1972 Los Angeles Rams season

NFL team 35th season

1972 Los Angeles Rams season

Owner| Carroll Rosenbloom
Head coach| Tommy Prothro
Home field| Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Results
Record| 6–7–1
Division place| 3rd NFC West
Playoff finish| Did not qualify

* <- 1971
* Rams seasons
* 1973 ->

The 1972 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 35th year with the National Football League and the 27th season in Los Angeles. The Rams looked to improve on their 8–5–1 record from 1971 and make the playoffs for the first time since 1969. After a win against the New Orleans Saints at home, the Rams tied the Chicago Bears, 13–13, their third straight season with a tie. This was followed by an embarrassing loss to the Atlanta Falcons, 31–3. However, the Rams would then pick up their winning ways, beating the San Francisco 49ers 31–7 at home, the Philadelphia Eagles 34–3 in Philly, and the Cincinnati Bengals 15–12 at home. However, following this three-game winning streak, the Rams struggled, losing several close games, including an embarrassing 19-16 setback to the woeful New Orleans Saints, as they lost five of their last six to end the season 6–7–1. This was the last time the Rams missed the playoffs until 1981, as they started a dynasty the next season that won the NFC West seven consecutive times, from 1973–1979. They also finished in second place in 1980.

After two seasons as head coach of the Rams, Tommy Prothro was dismissed in late January 1973 and succeeded by Chuck Knox, previously the offensive line coach of the Detroit Lions.[1][2]

## Offseason

[edit]

On July 13, 1972, Robert Irsay and Willard Keland bought the Los Angeles Rams from the estate of Dan Reeves and transferred ownership to Carroll Rosenbloom, in exchange for ownership of the Baltimore Colts.[3][4][5]

### NFL Draft

[edit]

Main article: 1972 NFL Draft

Round  | Pick  | Player  | Position  | School/Club Team

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## Roster

[edit]

1972 Los Angeles Rams roster Quarterbacks (QB)

* 18 Roman Gabriel

* 12 Pete Beathard

Running backs (RB)

* 33 Willie Ellison

* 34 Les Josephson

* 38 Larry Smith

* 35 Bob Thomas

* 45 Jim Bertelsen

* 30 Lawrence McCutcheon

Wide receivers (WR)

* 5 Dick Gordon

* 84 Jack Snow

* 13 Lance Rentzel

* 29 Joe Sweet

* 49 John Love

Tight ends (TE)

* 80 Bob Klein

* 88 Pat Curran

|  | Offensive linemen (OL)

* 73 Charlie Cowan LT

* 76 Harry Schuh RT

* 75 John Williams T

* 65 Tom Mack LG

* 71 Joe Scibelli RG

* 68 Mike LaHood G

* 50 Ken Iman C

* 61 Rich Saul C

Defensive linemen (DL)

* 79 Coy Bacon DE

* 89 Fred Dryer DE

* 67 Bill Nelson DT

* 74 Merlin Olsen DT

* 72 Phil Olsen DT

* 85 Jack Youngblood DE

* 90 Larry Brooks DE

|  | Linebackers (LB)

* 36 Ken Geddes

* 86 Marlin McKeever

* 53 Jim Purnell

* 52 John Pergine

* 58 Isiah Robertson

* 64 Jack "Hacksaw" Reynolds

Defensive backs (DB)

* 39 Kermit Alexander

* 44 Al Clark

* 42 Dave Elmendorf

* 19 Jim Nettles

* 21 Gene Howard

* 24 Clancy Williams

Special teams

* 10 Dave Chapple P

* 27 David Ray K

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Rookies in italics

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## Regular season

[edit]

Main article: 1972 NFL season

### Schedule

[edit]

Week  | Date  | Opponent  | Result  | Record  | Venue  | Attendance

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1  | September 17  | New Orleans Saints | W 34–14  | 1–0  | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 66,303
2  | September 24  | at Chicago Bears | T 13–13  | 1–0–1  | Soldier Field | 55,701
3  | October 1  | at Atlanta Falcons | L 3–31  | 1–1–1  | Atlanta Stadium | 57,122
4  | October 8  | San Francisco 49ers | W 31–7  | 2–1–1  | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum  | 77,382
5  | October 15  | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 34–3  | 3–1–1  | Veterans Stadium | 65,720
6  | October 22  | Cincinnati Bengals | W 15–12  | 4–1–1  | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum  | 73,385
7  | October 29  | at Oakland Raiders | L 45–17  | 4–2–1  | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 54,660
8  | November 5  | Atlanta Falcons | W 20–7  | 5–2–1  | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum  | 75,018
9  | November 12  | Denver Broncos | L 10–16  | 5–3–1  | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum  | 65,398
10  | November 19  | Minnesota Vikings | L 41–45  | 5–4–1  | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum  | 77,982
11  | November 26  | at New Orleans Saints | L 16–19  | 5–5–1  | Tulane Stadium | 64,325
12  | December 4  | at San Francisco 49ers | W 26–16  | 6–5–1  | Candlestick Park | 61,214
13  | December 10  | at St. Louis Cardinals | L 14–24  | 6–6–1  | Busch Memorial Stadium | 36,873
14  | December 17  | Detroit Lions | L 17–34  | 6–7–1  | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum  | 71,761
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

### Standings

[edit]

NFC West

* view
* talk
* edit

| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK
San Francisco 49ers | 8  | 5  | 1  | .607  | 3–2–1  | 6–4–1  | 353  | 249  | W2
Atlanta Falcons | 7  | 7  | 0  | .500  | 3–3  | 5–5  | 269  | 274  | L2
Los Angeles Rams | 6  | 7  | 1  | .464  | 4–2  | 5–5–1  | 291  | 286  | L2
New Orleans Saints | 2  | 11  | 1  | .179  | 1–4–1  | 2–8–1  | 215  | 361  | L3

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Rams axe Prothro, hire Lions aide". Milwaukee Sentinel. wire services. January 25, 1973. p. 1, part 2.
2. ^ "Prothro is fired, Knox Rams coach". Lodi News-Sentinel. (California). UPI. January 25, 1973. p. 12.
3. ^ "Colts owner trades club for Rams". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. July 14, 1972. p. 1, part 2.[permanent dead link‍]
4. ^ "Colts' owner now sole owner of Rams". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. July 14, 1972. p. 12.
5. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p.283

* v
* t
* e

Los Angeles Rams

* Founded in 1936
* Played in Cleveland, Ohio (1936–1945) and St. Louis, Missouri (1995–2015)
* Based in Inglewood, California
* Headquartered in Agoura Hills, California

Franchise|

* Franchise
* History
* in Cleveland
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* Seasons
* All-time roster (A–Kin, Kir–Z)
* Coaches
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* Starting quarterbacks
* Statistics
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Stadiums|

* Cleveland Stadium
* League Park
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* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
* Anaheim Stadium
* Busch Memorial Stadium
* The Dome at America's Center
* SoFi Stadium

Culture|

* Rampage
* Cheerleaders
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* Heaven Can Wait
* Melonheads
* Mob Squad (fans)
* Nelly
* John Ramsey
* "Win"
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Lore|

* Bull Elephant backfield
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Rivalries|

* Arizona Cardinals
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Retired numbers|

* 7
* 28
* 29
* 74
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Media|

* Broadcasters
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Wild card berths (9)|

* 1980
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Division championships (18)|

* 1945
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Conference championships (8)|

* 1950
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* 1979
* 1999
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League championships (4)|

* 1945
* 1951
* 1999 (XXXIV)
* 2021 (LVI)

Current league affiliations|

* League: National Football League (1937-present)
* Conference: National Football Conference
* Division: West Division

Former league affiliation|

* League: American Football League (1936)

* v
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* e

Los Angeles Rams seasons

Played in Cleveland (1936–1945) and St. Louis (1995–2015)

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Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–1969) or Super Bowl (1966–) victory
Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–1969) or Super Bowl (1966–) appearance

* v
* t
* e

1972 NFL season

| AFC| East | Central| West| East| Central| West | NFC

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Baltimore | Cincinnati| Denver| Dallas| Chicago| Atlanta
Buffalo | Cleveland| Kansas City| NY Giants| Detroit| Los Angeles
Miami | Houston| Oakland| Philadelphia| Green Bay| New Orleans
New England | Pittsburgh| San Diego| St. Louis| Minnesota| San Francisco
NY Jets | | | Washington| |

* 1972 NFL Draft
* NFL playoffs
* Pro Bowl
* Super Bowl VII

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*[LT]: Left tackle
*[RT]: Right tackle
*[T]: Ties
*[LG]: Left guard
*[RG]: Right guard
*[G]: Offensive guard
*[C]: Center
*[DE]: Defensive end
*[DT]: Defensive tackle
*[P]: Punter
*[K]: Kicker
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[PCT]: Winning percentage
*[DIV]: Win–Loss record within their division
*[CONF]: Win–Loss record within their conference
*[PF]: Points For (Total points scored)
*[PA]: Points Against (Total points allowed)
*[STK]: Current Winning or Losing Streak
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*[e]: Edit this template