lombardi later became one of the greatest of pro coaches. In 1937, the team went undefeated and was ranked number three nationally. So popular was Fordham, that the Cleveland NFL franchise formed in the '30s took its nickname from the Rams of the Bronx."

"On September 30, 1939, Fordham participated in the world's first televised American football game. In front of the sport's first live TV audience, the Rams defeated Waynesburg College, 34–7. The following week they lost the second ever televised game to the University of Alabama, 7–6. It was not for another month that a professional NFL game was televised."


For a fun 2 minute video history of the Rams uniform colors, please click here. This is me talking in the video, and I say their colors were red and blue, but me saying that's the case is certainly not "proof" that those were the Rams' 1937 colors.

So my question to anyone reading this is: Does anyone out there have "proof" of what the Rams' 1937 color scheme was? By proof I mean something in writing from that era (not something written in the last 10-20 years), or of course even better would be an actual color photograph from a game or of an actual jersey? If you do, please share the info with me and I will update this blog.

Many thanks!
Scott Sillcox


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Cleveland Rams 1945 uniform - St. Louis Rams 1945 uniform
1945
In 1941, Dan Reeves and Fred Levy Jr. bought out Rams’ owner Homer Marshman for $100,000. After disappointing years in 1941 (2 wins vs 9 losses) and 1942 (5-6), the Rams suspended operations for 1943 because of the war effort and the shortage of healthy football playing bodies. Back at it in 1944, they finished 4-6.

Now it’s 1945 - enter QB Bob “The Rifle” Waterfield form UCLA and the team’s fortunes made a dramatic turn for the better. This ’45 season would mark the final season in Cleveland – Reeves & Levy decided to chase grander dreams and relocate the team to Los Angeles.

But before they go, Bob Waterfield and the Rams give the Cleveland faithful a monumental final hurrah – going 9-1 in the regular season, then beating the Washington Redskins 15-14 to win the NFL Championship! And young Bob Waterfield wins the league's Player of the Year award.

This uniform, as worn by the likes of Bob Waterfield, Clyde ‘Big’ Johnson, and Mike Scarry, features a yellow-gold collar, blue shoulder yoke and white pants – complete with blue & gold stripes. As for the patch on the left sleeve of the jersey? Look closely and you’ll see an eagle with outstretched wings amidst a giant ‘C’ for “Cleveland”. The bottom of the ‘C’ consists of red & white stripes in honor of ‘Old Glory’. This patch, we believe, was in honor of America’s successful war effort, and we would welcome hearing from anyone with even more detail about this beautiful and unusual patch – just email us at ssillcox@rogers.com .


PS Here is an update about the 1945 sleeve patch from reader Chris Lewis:

Chris introduced me to the "ruptured duck", a symbol that marked an honorable discharge from the military after WWII. Its official name is the Honorable Service Lapel Button. Here is a link to the Wikipedia entry describing it in detail. Chris went on to write "Granted, the patch adds the red, white, and blue to the field containing the flag so that may have been how they got around the fact that it couldn't be worn by civilians... unless it was worn on the field only by the eligible war veterans. Either way, I'm nearly positive that is what the jersey patch is."

Armed with Chris' info, I would say that the patch worn by the 1945 Cleveland Rams is a Cleveland specific patch/logo that uses a larger outer "C" for Cleveland + the "ruptured duck" itself (an eagle) + red and white stripes in the lower portion of the "C" symbolizing the US flag and America. What I don't know is if this patch/symbol/logo was created specifically for the Rams jersey or if it was used in a wider context in the city of Cleveland.

Thanks to Chris for taking the time to share the info!

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Los Angeles Rams 1948 uniform - St. Louis Rams 1948 uniform
1948
Los Angeles is now home to the Rams’ franchise. Their first few years on the West Coast were reasonably successful (6-4-1 in ’46, 6-6 in ’47, and 6-5-1 in ’48), but the team would eventually reach the League Championship game in 1949 when they went 8-2-2 and lost 14-0 to the Eagles at Memorial Coliseum in LA.

The ’48 uniform showcased here features some interesting changes from the 1945 uniform shown earlier. The blue shoulder yoke, which had graced Rams’ jerseys in previous years, has been dropped. But most importantly, look at the helmet and you’ll see the introduction of the infamous ‘Rams’ horns’ logo – which has been a Rams’ uniform staple right to the present day! Amazingly, the original design was done by Rams’ halfback Fred Gehrke – who studied art in college at Utah. It’s for this helmet that we chose to show this 1948 uniform – the painting of a team logo on the helmet began something that has added immeasurably to the game of football and fans enjoyment of the game – thanks Fred!

Here's more of the Fred Gehrke story as of February 2022:
 
The first-ever NFL helmet with a logo was hand-painted by the Rams' Fred Gehrke in 1947/1948. Visit here to watch a short TV clip done in 2022.

Team branding is a big part of the NFL's success. But did you know it all started with the L.A. Rams? When you consider the 100-plus-year history of the NFL, a lot has happened and a lot has changed. But could a single Rams helmet perhaps be the most historically significant artifact of the last century?

The story goes back to the mid 1940's, back when helmets didn't provide much either in the form of safety, or in this case, team identity.

The story also involves NFL player Fred Gehrke.  Gehrke played in the NFL in 1940, then again from 1942-1950. He played for the Cleveland Rams in 1945 and moved to LA when the Rams moved to LA - he played for the LA Rams from 1946-49.

The story goes that in the mid-1940s, Gehrke toyed with the notion of painting a football helmet. Rams coach Bob Snyder suggested Gehrke paint a helmet with the ram horns on it that he could present to the team's owner Dan Reeves. Gehrke painted two ram horns on an old college helmet and presented the design to Reeves, who was intrigued. Reeves then contacted the NFL for a ruling on legality of having a football helmet painted. It was reported that the answer Reeves received from the NFL was "You're the owner; do what you want!" Reeves then tasked Gehrke to paint 75 helmets at $1.00 per helmet. The project took Gehrke the entire summer of 1948.

Wikipedia picks up on the story: "The newly painted helmets debuted during a pre-season match-up between the Rams and Redskins at the Los Angeles Coliseum before a crowd of 105,000. Upon seeing the new helmets the crowd began cheering, which was followed by a five-minute standing ovation. To this day, Gehrke's rams horn logo is still worn by the team. By 1949, the Riddell sporting goods company had created a plastic helmet, baking in Gehrke's design. Some observers of the 1950 NFL Championship Game said that the only way to tell the Rams and the Cleveland Browns apart in the initial low resolution coast-to-coast telecast was the distinctive horns on the Rams' helmets. Throughout the 1950s many professional and college teams began painting logos to their helmets. The Pro Football Hall of Fame displays one of the original helmets, painted by Gehrke, along with the story behind it each year during Super Bowl Week. The logo innovation also earned Gehrke the Pro Football Hall of Fame's first Daniel F. Reeves Pioneer Award in 1972."

Kevin Pederson, the current (as of 2022) owner of the helmet tells the story this way: "Gehrke
wanted to decorate the Rams helmet with a team logo. As an art major in college, he went to the coach. "He kept asking the question and the coach just kinda kept pushing him off until he finally got upset and handed him this helmet - and just said go home and paint," said Keven Pederson, the current owner of the historic helmet.

That helmet is believed to be the first of 75 that were hand-painted that year in Gehrke's garage. He was paid on the side at $1 per helmet.

According to Pederson "Fred carried a can of blue and yellow paint with him all through the next season, and after the game he would take your helmet and if there were scuffs on it, he would fix the yellow and fix the blue."

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A couple other quick points:
When the team moved to LA in 1946, team owner Dan Reeves signed Kenny Washington and Woody Strode, the first African-Americans to sign NFL contracts since 1932. Reeves also became the first owner to employ a full-time scouting staff, perhaps a main reason for the team’s success through the late 40’s and 50’s.

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April 2016 note: In 1949 the Rams switched to a yellow and red color scheme - just for the one season. By 1950 they had switched back to their previous yellow and blue. I would have loved to have painted a 1949 uniform to add to this history, but when we painted these in 1999-2000, I could not find enough photographic proof of the yellow and red uniform. thus I chose not to depict it. For a nice summary of the Rams' uniforms throughout their history, please visit The Gridiron Database.


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Los Angeles Rams 1951 uniform - St. Louis Rams 1951 uniform
1951
After losing the ’49 League Championship game to Philadelphia, and the ’50 contest (ironically!) to the Cleveland Browns 30-28, the 1951 Rams go 8-4 and face the Chicago Bears to earn the right to go to the ‘big dance’ – the NFL Championship Game. In a game played before 83,000+ at memorial Stadium in LA, the Rams knock off the Bears 24-14 and earn the right to face, once again, the boys from their former hometown – the Cleveland Browns.

In this contest, however, the 8-4 Rams would emerge victorious against the 11-1 Cleveland powerhouse – beating the Browns 24-17 in a see-saw battle in front of 57,540 fans at the LA Coliseum. This was the first NFL game to be televised nationwide, and would end up being the only championship the Rams would ever win in Los Angeles.

To some, the 1951 squad was the best Rams team ever to take the field – epitomized by Norm Van Brocklin – who threw an NFL record 554 yards in one game – a record that still stands today! And it’s hard to argue because they defeated an incredible juggernaut of a team, the Cleveland Browns who had been running roughshod over opponents since their inception in 1946 during the days of the American Professional Football Conference (AAFC).

The 1951 uniform, as worn by such champions as Van Brocklin, Elroy (Crazylegs) Hirsch and Paul Barry features two major differences from its 1948 counterpart: the helmet is now plastic in construction, rather than leather…and the jersey now showcases sleeve stripes.


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Los Angeles Rams 1957 uniform - St. Louis Rams 1957 uniform
1957
Sadly, this marks the final season for quarterback Norm Van Brocklin and running back Elroy (Crazylegs) Hirsch in the Rams’ beloved blue & gold. Hirsch was ending a marvelous 12 year career (the last 9 of which were spent with the Rams) and Van Brocklin was traded to the Eagles before the start of the next season. The Rams finished the 1957 season 6-6, missing the playoffs for the 4th time in 5 years.

The ’57 home uniform shown here features slender, yellow-gold sleeve numbers – high up on the arm. Look carefully and you’ll notice that the chest numbers have a thin, white trim surrounding the gold…something the sleeve numbers lack – interesting and very unusual for this period of time.


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Los Angeles Rams 1965 uniform - St. Louis Rams 1965 uniform
Los Angeles Rams 1972 uniform - St. Louis Rams 1972 uniform
1965 & 1972
The early to mid-60’s saw the Los Angeles Rams mired in mediocrity – they didn’t have a winning season from 1959 to 1965, in fact the closest they came was 5-7-2 in 1964.

But their uniforms were anything but mediocre! Look at the clean, elegant blue & white uniform design which replaced the Rams’ traditional blue & gold color scheme for a while in the 60’s and 70’s. To some hockey enthusiasts, this uniform may be reminiscent of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs.

One can’t help but see the 1965 white jersey and think of “The Fearsome Foursome” – the Rams’ defensive line. Dick Butkus called them “The most dominant line in football history", and while the members changed a bit, for the most part they were Lamar Lundy (’57-’69), Rosey Grier (‘63-’66), Merlin Olsen (‘72-‘76) & Deacon Jones (’61-’71). How good were they? The Foursome averaged 44 quarterback sacks per season over a 5 year period. They made the Rams the hardest team to score on in the NFL, highlighted by the fact that they allowed only 196 points in 14 games in 1967. Three times between 1964-1968, the Fearless Foursome allowed the fewest rushing yards in the NFL.

Some football aficionados consider Coach George Allen’s ’67 Rams to be one of the best teams not to make the championship. They finished the season 11-2-2, and were led on offense by Roman Gabriel, and featured a fierce defense that gave up the fewest points in the league. But unaccustomed to frigid temperatures, they fell 28-7 to Green Bay on the frozen tundra of County Stadium in Milwaukee. Allen, who was head coach from 1966-70, compiled an remarkable record of 49-19-4, the best winning percentage of any Rams coach.

This ’65 road white uniform, as worn in the late 60’s by the ‘Fearsome Foursome’, featured long sleeves and a vertical blue ram horn/stripe on the upper part of the sleeve.

The ’72 home blue version opted instead for short sleeves, a double stripe near the sleeve cuff, and no ram horn on the sleeve.

As Rams’ fans remember, 1972 is a very odd year in franchise history as one of the most peculiar trades in NFL history took place: Robert Irsay buys the entire Rams franchise for $19 million, then trades the Rams ownership to Colts owner Carroll Rosenbloom for the Baltimore Colts and $3 million cash! Effectively the only change is that the owners change teams – the players remain where they were.


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Los Angeles Rams 1979 uniform - St. Louis Rams 1979 uniform
1979
The Rams finish the ’79 season an admirable and hard fought 9-7, and go on to surprise people in the playoffs.

In the NFC Divisional Playoff, the improbable Rams come from behind to beat Roger Staubach’s Cowboys 21-19 on the strength of a 50 yard Vince Ferragamo TD pass. Then a week later the Rams shut out the home town Tampa Bay Bucs 9-0 on the strength of 3 Frank Corral field goals.

Next thing we know the Rams are in the big game, Super Bowl XIV, and after 3 quarters they’re leading Pittsburgh 19-17. But alas, it wasn’t to be as Super Bowl MVP Terry Bradshaw tosses a 73 yard TD strike and Franco Harris plows in from the 1 to lead the Steelers to a 31-19 victory. Oh what might have been for Coach Ray Malavasi’s Cinderella Rams…

This wonderful road uniform, as worn by such Rams’ notables as Nolan Cromwell, Jack Reynolds and the legendary Jack Youngblood (who played the NFC Championship game & Super Bowl with a broken fibula!), features some great changes from past uniforms and is perhaps one of the most handsome uniforms ever worn in the NFL. This blue collared jersey has now taken on a white, blue & gold color schematic – also showcased on the pants. Look closely at the jersey’s sleeves and you’ll see rams’ horns starting on the shoulder/armpit area and circling until they reach the lower part of the sleeves – a brilliant design! The pants feature a clean blue and white striping pattern, sandwiched by gold…and a zippered front – straying from the conventional laced look.


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Los Angeles Rams 1988 uniform - St. Louis Rams 1988 uniform
1988
With head coach John Robinson on the sidelines, the 80’s were kind to the Los Angeles Rams – often finding the franchise with a winning record and making the playoffs. From 1983 – 1989 the Rams went 67-44 under Coach Robinson and made the playoffs 6 out of 7 years from 1983-89, missing only in 1987.

Coach Robinson deserves a lot of credit, but at least some has to go to the drafting of superstar running back Eric Dickerson in 1983. Dickerson helped add a new dimension to the Rams’ attack - in only his 2nd season, Dickerson rushed for 2,105 yards – breaking the single season rushing mark of 2,003 yards set by OJ Simpson. He was later traded early in the 1987 season, the year the Rams missed the playoffs.

The Rams would finish the 1988 regular season tied with the 49ers and Saints atop the NFC West with identical 10-6 records, only to lose to the 11-5 Vikings 28-17 in the Wildcard game at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

This blue home jersey, as worn by QB Jim Everett, sure-handed Henry Ellard and kicker Mike Lansford, continues the tradition of having a brilliant ram’s horn wrapped around the sleeves. Notice the yellow-gold shirt collar, and the yellow-gold sleeve numbers tucked into the ram’s horn. On the left shoulder is a patch supporting America’s war against drugs…it reads ‘Drug use is life abuse’ and is sandwiched between the word ‘Rams’ and the American flag.


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Los Angeles Rams 1994 uniform - St. Louis Rams 1994 uniform
St. Louis Rams 1995 uniform
1994 & 1995
Goodbye and Hello!

In 1994, the NFL helped celebrate its 75th anniversary with the introduction of ‘throwback’ jerseys – which every team wore at least once over the course of the season, sometimes numerous times.

The Rams’ 1994 throwback jersey was a tribute to the 1951 uniform worn by such greats as Norm Van Brocklin and Elroy (Crazylegs) Hirsch. Note the simple and elegant blue & yellow-gold color schematic, and triple blue striping on the sleeve. If you look closely, you’ll see the diamond-shaped NFL patch commemorating the 75th anniversary on the upper left chest.

One other note about the uniform: If you look closely at almost all NFL uniforms worn from 1991 on, you’ll note a small NFL shield patch on the jersey’s neckline. Most NFL uniforms added the NFL logo patch to the neck, and to the upper left thigh of the pants, beginning in 1991. The only major exception to this practice was in 1994 when the teams wore their throwback uniforms – in these instances, most teams did not wear the NFL shield patch. The Rams however, did, and thus you can see the small NFL shield patch on the neck and upper left thigh of the pants.

The ’94 season also marked the final one the Rams would play in Los Angeles – ending a 49 year relationship! After 5 consecutive seasons of sub .500 football, and seeking a better stadium deal, team owner Georgia Frontiere relocates the Rams to St. Louis – making St. Louis (and the new Trans World Airlines Dome) the franchise’s 3rd home. (Mrs. Frontiere is the former wife of former team owner Carol Rosenbloom, who died in 1979, leaving the team to his wife.)

Good bye Los Angeles.

Hello St. Louis!

The 1995 season marked the Rams’ inaugural season in their new home. To help commemorate this occasion, the St. Louis franchise wore a patch on their left shoulder with the phrase ‘Inaugural Season’ at the top, with the St. Louis Archway and the words ‘St. Louis Rams’ directly underneath. Finally, at the bottom of the patch is a ‘95’, honoring their first year in St. Louis.

Alas, the Rams finish their first year in St. Louis much as they ended in LA – with a 7-9 mark and below .500 for the 6 straight year. 1996, 1997 and 1998 would be no better for the Rams as they finish progressively worse each time out – 6-10 in ’96, then 5-11 in ’97 and then 4-12 in ’98.

Who would have predicted what was to happen next…


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St. Louis Rams 1999 uniform
1999
After being out of coaching for 15 years, 61 year old Dick Vermeil is hired in ’97 to be the Rams’ head coach and president of football operations. Ironically, the Rams were also the team to give Vermeil his first coaching assignment – when he acted as the special teams coach under LA Rams head coach George Allen in the late 60’s.

Vermeil quickly assembled one of the most potent offenses football has ever seen! After luring quarterback Kurt Warner from the arena football league, Vermeil possessed a lethal offense capable of putting 35+ points on the scoreboard almost at will! Armed with superstar running back Marshall Faulk, and a receiving core that boasted ‘track star’ quickness, the Rams were set to erase the disappointment of past decades from Rams’ fans’ memories!

The shocking Rams finished the ’99 regular season a torrid 13-3 – the teams’ first winning season since 1989. In Round 1 of the Rams’ playoffs, they had a shoot out with the Vikings and ended up at the winning end of a 49-37 score. Then in shocking fashion, in Round Two they showed that they could play defense too as they knocked off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 11-6.

The season then culminated in a date with the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV – and a 23-16 victory – in one of the most dramatic finishes in Super Bowl history – Tennessee came within the length of the football of tying the game on the final play in regulation time! A story book finish to a wonderful Rams’ season, and the franchise’s first NFL Championship since 1951, and the third in franchise history (1945, 1951 and now 1999)!

This road jersey, as worn by Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce, and Torry Holt hasn’t changed much since the ’79 version showcased earlier! The uniform is still comprised of the white, blue & yellow-gold color scheme – and still features the infamous ram’s horns on the sleeves!

One other note about the uniform: If you look closely at almost all NFL uniforms worn from 1991 on, you’ll note a small NFL shield patch on the jersey’s neckline. Most NFL uniforms added the NFL logo patch to the neck, and to the upper left thigh of the pants, beginning in 1991. The only major exception to this practice was in 1994 when the teams wore their throwback uniforms.


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St. Louis Rams 2000 uniform
2000
As the Rams head into the next several seasons, they may well change the way the game of football is played – a team built around a high-octane offense, capable of striking quick and often. Opponents have been forced to change the way they defend this lethal team, and for fans of offense, the result is terrific viewing.

Surprisingly, the Rams changed their uniform for the 2000 season. The uniform, which has remained virtually the same since the late 70’s, gets a whole new look for 2000. We can’t help but wonder if the team knew they were going to win the Super Bowl, would they have stayed with the same uniform? As you may know, in order for a team to change their uniform, they have to inform the NFL (and get NFL approval) almost 12 months in advance, thus plans were irreversibly underway by the time the Rams won Super Bowl XXXIV.

A few new nuances worth noting on the 2000 uniform: a true “gold” replaces the yellow-gold used for so many years; a complete ram’s head now can be seen on each sleeve; gold trim now surrounds both the chest & sleeve numbers. Furthermore, look closely at the sides of the jersey and you’ll see a gold stripe running down the course of the body. Finally, on the neckline of the shirt, a secondary-logo mark (the word ‘Rams’) has been added – something many teams have incorporated into their uniform designs beginning in the late 90’s.

The 2000 Rams finish the season at 10-6, but fall to the surprising New Orleans Saints 31-28 in a terrific offensively minded game.


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St. Louis Rams 2007 uniform
2007
Text not yet written.

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Celebrate the Rams' uniform history by owning a piece of history:
If you love the St. Louis Rams and the history of the Rams franchise, you might really love to own an original piece of artwork celebrating the team's historic uniforms as seen in the poster at the top of this blog - you can actually own one of those original pieces of art! There are only 15 pieces of original art available for sale, and when these 15 are sold, that's it, they're all sold out.

These original watercolor paintings would make a great gift (birthday gift, anniversary gift, retirement gift, Christmas gift, etc.) for someone you love or even a great gift for yourself (one of these framed pieces would look fantastic in your home or office). Each piece can be bought one of three ways:
1. As unframed art that you could have framed or mounted yourself (the one on the left)
2. Framed in our "Classic" framed version (the middle version)
3. Framed in our "Deluxe" framed version (the version on the right)



If you would like more information about this great artwork including the three ways you could purchase each piece, please visit our St. Louis Rams YouTube video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfhYDCOQUag or go directly to the artwork website www.heritagesportsart.com/St.-Louis-Rams-c131/ where you can see and purchase the artwork.

And if someone you know loves the history of sports uniforms (but maybe another team) and loves great art, please let them know that we have over 1500 pieces of great original artwork for sale at www.heritagesportsart.com (all NFL teams, all MLB teams, all NHL teams, all CFL teams, select NCAA football teams) or check out each team's video at the Heritage Sports Art YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/user/ssillcox

And please search my blog archive http://heritagejerseys.blogspot.com/ for other blogs on the history of the Rams.
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This blog was written by Scott Sillcox and was last updated August 19, 2010. I have tried to ensure the accuracy of the information, but I am human and can make mistakes. If you believe I have made a mistake, please let me know by email at ssillcox@rogers.com !

Many thanks!!!
Scott


8 comments:

  1. I wish they would bring back the blue and white uniforms of the mid-1960s; the days of the Fearsome Foursome. I remember when they wore their all-white uniforms on the road and a lot at home. They might wear the blue jerseys in cities where the home team would wear white (like Dallas). Speaking of Dallas, I wish Dallas would wear the white version of their throwback uniforms on Thanksgiving games.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Eric the Great ran for 2105 yards, and they need to go back to blue and white of the 60's and yellow and white of the late 70's

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  3. Maybe it's because I'm only thirty but the blue and white combo to me automatically makes me think of the colts. I'd prefer either the royal & yellow or the navy and gold.

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  4. 2016 Welcomes back the LA Rams...........Where they belong.

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  5. please edit "49ers uniform poster above" above, top line of copy ... love your site, hate typos

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry about that - it's now fixed! Many thanks for taking the time to send me a note.

      Scott

      Delete
    2. Eric Dickerson had 2105 yds. in 1984, not 2015.

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    3. Many thanks for pointing out the error - I have now fixed his 1984 rushing total to 2105 yards. Many thanks for taking the time!
      Scott

      Delete

Thank you for taking the time to add a comment - all input is welcome, especially the constructive kind! All the best - Scott