In 1937, the NFL was trying to gain more popularity by expanding in major cities across the United States. The league hoped that this expansion would help American football become as popular as professional baseball. This is a major reason why the NFL allowed the Cleveland Rams to join their developing league.
The Rams struggled in the 1937 season, finishing with an NFL-worst record of 1-10. There weren’t too many bright points in 1937, but some of the players featured in this season would eventually go on to help the Rams in later years like fullback Johnny Drake, quarterback/tailback Bob Snyder and halfback Ed Goddard.
The Rams kicked off the year before a crowd of 15,500 at home against the Detroit Lions. The game drew the largest audience of the season, but the Lions crushed the Rams 28-0. The highlight of the season came in the second game against the Philadelphia Eagles. It would go down as the sole win of the Rams’ season, and it was also their highest scoring game. The Rams beat the Eagles 21-3 in a battle between the two worst teams in the league. The Eagles finished the season with a 2-8-1 record.
The victory was short-lived; the Rams would go on to lose the remaining 9 games. This included losing a close game against the Brooklyn Dodgers, 9-7. One of the biggest issues the team faced during the season was a lack of scoring production. The Rams were last in the league in scoring, accumulating only 75 points in the entire season.
In fact, the Rams only scored more than a touchdown in just two of 11 games. The team’s scoring woes were on full display in its next two losses, both of which came against teams from Chicago. The Rams were shutout for the second time in the season (6-0) against the Chicago Cardinals. The following week, the Rams suffered a 20-2 loss against the Chicago Bears at home.
The team then lost two straight against the Green Bay Packers. The first game was at Green Bay with a convincing 35-10 defeat. The return home to Cleveland didn’t make a difference as the Rams suffered a 35-7 loss to the Packers on Oct. 24. The rest of the season consisted of the Rams averaging only one touchdown per game, including a tough 13-7 defeat against the Chicago Cardinals. Some of those touchdowns came from emerging young prospect fullback Johnny Drake. Drake was drafted out of Purdue University in the first round (10th overall) of the 1937 NFL Draft. He produced a total of five touchdowns throughout the season.
The second game against the Lions was a slight improvement than the season opening loss in Cleveland, but Detroit still dominated the Rams 27-7. The last home game of 1937 was a true low point in the season. Hugo Bezdek’s Rams lost to the Washington Redskins 16-7, but that’s not the worst part of it. The team tied for a record-low crowd of 5,000 attendees, which was far below the seating capacity for both Cleveland Municipal Stadium and League Park.
The final game of the season ended in yet another loss against the Chicago Bears 15-7, which left the team buried at the bottom of the NFL Western Division. While the Rams did endure an embarrassing season, it would not define the future of the organization. The Rams would have better days ahead of them.
Season Notes
– The Rams played in two stadiums, Cleveland Municipal Stadium and League Park.
– The team wore red and black in its opening season.
– Much of the team consisted of rookies and first year players.
– The Rams held training camp at Lake Erie College for Women located at Painesville, Ohio.
– None of the Rams’ players made an appearance to the Pro Bowl or were considered an All-Pro.
| 1937 Cleveland Rams Schedule | |||
| Week | Date | Opponent | Score |
| 1 | Fri., 9/10 | Detroit Lions | L, 0-28 |
| 2 | Tues., 9/21 | @Philadelphia Eagles | W, 21-3 |
| 3 | Sun., 9/26 | @Brooklyn Dodgers | L, 7-9 |
| 4 | Sun., 10/3 | Chicago Cardinals | L, 0-6 |
| 5 | Sun., 10/10 | Chicago Bears | L, 2-20 |
| 6 | Sun., 10/17 | Green Bay Packers | L, 10-35 |
| 7 | Sun., 10/24 | @Green Bay Packers | L, 7-35 |
| 8 | Sun., 10/31 | @Chicago Cardinals | L, 7-13 |
| 9 | Sun., 11/7 | @Detroit Lions | L, 7-27 |
| 10 | Sun., 11/21 | Washington Redskins | L, 7-16 |
| 11 | Sun., 11/28 | @Chicago Bears | L, 7-15 |
| Team Stats and Rankings | Total Yds/Plays | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||
| PTS | YDS | PLY | AVG | CMP | ATT | YDS | TD | INT | AVG | ATT | YDS | TD | AVG | TO | TFL | |
| Team Offense | 75 | 1769 | 538 | 3.3 | 59 | 168 | 839 | 3 | 21 | 5.0 | 370 | 930 | 6 | 2.5 | 21 | 0 |
| Team Defense | 207 | 2687 | 620 | 4.3 | 67 | 155 | 883 | 9 | 15 | 5.7 | 465 | 1804 | 8 | 3.9 | 30 | 15 |
| League Ranking – Offense | 10 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 1 | |||
| League Ranking – Defense | 10 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 8 | |||
You can follow Johnny Gomez on Twitter @Johnny5not6. Be sure to follow Rams Talk on Twitter @TalkRams. Sources: Profootballreference.com
