History of the National Football League in Los Angeles facts for kids

Professional American football has a long and interesting history in Los Angeles. This city is a huge media market, meaning lots of people live here and watch TV!

Los Angeles was the first city on the West Coast of the United States to have its own NFL team. The Cleveland Rams moved here in 1946 and played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum until 1979.

In 1980, the Rams moved to Anaheim, California. Then, in 1982, the Oakland Raiders also moved to Los Angeles, becoming the Los Angeles Raiders. They played at the Coliseum. But by 1995, both teams left Los Angeles. The Raiders went back to Oakland, California, and the Rams moved to St. Louis, Missouri. This meant Los Angeles didn't have an NFL team for 20 years!

This long break happened because the old stadiums weren't good enough, and it was hard to agree on building new ones. Also, the NFL didn't want to add new teams or move existing ones to Los Angeles for a while. During this time, the idea of moving to Los Angeles became a "bargaining chip" for teams in other cities. They could tell their home cities, "Build us a new stadium, or we might move to L.A.!"

The NFL finally returned to Los Angeles in 2016 when the Rams moved back. Today, Los Angeles is home to both the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers moved from San Diego in 2017. Both teams now share the amazing SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, which opened in 2020.

Besides the NFL, Los Angeles has also had teams in many other professional football leagues over the years. These include the Los Angeles Bulldogs, Los Angeles Dons, the original Los Angeles Chargers (from the AFL), Southern California Sun, Los Angeles Express, Los Angeles Avengers, and Los Angeles Xtreme.

Early Football in Los Angeles

The very first NFL team to be called the Los Angeles Buccaneers was formed in 1926. But they were actually based in Chicago! They were made up of players from California colleges. It was too hard to travel across the country back then, so the team stayed in the Midwest. Another team, the Los Angeles Wildcats, also played this way. Both teams did okay but stopped playing after just one season.

The first major professional team to actually live in Los Angeles was the Los Angeles Bulldogs. They played from about 1934 to 1948, mostly at Gilmore Stadium. The NFL almost let the Bulldogs join in 1937, but they decided against it because of the huge travel distance to other teams. The NFL did hold its first two All-Star Games in Los Angeles in 1938 and 1939.

In 1946, the Los Angeles Dons started playing in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). They played for four years. Then, in 1960, the American Football League (AFL) was created, and the Los Angeles Chargers started here. After their first season, the Chargers moved to San Diego and later joined the NFL.

NFL in Los Angeles: 1946–1994

The Los Angeles Rams Arrive

In 1946, the Cleveland Rams, who had just won the NFL championship, moved to Los Angeles. Other team owners weren't happy, but the league worried Los Angeles might start its own rival league. The Rams played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

When the Rams moved, their stadium lease required them to sign African-American players. This helped end a rule that had kept Black players out of the NFL since the 1930s. The Rams signed former UCLA stars Kenny Washington and Woody Strode.

The Rams quickly became a strong team. They won 7 division titles in a row from 1973 to 1979. They had great players like quarterback Roman Gabriel and the famous "Fearsome Foursome" defensive line, which included Rosey Grier, Lamar Lundy, Merlin Olsen, and Deacon Jones.

Rams Move to Anaheim

By 1979, the Rams were a successful team and even reached their first Super Bowl. However, they weren't happy with the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. It was a huge stadium, but it rarely sold out, which meant Rams games were often not shown on local TV. Also, the area around the Coliseum was seen as less safe, and there wasn't enough parking.

The Rams' owner, Georgia Frontiere, couldn't convince Los Angeles to build a new stadium. So, in 1980, the team moved to Anaheim, California, about 28 miles southeast of downtown L.A. They played in Anaheim Stadium, which was updated for football.

The Los Angeles Raiders Arrive

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum got another NFL team in 1982 when the Oakland Raiders moved to Los Angeles. The Raiders' owner, Al Davis, moved the team without the approval of other NFL owners. He hoped to get a better stadium deal and thought the NFL might allow games to be shown on pay-per-view TV, which would be a big deal in Los Angeles.

The Raiders continued their success in Los Angeles, winning Super Bowl XVIII in 1984. This was the only Super Bowl won by a Los Angeles team until 2022. However, the team also gained a tough reputation, and their silver and black colors became linked with local street groups. The Coliseum never got the upgrades Al Davis wanted, and the NFL didn't start pay-per-view TV. Because of issues with the stadium and low attendance, the Raiders stopped playing "Monday Night Football" games in Los Angeles after 1985.

1995: Both Los Angeles Teams Leave

Rams Move to St. Louis

In the early 1990s, Rams owner Georgia Frontiere started looking for a new home for her team. The Rams were falling behind other NFL teams in making money from luxury boxes and other stadium features. By the end of the 1994 season, she was talking with St. Louis and Baltimore, cities that had lost their NFL teams before. Anaheim, where the Rams were playing, couldn't offer the tax money Frontiere wanted for stadium improvements.

Rams fans were upset that Frontiere was talking about moving the team. They booed her and attendance dropped. Finally, St. Louis offered Frontiere a great deal: a brand-new $280 million domed stadium with a long lease and over 100 luxury boxes. The move was announced in February 1995 and approved by NFL owners in April. The Rams played their last game in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve 1994.

Raiders Return to Oakland

After the Rams left, the NFL owners approved a plan in May 1995 to build a new stadium for the Raiders at Hollywood Park. But Al Davis didn't like the deal because it said he would have to accept a second team at the stadium.

Because of this, and damage to the Coliseum from the 1994 Northridge earthquake, Al Davis gave up on Los Angeles. He decided to accept a new stadium renovation offer from Oakland, California and move his team back there. The deal was announced in June 1995 and approved by the league in August. The Raiders also played their last game in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve 1994.

Twenty Years Without a Team

Los Angeles didn't have an NFL team from 1995 to 2015. A big problem was that any new team would have to play in the old Coliseum or Rose Bowl, or a new, smaller NFL-specific stadium would need to be built.

Houston Gets an Expansion Team

Los Angeles almost got an NFL team again in 1999. The NFL approved a new team, the league's 32nd, for Los Angeles. But the city and the NFL couldn't agree on a stadium location and how to pay for it. So, in October 1999, the team was given to a group in Houston instead, which became the Houston Texans.

Los Angeles as a Bargaining Chip

For two decades, many NFL teams used Los Angeles as a way to get their own cities to build new stadiums. Owners would say they were interested in moving to L.A. to encourage their city councils to pay for stadium upgrades. By 2015, more than half the league had threatened to move there! This was a powerful tool for teams to get hundreds of millions of dollars for new or renovated stadiums.

Experts said that having Los Angeles empty was actually more valuable to the NFL than having a team there. It was the "perfect bargaining chip." If a team in a smaller city wanted a new stadium, the threat of moving to "big-market, celebrity-studded L.A." was a strong argument. People in Los Angeles even felt their city was "used as a pawn."

Local Interest in Football

Even without a local team, the NFL was very popular on TV in Los Angeles. Many residents watched games, and sports bars showed multiple games at once. Many people in Los Angeles are from other parts of the U.S. and support teams from their hometowns. For example, in 2015, many L.A. County residents followed the San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders, and Dallas Cowboys on social media.

Some wondered if fans of other teams would support a new or returning NFL team in Los Angeles. The area already had very popular college football teams, the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins. Unlike cities like Cleveland or Buffalo, where people strongly identify with their local sports teams, some felt Los Angeles residents didn't have that same strong connection. When the Rams and Raiders left in 1994, many people in L.A. didn't seem to mind much.

2016: The NFL Returns

Three Teams Want to Move

On January 31, 2014, news broke that Rams owner Stan Kroenke bought land next to The Forum in Inglewood, California. He later announced plans to build an NFL stadium there.

On January 5, 2015, the Los Angeles Times reported that Kroenke and his partners were working together on a new NFL stadium in Inglewood. The Inglewood City Council approved the stadium plans in February 2015, meaning construction could start without a public vote. By December 2015, construction was officially underway.

Almost a year later, on January 4, 2016, three NFL teams that had played in the Los Angeles area before officially asked to move back. These were the St. Louis Rams, the Oakland Raiders, and the San Diego Chargers. The Rams planned to build on Kroenke's land in Inglewood. The Raiders and Chargers announced plans for a $1.7 billion stadium they would build together in Carson, California if they moved. All three teams said they would still try to get new stadiums built in their current cities.

The Rams Return

Weeks later, NFL owners met in Houston on January 12 and 13, 2016, to decide which team would move to Los Angeles. After much discussion, the owners voted. The Rams' Inglewood stadium plan received the most votes. After several rounds of voting, the Inglewood proposal received 30 votes, and the Carson proposal received only 2. This meant that after 21 seasons without an NFL team, Los Angeles finally had one again!

The Rams moved back to Los Angeles. The league set a relocation fee of $550 million for any team that moved. The Rams played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum from 2016 to 2019 while their new stadium was being built. They also agreed to play one game in London each year. In 2020, they moved into their new home, SoFi Stadium, in Inglewood.

The Chargers Return

After the 2016 season ended, the Chargers officially announced they would also move to Los Angeles. They played at Dignity Health Sports Park (then called StubHub Center) from 2017 to 2019. Then, in 2020, they moved into SoFi Stadium with the Rams.

NFL Games Between Los Angeles Teams

Here are the results of games played between the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Raiders, and later the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers:

Football Stadiums in the Los Angeles Area

SoFi Stadium

SoFi Stadium

SoFi Stadium is in Inglewood, California, where the Hollywood Park Racetrack used to be. It's the home of the Los Angeles Chargers and the Los Angeles Rams. It also hosted Super Bowl LVI in 2022. Construction started in 2016 and finished in 2020. The stadium can hold over 70,000 people, and even more for big events like the Super Bowl.

SoFi Stadium is part of a bigger area called "Hollywood Park." This area also has the Hollywood Park Casino, the headquarters for NFL Media (where NFL Network is), offices, shops, restaurants, and even a hotel.

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

Super Bowl I – Los Angeles Coliseum

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was built in 1923. It's one of the largest stadiums in the United States. It has been home to the USC Trojans college football team since it opened. The Rams played here from 1946 to 1980, and again from 2016 to 2019 while SoFi Stadium was being built. The Raiders also played here from 1982 to 1994. The original Los Angeles Chargers played their first season here in 1960. The Coliseum also hosted Super Bowl I in 1967.

The Coliseum had some problems as an NFL stadium. It was so big that it was hard to sell out, which meant games were often not shown on local TV. Over the years, changes were made to make it better for football, like reducing the number of seats and upgrading locker rooms.

Anaheim Stadium

Rams game at Anaheim Stadium, 1991.

Anaheim Stadium is about 25 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles in Anaheim, California. It was built for baseball's California Angels and opened in 1966. The Rams moved here in 1980 because they wanted a more modern stadium that was smaller than the Coliseum. About 23,000 seats were added for football games.

After the Rams left California in 1995, Anaheim Stadium was changed back to only a baseball stadium. It no longer hosts professional football games.

Rose Bowl

The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, is about ten miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It was built in 1922 and is used by the UCLA Bruins football college team. The Rose Bowl has never been a permanent home for an NFL team, but it has hosted the Super Bowl five times, more than almost any other stadium!

During the 20 years without an NFL team in L.A., a renovated Rose Bowl was considered a possible home for a new team. However, no deal could be made with the NFL. In 2006, Pasadena voters rejected a plan to pay for stadium renovations that would have allowed an NFL team to play there, mostly because of worries about increased traffic.

Other Football in Los Angeles

Los Angeles has been home to many other professional football teams besides the NFL:

• The Southern California Sun played in the World Football League in Anaheim from 1974 to 1975.
• The Los Angeles Express played in the United States Football League (USFL) from 1983 to 1985. This league played in the spring, so it didn't conflict with the NFL.
• The Arena Football League had four teams in the Los Angeles area:
  • The Los Angeles Cobras played for one season in 1988.
  • The Anaheim Piranhas played in Anaheim from 1996 to 1997.
  • The Los Angeles Avengers played at the Staples Center from 2000 to 2008.
  • The LA KISS, a team owned by the band Kiss, played from 2014 to 2016 in Anaheim.
• The Los Angeles Xtreme won the championship in the first XFL league in 2001.
• The Los Angeles Temptation played in the Legends Football League (originally the Lingerie Football League) from 2009 to 2010.
• The LA Wildcats played in the second XFL league in 2020.

In Movies and TV

Los Angeles football teams have appeared in many fictional stories:

• In the TV show Entourage, a character is offered the chance to run an NFL team in Los Angeles.
• The movie Against All Odds features a fictional team called the L.A. Outlaws.
• The 1991 movie The Last Boy Scout is about a fictional team called the L.A. Stallions.
• In the book Cover-up: Mystery at the Super Bowl, the team is called the LA Dreams.
• The video game Blitz: The League II has a team called the L.A. Riot.
• In a The Simpsons episode, Los Angeles bids against Springfield for a professional football team.