1966 Los Angeles Rams season

NFL team season

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The 1966 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 29th year with the National Football League and the 21st season in Los Angeles.

The Rams had an 8–6 record, their first winning season since 1958, and only their second since 1955, when the Rams went all the way to the NFL Championship Game. Los Angeles finished in third place in the Western Conference, four games behind the Green Bay Packers. The Rams were led by first-year head coach George Allen, who was inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002.

Roster

**1966 Los Angeles Rams roster**

	Quarterbacks 18 Roman Gabriel 19 Bill Munson Running backs 22 Dick Bass FB 43 Les Josephson 25 Tom Moore 26 Jim Stiger Wide receivers 29 Tommy McDonald 80 Bucky Pope 84 Jack Snow Tight ends 86 Marlin McKeever 87 Billy Truax		Offensive linemen 63 Joe Carollo T 73 Charlie Cowan T 65 Tom Mack G 71 Joe Scibelli G 54 Joe Wendryhoski C Defensive linemen 76 Rosey Grier DT 75 Deacon Jones DE 72 Earl Leggett DT 85 Lamar Lundy DE 74 Merlin Olsen DT		Linebackers 55 Maxie Baughan 58 Dan Currie 32 Jack Pardee 66 Myron Pottios 61 Bill George Defensive backs 27 Irv Cross CB 21 Eddie Meador S 46 Hank Gremminger S 24 Clancy Williams CB Special teams 30 Bruce Gossett K 13 Jon Kilgore P		Reserve lists Practice squad 61 Bill Nancarrow G Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 11	at Atlanta Falcons	W 19–14	1–0	Atlanta Stadium	54,418
2	September 16	Chicago Bears	W 31–17	2–0	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	58,916
3	September 25	at Green Bay Packers	L 13–24	2–1	Lambeau Field	50,861
4	September 30	San Francisco 49ers	W 34–3	3–1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	45,642
5	October 9	at Detroit Lions	W 14–7	4–1	Tiger Stadium	52,793
6	October 16	at Minnesota Vikings	L 7–35	4–2	Metropolitan Stadium	47,426
7	October 23	at Chicago Bears	L 10–17	4–3	Wrigley Field	47,475
8	October 30	Baltimore Colts	L 3–17	4–4	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	57,898
9	November 6	at San Francisco 49ers	L 13–21	4–5	Kezar Stadium	35,372
10	November 13	New York Giants	W 55–14	5–5	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	34,746
11	November 20	Minnesota Vikings	W 21–6	6–5	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	38,775
12	November 27	at Baltimore Colts	W 23–7	7–5	Memorial Stadium	60,238
13	December 4	Detroit Lions	W 23–3	8–5	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	40,039
14	Bye
15	December 18	Green Bay Packers	L 23–27	8–6	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	72,416
Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

A bye week was necessary in 1966, as the league expanded to an odd-number (15) of teams (Atlanta); one team was idle each week.

Game summaries

Week 1 at Atlanta Falcons

Week One: Los Angeles Rams (0–0) at Atlanta Falcons (0–0)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	3	13	3	0	19
Falcons	0	7	7	0	14

at Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta

Date: September 11
Game weather: 71 °F (22 °C)
Box Score

Game information

First Quarter

Los Angeles – Bruce Gossett 15-yard field goal, Rams 7–0.

Second Quarter

Los Angeles – Jack Snow) 51-yard pass from Roman Gabriel (Gossett kick), Rams 10–0.
Los Angeles – Bruce Gossett 15-yard field goal, Rams 13–0.
Los Angeles – Bruce Gossett 23-yard field goal, Rams 16–0.
Atlanta – Gary Barnes 53-yard pass from Randy Johnson (Traynham kick), Rams 16–7.

Third Quarter

Atlanta – Randy Johnson 3-yard rush (Traynham kick), Rams 16–14.
Los Angeles – Bruce Gossett 22-yard field goal, Rams 19–7.

Fourth Quarter

Top Passers

Rams – Roman Gabriel: 21/35, 294 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Falcons – Randy Johnson: 9/25, 154 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT

Top rushers

Rams – Dick Bass: 14 car, 81 yds.
Falcons – Ernie Wheelwright: 6 car, 91 yds,

Top receivers

Rams– Tommy McDonald: 9 rec, 114 yds
Falcons – Gary Barnes: 1 rec, 53 yds 1 TD

Week 10 vs New York Giants

Week Ten: Los Angeles Rams (4-5) vs New York Giants (1-6-1)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	0	7	0	7	14
Rams	14	10	10	21	55

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles

Date: November 13
Game weather: 62 °F (17 °C)
Box Score

Game information

First Quarter

Los Angeles – Tom Moore 11-yard pass from Roman Gabriel (Gossett kick), Rams 7–0.
Los Angeles – Roman Gabriel 1-yard rush (Gossett kick), Rams 14–0.

Second Quarter

New York – Henry Carr 101-yard interception return (Gogolak kick), Rams 14–7.
Los Angeles – Bruce Gossett 12-yard field goal, Rams 17–7.
Los Angeles – Roman Gabriel 1-yard rush (Gossett kick), Rams 24–7.

Third Quarter

Los Angeles – Bruce Gossett 15-yard field goal, Rams 27–7.
Los Angeles – Irv Cross 60-yard interception return (Gossett kick, Rams 34–7.

Fourth Quarter

Los Angeles – Tom Moore 4-yard pass from Roman Gabriel (Gossett kick), Rams 41–7.
New York – Joe Morrison 25-yard pass from Tom Kennedy (Gogolak kick), Rams 41–14.
Los Angeles – Les Josephson 4-yard pass from Bill Munson (Gossett kick), Rams 48–14.
Los Angeles – Bucky Pope 14-yard pass from Bill Munson (Gossett kick), Rams 55–14.

Top Passers

Giants – Tom Kennedy: 8/18, 126 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rams – Roman Gabriel: 24/35, 298 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT

Top rushers

Giants – Allen Jacobs: 5 car, 20 yds,
Rams – Dick Bass: 19 car, 106 yds.

Top receivers

Giants – Joe Morrison: 4 rec, 71 yds 1 TD
Rams– Marlin McKeever: 7 rec, 115 yds

Standings

NFL Western Conference
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Green Bay Packers	12	2	0	.857	10–2	335	163	W5
Baltimore Colts	9	5	0	.643	7–5	314	226	W1
Los Angeles Rams	8	6	0	.571	6–6	289	212	L1
San Francisco 49ers	6	6	2	.500	5–5–2	320	325	L1
Chicago Bears	5	7	2	.417	4–6–2	234	272	W1
Detroit Lions	4	9	1	.308	3–8–1	206	317	L3
Minnesota Vikings	4	9	1	.308	4–7–1	292	304	L1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

References

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 in St. Louis NFL in Los Angeles Seasons Players Coaches First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks Statistics Broadcasters Awards
Stadiums	Cleveland Stadium League Park Shaw Stadium Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Anaheim Stadium Busch Memorial Stadium The Dome at America's Center SoFi Stadium
Culture	Rampage Cheerleaders Triple Threat Crazylegs Heaven Can Wait Melonheads Mob Squad (fans) Nelly John Ramsey "Win" Red Hot Chili Peppers Big A Sign American Underdog
Lore	Bull Elephant backfield Fearsome Foursome Jerome Bettis trade The Greatest Show on Turf The Tackle Mob Squad (2015-19) Sean McVay effect 2018 Monday Night Football Game NOLA No-Call
Rivalries	Arizona Cardinals Dallas Cowboys Kansas City Chiefs (former) Minnesota Vikings New Orleans Saints San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks
Retired numbers	7 28 29 74 75 78 80 85
Media	Broadcasters KCBS-FM Radio network D'Marco Farr Dick Enberg
Wild card berths (9)	1980 1983 1984 1986 1988 1989 2000 2004 2020
Division championships (18)	1945 1949 1967 1969 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1985 1999 2001 2003 2017 2018 2021
Conference championships (8)	1950 1951 1955 1979 1999 2001 2018 2021
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 t e Los Angeles Rams seasons
Played in Cleveland (1936–1945) and St. Louis (1995–2015)
1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–1969) or Super Bowl (1966–) victory Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–1969) or Super Bowl (1966–) appearance

1966 NFL season

Eastern Conference	Atlanta	Philadelphia	Baltimore	Los Angeles	Western Conference
	Cleveland	Pittsburgh	Chicago	Minnesota
	Dallas	St. Louis	Detroit	San Francisco
	New York	Washington	Green Bay