1988 Los Angeles Rams season

NFL team season

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The 1988 Los Angeles Rams season was the franchise's 51st season in the National Football League, their 52nd overall, and their 43rd in the Greater Los Angeles Area. The team improved on a disappointing 6–9 record the previous year, going 10–6 and qualifying as a Wild Card before losing to the Minnesota Vikings 28–17 in the NFC Wild Card game.

Offseason

NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1988 Los Angeles Rams draft
1	14	Gaston Green	Running back	UCLA
1	20	Aaron Cox	Wide receiver	Arizona State
2	35	Anthony Newman	Safety	Oregon
2	46	Flipper Anderson	Wide receiver	UCLA
2	47	Fred Strickland	Linebacker	Purdue
3	82	Mike Piel	Defensive end	Illinois
5	117	Robert Delpino	Running back	Missouri
5	137	James Washington	Safety	UCLA
6	147	Keith "End Zone" Jones	Running back	Nebraska
6	165	Jeff Knapton	Defensive tackle	Wyoming
8	201	Darryl Franklin	Wide receiver	Washington
9	231	Pat Foster	Defensive tackle	Montana
10	258	R. C. Mullin	Offensive tackle	Southwestern Louisiana
12	333	Jeff Beathard	Wide receiver	Southern Oregon	1988 Mr. Irrelevant
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

**1988 Los Angeles Rams staff**
	Front office Owner/President – Georgia Frontiere Vice president of finance – John Shaw General counsel – Jay Zygmunt Administrator of football operations – Jack Faulkner Director of operations – Dick Beam Director of player personnel – John Math Head coaches Head coach – John Robinson Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Ernie Zampese Quarterbacks – Dick Coury Running backs – Gil Haskell Tight ends/wide receivers – Norv Turner Offensive line – Hudson Houck			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator/inside linebackers – Fritz Shurmur Defensive line – Marv Goux Assistant defensive line – Larry Brooks Outside linebackers – Fred Whittingham Defensive backs – Steve Shafer Special teams coaches Special teams – Artie Gigantino

Roster

**1988 Los Angeles Rams roster**

	Quarterbacks 11 Jim Everett 9 Mark Herrmann Running backs 42 Greg Bell 39 Robert Delpino KR 30 Gaston Green KR 44 Mike Guman 24 Buford McGee 32 Tim Tyrrell 33 Charles White Wide receivers 83 Flipper Anderson 89 Ron Brown KR 84 Aaron Cox 80 Henry Ellard PR Tight ends 81 Pete Holohan 86 Damone Johnson 82 Eric Sievers		Offensive linemen 72 Robert Jenkins T 67 Duval Love G 66 Tom Newberry G 75 Irv Pankey T 76 Mike Schad G 56 Doug Smith C 78 Jackie Slater T 61 Tony Slaton C/G Defensive linemen 77 Gary Jeter DE 69 Greg Meisner NT 98 Shawn Miller DE 93 Doug Reed DE 99 Alvin Wright NT		Linebackers 50 Jim Collins ILB 55 Carl Ekern ILB 51 Brett Faryniarz OLB 91 Kevin Greene OLB 52 Larry Kelm ILB 53 Fred Strickland ILB 54 Mike Wilcher OLB Defensive backs 25 Jerry Gray CB 28 Cliff Hicks CB 47 LeRoy Irvin CB 20 Johnnie Johnson FS 26 Anthony Newman CB 23 Michael Stewart SS 49 Mickey Sutton CB 37 James Washington FS Special teams 5 Dale Hatcher P 1 Mike Lansford K 90 Mike McDonald LS		Reserve lists 87 Jon Embree TE (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 59 Mark Jerue LB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) -- Keith Jones RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) -- R.C. Mullin T (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 22 Vince Newsome S (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 58 Mel Owens LB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 95 Mike Piel DE (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 65 Fred Stokes DE (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 88 Mike Young WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Practice squad none 47 active, 9 inactive Rookies in italics

Regular season

1988 Team Starters

Offense

11 Jim Everett            QB
42 Greg Bell              RB
24 Buford McGee           FB
80 Henry Ellard           WR
84 Aaron Cox              WR
86 Damone Johnson         TE

75 Irv Pankey             LT
66 Tom Newberry           LG
56 Doug Smith             C
67 Duval Love             RG
78 Jackie Slater          RT

Defense

93 Doug Reed              LDE
99 Alvin Wright           NT
98 Shawn Miller           RDE

91 Kevin Greene           LB
55 Carl Ekern             LB
59 Mark Jerue             LB
54 Mike Wilcher           LB

25 Jerry Gray             CB
47 LeRoy Irvin            CB
23 Michael Stewart        SS
20 Johnnie Johnson        FS

Kicking Team

1 Mike Lansford           K
3 Rich Camarillo          P
28 Cliff Hicks            PR
89 Ron Brown              KR

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 4	at Green Bay Packers	W 34–7	1–0	Lambeau Field	53,769
2	September 11	Detroit Lions	W 17–10	2–0	Anaheim Stadium	46,262
3	September 18	at Los Angeles Raiders	W 22–17	3–0	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	84,870
4	September 25	at New York Giants	W 45–31	4–0	Giants Stadium	75,617
5	October 2	Phoenix Cardinals	L 27–41	4–1	Anaheim Stadium	49,830
6	October 9	at Atlanta Falcons	W 33–0	5–1	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	30,852
7	October 16	San Francisco 49ers	L 21–24	5–2	Anaheim Stadium	65,450
8	October 23	Seattle Seahawks	W 31–10	6–2	Anaheim Stadium	57,033
9	October 30	at New Orleans Saints	W 12–10	7–2	Louisiana Superdome	68,238
10	November 6	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 24–30	7–3	Veterans Stadium	65,624
11	November 13	New Orleans Saints	L 10–14	7–4	Anaheim Stadium	63,305
12	November 20	San Diego Chargers	L 24–38	7–5	Anaheim Stadium	45,462
13	November 27	at Denver Broncos	L 24–35	7–6	Mile High Stadium	74,141
14	December 5	Chicago Bears	W 23–3	8–6	Anaheim Stadium	65,579
15	December 11	Atlanta Falcons	W 22–7	9–6	Anaheim Stadium	42,828
16	December 18	at San Francisco 49ers	W 38–16	10–6	Candlestick Park	62,444
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 4

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Rams	7	21	7	10	45
Giants	0	10	14	7	31

Date: September 25
Location: Giants Stadium
Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 64 °F (17.8 °C); wind 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn)
Referee: Johnny Grier
Television network: CBS

Scoring summary

Q1	LA	Holohan 14 yard pass from Everett (Lansford kick)	LA 7–0

Q2	NYG	Allegre 34 yard field goal	LA 7–3

Q2	LA	Delpino 5 yard pass from Everett (Lansford kick)	LA 14–3

Q2	LA	Bell 2 yard run (Lansford kick)	LA 21–3

Q2	LA	Cox 69 yard pass from Everett (Lansford kick)	LA 28–3

Q2	NYG	Ingram 9 yard pass from Simms (Allegre kick)	LA 28–10

Q3	NYG	Johnson 33 yard interception return (Allegre kick)	LA 28–17

Q3	LA	Bell 2 yard pass from Everett (Lansford kick)	LA 35–17

Q3	NYG	Morris 3 yard run (Allegre kick)	LA 35–24

Q4	LA	Lansford 41 yard field goal	LA 38–24

Q4	LA	Ellard 41 yard pass from Everett (Lansford kick)	LA 45–24

Q4	NYG	Bavaro 16 yard pass from Simms (Allegre kick)	LA 45–31

^[1]

Standings

NFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
San Francisco 49ers⁽²⁾	10	6	0	.625	4–2	8–4	369	294	L1
Los Angeles Rams⁽⁵⁾	10	6	0	.625	4–2	8–4	407	293	W3
New Orleans Saints	10	6	0	.625	3–3	6–6	312	283	W1
Atlanta Falcons	5	11	0	.313	1–5	4–8	244	315	L3

Playoffs

Round	Date	Opponent (seed)	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
Wildcard	December 26	at Minnesota Vikings (4)	L 17–28	0–1	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	57,666

Awards and records

Greg Bell, NFL Leader, Touchdowns, 31 TD's ^[2]
Greg Bell, NFL Comeback Player of the Year
Jerry Gray, NFC Pro Bowl selection
Pete Holohan, Franchise Record, most receptions by a tight end (59)

External links

1988 Los Angeles Rams Season at Pro-Football Reference

References

^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Oct-02.
^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 447

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

1988 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Buffalo	Cincinnati	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta
Indianapolis	Cleveland	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	LA Rams
Miami	Houston	LA Raiders	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Pittsburgh	San Diego	Phoenix	Minnesota	San Francisco
NY Jets		Seattle	Washington	Tampa Bay