The Los Angeles Rams have appeared in the Super Bowl four times, and winning the big game twice. Last season, of course, when they beat the Cincinnati Bengals, and in 2000 (following the 1999 season) when they eclipsed the Tennessee Titans. The amazing win happened at the turn of the century, and the franchise has been kind of up and down since.
The NFL betting odds might not be in the Rams’ favor, but there have still been some amazing players for this team.
Jack Youngblood
Youngblood was a defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams and played for 14 seasons in their jersey. Youngblood was considered a star across the field. He was entered into the Pro Bowl selection 7 times, the All-Pro 5 times, and was added to the Hall of Fame in 2000.
To this day, Florida still shouts from the rooftops about Youngblood having crafted this college to pro player from the ground up.
He is still one of just 6 Florida players to be entered into the Gator Football Ring of Honor.
Deacon Jones
Jones was another defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams, however, he also played for the San Diego Chargers and the Washington Redskins. Despite his changing teams, the 10 years that Jones spent with the Rams made him a Los Angeles hero at heart.
Jones’ specialized move was the quarterback sacks. He actually invented the term and the move. This triumph is why many sports reporters called him the Secretary of Defense and are undoubtedly one of the best defensive players of all time.
Jones was entered into the Hall of Fame in 1980.
Merlin Olsen
For 15 years, Olsen played as a defensive tackle, and not once did he move away from the Los Angeles Rams. During his career, Olsen was selected for the Pro Bowl every single year, apart from his final year. That means 14 years in a row, Olsen was a Pro Bowler.
Only three other people have reached this same level of excellence, and they were Peyton Manning, Tony Gonalez, and Bruce Matthews. And only one player has played for 15 years, beating Olsen’s record. That person was Tom Brady.
Jackie Slater
Slater had one of the longest-running careers of any footballer. He played as an offensive tackle for 20 seasons, 19 of which were with the Rams. He played between 1976 and 1994 before moving to St Louis. Although almost 30 years have passed since that event, no one else has managed to stay with a single franchise for that long.
Slater was selected for the Pro Bowls 7 times and became known as the most potent offensive line in NFL history.
Isaac Bruce
Isaac Bruce is the most recent Los Angeles player to be entered into the Hall of Fame, making the achievement in 2020.
Bruce was selected to the Pro Bowl games 4 times and played for the teams for 14 years before taking his final professional year with the 49ers.
Arguably one of Bruce’s biggest achievements was totaling 15,208 receiving yards by the end of his career, making him the 5th largest total of all time.
Kurt Warner
Kurt Warner played for 7 teams in total over 15 years, and just 5 of those years were spent with the Los Angeles Rams. However, those 5 years were the longest time in which Warner stayed with a single team.
This is why Warner is still considered a Ram despite his constant switching.
Warner is considered the greatest undrafted player of all time and is the only undrafted player to be named the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player and the NFL Most Valuable Player.
Norm Van Brocklin
Norm Van Brocklin wasn’t considered a great footballer at the beginning of his career. He was picked in the 4th round of the drafts and wasn’t named ‘s head quarterback in the first three seasons, as he alternated with teammate Bob Waterfield.
When Waterfield retired, Van Brocklin became the head quarterback. With room to breathe, Norm took the field by storm, adding 6 Pro Bowl selections to his name, leading in the passing yard records and eventually winning the 1960 Championship, albeit under the Eagles jersey.
Elroy Hirsch
Elroy Hirsch was nicknamed “Crazy Legs” because he had an unusual running style which meant his legs twisted as he ran. He was said to develop this erratic style when Elroy had to run to school and back for two miles either way.
The method of his run didn’t slow him down though. He broke multiple records including the number of touchdown receptions, receiving yards per game, and receiving yards ever.
His 1950s record of 124.6 receiving records per game is still the third highest in history!
The best game of his career was the 1951 Championship game against the Cleveland Browns. In that match, Hirsch led the Rams to an 8-4 win.
This was the game where Hirsch broke multiple records putting his name in the history books forever!
Summary
The Los Angeles Rams have had several players enter the Hall of Fame, but the 8 mentioned above are truly the greatest players in their history.