The Los Angeles Rams, a professional American football team based in Los Angeles, joined the National Football League (NFL) as the Cleveland Rams in 1937. [1] The Rams began playing in 1936 as a charter member of the second American Football League. [1] Although the NFL granted membership to the same owner, the NFL considers it a separate entity. [1] In 1946, Rams' owner Dan Reeves, fed up with poor attendance at Cleveland Stadium, moved the Rams to Los Angeles, and the team played there from 1946 to 1979. [1] Before his death in 1979, later Rams owner Carroll Rosenbloom planned a move within the Los Angeles metropolitan area to Anaheim, using the venue now known as Angel Stadium, and his widow and successor Georgia Frontiere went through with the move in 1980, with the team still officially representing Los Angeles. [1] The Rams moved to St. Louis in 1995 and renamed the team St. Louis Rams. [1] In January 2016, the Rams and the NFL announced that the team would return to Los Angeles. The team initially played at its original L.A. venue, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum from 2016-2019, while awaiting the 2020 opening of its new stadium in suburban Inglewood. [2]
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The Rams first participated in the 1938 NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting, more commonly known as the NFL draft. [3] The Rams did have a 1937 pick, but it was picked by the NFL for an expansion team and later the Rams were later admitted into the league before the 1937 season. [4] Every year during April, each NFL franchise seeks to add new players to its roster through the NFL Draft. [3] Teams are ranked in inverse order based on the previous season's record, with the worst record picking first, and the second–worst picking second and so on. The two exceptions to this order are made for teams that appeared in the previous Super Bowl; the Super Bowl champion always picks 32nd, and the Super Bowl loser always picks 31st. Teams have the option of trading away their picks to other teams for different picks, players, cash, or a combination thereof. Thus, it is not uncommon for a team's actual draft pick to differ from their assigned draft pick, or for a team to have extra or no draft picks in any round due to these trades. [5]
The Rams' first selection as an NFL team was Johnny Drake, a fullback from Purdue in 1937. [6] The Rams have selected the number one overall six times, drafting Corbett Davis in 1938, Billy Cannon in 1960, Terry Baker in 1963, Orlando Pace in 1997, Sam Bradford in 2010, and Jared Goff in 2016. The Rams have drafted second overall seven times and the third overall two times. [6] Five eventual Hall of Famers were selected by the Rams: Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch, Merlin Olsen, Tom Mack, Jack Youngblood, and Eric Dickerson. [7] The team's most recent first round selections are Greg Robinson, an offensive tackle from Auburn, [6] Aaron Donald, a defensive tackle from Pittsburgh, Todd Gurley, a running back from Georgia, and Jared Goff, a quarterback from California. Each draftee of team has made an average earning of $99,082,510 over the course his career.
