1957 Los Angeles Rams season

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1957 Los Angeles Rams season
Head coachSid Gillman
Home fieldLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Results
Record6–6
Division place4th NFL Western
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Uniform

The 1957 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 20th year with the National Football League and the 12th season in Los Angeles.

Season highlights[edit]

The Los Angeles Rams set an all-time National Football League attendance record in 1957, playing before a total of 1,051,106 fans in a total of 19 home and away games, including pre-season contests.[1] This attendance total exceeded any previous cumulative total for an American football team at any level of competition, including the college and professional levels.[1] Topping the one game record, the team drew an astounding 102,368 fans to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to see a November 10 contest between the Rams and their in-state rivals, the San Francisco 49ers.[1]

The 1957 season would be the last in a Rams uniform for quarterback and punter Norm Van Brocklin, the team's starting signal caller since 1950.[2] Van Brocklin passed for 20 touchdowns on the year, gaining 2,105 yards in the air, but gave up 21 costly interceptions, contributing to the team's 4th-place finish in the Western Conference.[3] The team also parted ways at the end of the 1957 season with top receiver Elroy Hirsch, a veteran of 9 NFL seasons.[2]

Defensively, the Rams limited their opponents to nearly 300 fewer yards on the ground and 75 yards via the pass than the totals put up by themselves.[3] The pass defense was headed by linebacker Les Richter, who led the team with 4 interceptions.[3]

Schedule[edit]

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 29 Philadelphia Eagles W 17–13 1–0 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 62,506
2 October 6 at San Francisco 49ers L 20–23 1–1 Kezar Stadium 59,637
3 October 13 at Detroit Lions L 10–7 1–2 Briggs Stadium 55,914
4 October 20 at Chicago Bears L 34–26 1–3 Wrigley Field 47,337
5 October 27 Detroit Lions W 35–17 2–3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 77,314
6 November 3 Chicago Bears L 10–16 2–4 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 80,456
7 November 10 San Francisco 49ers W 37–24 3–4 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 102,368
8 November 17 at Green Bay Packers W 31–27 4–4 Milwaukee County Stadium 19,540
9 November 24 at Cleveland Browns L 31–45 4–5 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 65,407
10 December 1 at Baltimore Colts L 14–31 4–6 Memorial Stadium 52,060
11 December 8 Green Bay Packers W 42–17 5–6 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 70,572
12 December 15 Baltimore Colts W 37–21 6–6 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 52,560
Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

Standings[edit]

NFL Western Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Detroit Lions 8 4 0 .667 6–4 251 231 W3
San Francisco 49ers 8 4 0 .667 7–3 260 264 W3
Baltimore Colts 7 5 0 .583 6–4 303 235 L2
Los Angeles Rams 6 6 0 .500 5–5 307 278 W2
Chicago Bears 5 7 0 .417 4–6 203 211 L1
Green Bay Packers 3 9 0 .250 2–8 218 311 L3
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Charles Genuit, "Magic Million: Rams Rewrote Attendance Figures in 1957 Season," in 1958 Pro Football. Los Angeles, CA: Petersen Publishing Co., 1958; pp. 42-43.
  2. ^ a b Paul Zimmerman, "Rams: Passing and Pass Defense Big LA Question Mark," in 1958 Pro Football. Los Angeles, CA: Petersen Publishing Co., 1958; pp. 24-28.
  3. ^ a b c Los Angeles Rams' Final Statistics — 1957," in 1958 Pro Football. Los Angeles, CA: Petersen Publishing Co., 1958; pg. 29.