St. Louis Rams

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The St. Louis Rams were an NFL team that played in St. Louis from 1995 to 2015, but the franchise began as the Cleveland Rams in 1936, moved to Los Angeles in 1946, and then returned to California in 2016 to become the Los Angeles Rams again.

In St. Louis, the team played at Busch Memorial Stadium briefly and then at The Trans World Dome (later The Dome at America’s Center). The move brought professional football back to the city for the first time since 1987.

The Rams’ high point came from 1999 to 2001, led by the high-powered offense known as “The Greatest Show on Turf.” That era featured Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce, and Torry Holt. They won Super Bowl XXXIV in 1999 against the Tennessee Titans, with a dramatic finish at the goal line. Warner was the league MVP and Faulk was Offensive Player of the Year. The team reached another Super Bowl in 2001 (Super Bowl XXXVI) but lost to the New England Patriots.

After 2001, the Rams declined. Warner left in 2004, and the team had mixed results through the 2000s. The early 2010s brought more changes, including a new owner, Stan Kroenke, and a string of coaching and front-office shifts. In 2015, the Rams traded quarterback Sam Bradford to the Philadelphia Eagles and drafted Todd Gurley, while struggling on the field.

In 2016, the Rams moved back to Los Angeles, joining the Chargers in sharing Los Angeles-area stadiums for a time. The move was controversial in St. Louis, and the city later reached a settlement with the NFL over the departure in 2021. Kroenke’s sports ventures continued in other markets, and St. Louis briefly hosted the XFL’s St. Louis BattleHawks in 2020.