St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a National Football League team based in St. Louis, Missouri.
- Founded: 1937
- Formerly known as: Cleveland Rams (1937-1945), Los Angeles Rams (1946-1994; in Los Angeles 1946-1978 and Anaheim 1979-1994).
- Home stadium: Edward Jones Dome (formerly the Trans World Dome)
- Uniform colors: Navy Blue and Old Gold
- Helmet design: Golden ram horns on a blue background
- League championships won: 1945, 1951, 1999: once in three of the four cities in which they have played (the Rams failed to win while playing in Anaheim, California)
- Super Bowl appearances: XIV (lost), XXXIV (won), XXXVI (lost)
In 1999 and 2001, the Rams reached the Super Bowl with an explosive offense led by league MVP Kurt Warner and Offensive Player of the Year Marshall Faulk. In the latter year, the explosive Rams offense was complemented by an equally high-ranked defense. During this period the Rams were also noted for a colorful celebration some of their offensive players would conduct in the end zone after scoring a touchdown; the celebration, known as the "Bob and Weave," was eventually banned by the commissioner's office, along with all other "prolonged and premeditated" displays of this sort.
Franchise history
On January 30, 2000, the St. Louis Rams defeated the Tennessee Titans in the Super Bowl, on the heels of a 1999 regular season which saw them win 13 games while losing only three, their first winning season since moving from Los Angeles (and indeed, the franchise's first such campaign since 1990). In the 2000 regular season the Rams finished 10-6, losing the National Football Conference's Western Division title on tie-breakers to the New Orleans Saints (who had also won ten games), then lost to that same opponent in the first round of the playoffs, for which they did qualify as a wild card. The following year the Rams went 14-2 (including 8-0 on the road) and again reached the Super Bowl, but this time would lose to the New England Patriots on Adam Vinatieri's last-second field goal. In 2002 the Rams disappointed with a 7-9 final record (after starting out 0-5), but uncovered a future superstar in the person of Marc Bulger, who filled in for an injured Kurt Warner at quarterback and won every game in which he both started and finished. The 2003 Rams had a regular-season record of 12-4 and won their division once again, but lost to the Carolina Panthers in the second round of the playoffs after having earned a bye in the first round.
In June of 2004, Warner was released by the Rams and signed a free-agent contract with the New York Giants, leaving the starting quarterback job to Bulger.
Players of note
Pro Football Hall of Famers:
Retired numbers:
