1973 Rams Yearbook | New Unis, First of 7 Straight Division Titles

[CGI_Ram]

 

[OC--LeftCoast]

Dick Enberg (narrator) was great, Angels and Rams play by play before going National

 

[nighttrain]

Dick Enberg was the very best!!!!!!!!!!!!
train

 

[den-the-coach]

It didn't get any better for yours truly as I became a true Ram fan in 1973 at 7 years of age, so Here Since Hadl. Great team, should have been in the Super Bowl IMO., however, Hadl although the MVP that year, started going downhill the last couple of games and then was 7-23 in the playoffs against Dallas and the Rams came up short.

The following year Hadl continue to struggle and a shocking trade with the Green Bay Packers, Hadl was dealt for a bevy of picks that landed the Rams the likes of Doug France & Dennis Harrah just to name a few.

FWIW a young Dick Vermeil was the Running Backs Coach for the Los Angeles Rams in 1973 leaving the following year to become the Head Coach of UCLA.

 

[Allen2McVay]

What a great view for some of us older fans. I loved the 1973 Season. One of my four favorites, along with 1983, 1999 and 2017.

All four seasons followed losing years, and nothing was expected from any of those Rams teams. However, in every case they won big. New Head Coaches in three of the four seasons. Very fond memories; and 1973 was the first for me.

Thanks for posting.

 

[XXXIVwin]

Great vid

I was just a bit too young to follow that 73 team, but looks like it was an awesome season

 

[den-the-coach]

FWIW my father gave me a book back then that our local paper did that had all the rosters with depth charts and Head Coaches, something back then that was not easy to find and that was before magazines like Street & Smith were even published.

I actually memorized most of the rosters, reading them every night and committing them to memory and still recall some of those rosters to date....Like Marty Domres backing up Bert Jones in Baltimore & the three QB's with the Chiefs in Dawson, Livingston & Pete Bethard besides every Head Coach and all of the depth chart of the Los Angeles Rams.

Like DT Bill Nelson, who wore #67, I memorized that because I had a blue & yellow jersey with number 67 on it and some of my school mate would say, looks like a Ram Jersey, but who wears #67 and I would respond, Bill Nelson, that's who and of course as I got used to over the years, the response of, who is that? Or how do you know that?

 

[Angry Ram]

I wonder what the reaction would've been like to the new uniforms if there was internet back them???

Horns on the sleeves? Where is the tradition? They fucked with the classics!!! Kids these days, why back in my day in the 40s, uniforms used to MEAN something, dagnabit!

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

Damn shame we handed the playoff game away to the Cowboys. We were probably the best challenge for Miami that year.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLXwMPyCFjw

 

[den-the-coach]

Damn shame we handed the playoff game away to the Cowboys. We were probably the best challenge for Miami that year.

Back then playoff home field was on a rotational basis and the Rams who had a better record then Dallas and beat them head to head that year, still had to travel to Dallas to play them. However, you're right, Lawrence McCutcheon had a huge fumble that led to a 14-0 lead and David Ray, who had a good year as a kicker, missed three make able field goals that could have changed the outcome, but the offense that day struggled and not sure if the Rams would have been able to beat the Vikings as the Vikings beat the Rams 10-9 in Minnesota that year without McCutcheon though, so who knows?

I agree IMO, the Rams would have given the Dolphins are far better game, but Chuck Knox was snake-bit when it came to post season as he won more games in post season then Marty Schottenheimer, but just couldn't get his team to the big dance.

 

[Allen2McVay]

My memory is that Bertelsen also fumbled early and Hadl threw an early pick.

 

[den-the-coach]

My memory is that Bertelsen also fumbled early and Hadl threw an early pick.

You're right Hadl threw an interception on his first toss, but on the next possession, it was Lawrence McCutcheon who fumbled and that led to Dallas going up 14-0, early.

Bertelsen had fumbled during the season against Dallas in October.

 

[den-the-coach]

Hadl may have been the NFC's Player of the Year in 1973, but the suspicion arises that the Ram risk was carefully calculated. In his first six games last year, all victories, Hadl was magnificent, completing 60 of 93 passes for 13 touchdowns, with only two interceptions. But after that he went sour. League statistics indicate that Hadl's performance in the last eight games would have ranked him no higher than 18th among NFL quarterbacks. In the divisional playoff against Dallas he completed only seven of 23 passes in a disappointing 27-16 loss. Experience is supposed to count in playoff games, but Hadl was intercepted on the first play from scrimmage and fumbled the ball away late in the fourth period. This year his slump continued.

GAMBLING WITH THEIR FUTURE

The Los Angeles Rams have taken the biggest gamble of the 1974 season, and if last Sunday's 20-13 win over the surprisingly stubborn New York Jets is any

vault.si.com

 

[Allen2McVay]

You're right Hadl threw an interception on his first toss, but on the next possession, it was Lawrence McCutcheon who fumbled and that led to Dallas going up 14-0, early.

Bertelsen had fumbled during the season against Dallas in October.

Yeah, yeah. So you remember those specifics from 47 years ago. Big Deal.

Ummm .... actually, that’s very impressive.

 

[den-the-coach]

Yeah, yeah. So you remember those specifics from 47 years ago. Big Deal.

Ummm .... actually, that’s very impressive.

Actually it's one of the few things I have left.

 

[SWAdude]

It didn't get any better for yours truly as I became a true Ram fan in 1973 at 7 years of age, so Here Since Hadl. Great team, should have been in the Super Bowl IMO., however, Hadl although the MVP that year, started going downhill the last couple of games and then was 7-23 in the playoffs against Dallas and the Rams came up short.

The following year Hadl continue to struggle and a shocking trade with the Green Bay Packers, Hadl was dealt for a bevy of picks that landed the Rams the likes of Doug France & Dennis Harrah just to name a few.

FWIW a young Dick Vermeil was the Running Backs Coach for the Los Angeles Rams in 1973 leaving the following year to become the Head Coach of UCLA.

I know this is sounding like a broken record Den but I just love sharing this with you. The same year I became a true Rams fan. The only difference is the age. I was 12.

The Dallas game sealed the deal with me with four Harold Jackson touchdown catches. Still hard to believe that was Hadl's only year with the team. Loved his style that year.

 

[SWAdude]

I wonder what the reaction would've been like to the new uniforms if there was internet back them???

Horns on the sleeves? Where is the tradition? They fucked with the classics!!! Kids these days, why back in my day in the 40s, uniforms used to MEAN something, dagnabit!

This is such an interesting question.

And share your perspective!

 

[LA_Rams_#29]

Dick Enberg (narrator) was great, Angels and Rams play by play before going National

And the voice of the UCLA basketball dynasty

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

We really had a weird, inury-riddled revolving door of QBs in the 70s.

 

[Allen2McVay]

I wonder what the reaction would've been like to the new uniforms if there was internet back them???

Horns on the sleeves? Where is the tradition? They fucked with the classics!!! Kids these days, why back in my day in the 40s, uniforms used to MEAN something, dagnabit!

The blue and white the Rams moved away from in 1973 were only around for about ten years. The Rams went with the simple blue and white in part because they looked good on black-and-white TV which is what most people had at the time.

The color change in 1973 was due in part to the fact that most homes had color TVs by the '70s.

Uniforms, colors and logos change. Not a big deal. However, the horns on the helmet. THAT was iconic.