Rams move to Los Angeles
On January 12, 1946 In a surprise move during the annual National Football League meeting, Cleveland Rams president Dan Reeves received unanimous approval from fellow team owners to move his team to Los Angeles.
Just last month the Rams defeated the Washington Redskins 15-14 to win their first NFL championship. The Rams joined the NFL in 1937 after spending their inaugural season with the 2nd edition of the American Football League. But during the 1945 season, the Rams lost $40,000 while averaging just 19,402 fans per game. The Rams also reported losses the prior 3 seasons.
Reeves had wanted to move to Los Angeles since 1943. He said, “Long before I came into pro football, back in 1937, I decided some day to have a team in Los Angeles. Such a move has been my long range program since I came into the league. The reason I’m moving to Los Angeles is that I believe it will become the greatest professional town in the country.”
The Rams said that they would open negotiations with the Los Angeles Coliseum. Reeves added that the club would have an application to use the Coliseum before the Coliseum commission meets on January 15th. If talks were to break down, Wrigley field or Gilmore stadium would be options.
With the new All-American football conference beginning play in 1946, the NFL was finally eager to place a team in Los Angeles. The AAFC had placed teams in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. By allowing the Rams to move to Los Angeles, the NFL now would have a presence on the West coast. The AAFC would have the Los Angeles Dons and the San Francisco 49ers.
AAFC chairman John L. Keeshin said, “I agree with Dan Reeves of the Cleveland Rams that Los Angeles will be the greatest professional center in the country. There will be room for two or more teams and I am glad to see that the National League again has followed our leadership.”
“I can also understand why the Rams are anxious to leave Cleveland. I would not be anxious to face the competition the Rams would have encountered had they remained. Arthur McBride’s Cleveland Browns of our league look like one of the greatest professional teams ever recruited and it wouldn’t do to have the National League’s championship club running second in it’s home town,” Keeshin said
Sources:
About The Author
