Jay Paris - Game of My Life Rams: Memorable Stories of Rams Football

Copyright 2017 by Jay Paris

Foreword copyright 2017 by Dick Enberg

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Interior photos courtesy of the Rams, unless otherwise noted.

Cover design by Tom Lau

Cover photo courtesy of Roman Gabriel

ISBN: 978-1-68358-105-5

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-68358-106-2

Printed in the United States of America

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book underscores my lifelong love affair with the Rams. That connection was nurtured by three people who deserve to be acknowledged for their contributions.

Frank King, or Uncle Frank to me, was a huge Los Angeles Rams fan. He introduced me to the Rams and their great heritage. Fall Sundays were special because of him and his passion for the Rams.

Jack McKinney, a friend and former college player, taught me how to watch the Rams. Instead of focusing on the football, he suggested to observe the blocking and other nuances. His top-deck, front-row seats at Anaheim Stadium were always a keen perch from which to learn the finer points of the game.

Eric Sense, another colleague, had a zest for the Rams, and life, which matched mine. Any contest at any location against any team and Sense was all-in, eager to join me for another serving of Rams football.

Julie Ganz, my editor, also deserves praises for putting all these words in the appropriate order. This project isnt completed minus her unselfish work.

Lastly, my wife Julie, and our sons Conor and Phil, are the foundation for my career, which has included covering the NFL for nearly three decades. Football is the ultimate team sport, and that goes for those writing about it as well. My teammates, in my eyes, made all this possible.

Jay Paris

FOREWORD

By Dick Enberg

When turning the pages of Game of My Life Rams , Im reminded of the amazing memories this grand franchise has produced. Some of the recollections came during my enjoyable stint of calling the teams games, from 1966 to 1977, as an announcer for Gene Autrys KMPC radio station.

Whats clear are the thrills, chills, and, yes, heartache, which Rams fans have often consumed. When those games were played in the historic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, with more than 100,000 fans cheering, it only amplified what a special time it was in Southern Californias rich sports history.

Whats keen about the book is that the players selected which game they wanted highlighted. Their reasons for picking the game of their life were as varied as the players themselves.

From quarterback Jim Hardy trying to steal snaps from Bob Waterfield on the first Los Angeles Rams team in 1946 to Pro Bowl kicker Johnny Hekker booting the current squad out of poor field position.

From Roman Gabriel winning in consecutive weeks against Bart Starr and Johnny Unitas in 1967 to Gabriels trusty tight end, Billy Truax, making another clutch catch.

From Fred Dryerwho would later be known as Hunter to a generation of TV viewersgetting a kick out of Gabriels misfortune to Tom Mack breaking in a rookie named Dennis Harrah by unmercifully calling him Bird Legs.

And for the record, I will confirm that Mack did not move on that bogus illegal procedure call in the loss to the Vikings in the 1974 NFC Championship Game!

Theres Rod Perry illustrating how class shows no matter what the score, when he tells how close he came to knocking away Terry Bradshaws touchdown pass to John Stallworth, which turned the tide in the Steelers favor in Super Bowl XIV at the Rose Bowl.

Just maybe if Stallworth didnt produce a catch for the ages over a leaping Perry, the Rams would have prevailed for their only Super Bowl title with Los Angeles in front of their name.

Jack Youngblood, a.k.a. Capt. Blood, speaks of playing in that Super Bowl with a broken leg. What I had forgotten is that he suited up for the Pro Bowl as well. Youngblood was often called the John Wayne of the NFL, and its easy to see why.

Which reminds me of the story told here of Gabriel sharing the big screen with the Duke in The Undefeated .

With their proximity to Hollywood, it seems one Ram or another was often reading cue cards. But no one had to yell action when Harrah and others took off to pummel the Jets Mark Gastineau after he broke into his sack dance at Shea Stadium. That caused a rumble that still stands among the most spirited in NFL history.

How about LeRoy Irvin bringing back two punts for touchdowns in one game! Or Mike Lansfords game-winning kick against the Saints to cap an unlikely comeback.

And we cant forget a high-stepping Eric Dickerson and a hard-hitting Kevin Greene, two Hall of Famers who created havoc on both sides of the ball.

I would be remiss in rewinding my Rams time machine and not mentioning my dear friend, Merlin Olsen. Not only did I have the pleasure of calling the 14-time Pro Bowlers games, but he was later by my side in the NBC broadcasting booth, always eager to help our network team. Olsen, a TV star in the series Father Murphy, was a star in the booth, as well. An Academic All-America player, he generously shared his keen football knowledge with everyone on the broadcast team.

Considering his unselfish work with the Rams, that comes as little surprise.

Whats shocking is all these memories belong to one franchise and theyve been collected in one book. Jay Paris, a longtime, award-winning NFL sportswriter, has brought these stories, and more, to life.

One can almost see the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseums cauldron flickering in the distance. Or hear the roar of the L.A. crowd yelling Charge! as a big play is delivered by their football hero wearing horns on his helmet.

When reflecting on the unpredictable Rams, the excitement they have produced, and the compelling tales in this book, there are only two words that come to mind: Oh My!

So settle in and enjoy your journey into the Rams storied history, all presented here by one of our finest writers.

Dick Enberg

INTRODUCTION

The Rams in Los Angeles just sounds right.

We know about their history in St. Louis and Cleveland, and no offense to those fine municipalities. Thats where the Rams called home when winning the Super Bowl in 2000 and the NFL title in 1945, respectively.

But with the Rams returning to the City of Angels, it seems the L.A. sports world has welcomed back a familiar friend.

The Rams planted their flag in L.A. in 1946, bringing the world of professional sports to an area that has embraced that form of entertainment from the get-go like few others.

Going to a Rams game was as much of an event as it was about final score. Hollywood stars were in the stands and when many Rams werent on the field, they were waiting for a director to supply their cue.