| 1945 Cleveland Rams season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Adam Walsh |
| Home field | League Park |
| Local radio | WGAR |
| Results | |
| Record | 9–1 |
| Division place | 1st NFL Western |
| Playoff finish | Won NFL Championship (vs. Redskins) 15–14 |
The 1945 Cleveland Rams season was the team's eighth year with the National Football League and the ninth and final season in Cleveland. Led by the brother tandem of head coach Adam Walsh and general manager Chile Walsh, and helmed by future Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Waterfield, the Rams franchise finished 9–1 before winning its first NFL Championship by defeating the Washington Redskins, 15–14, at Cleveland Stadium. Other stars on the team included receiver Jim Benton and back Jim Gillette, who gained more than 100 yards in the title game.
One month after winning the NFL Championship, franchise owner Dan Reeves, who had sustained five years of heavy financial losses (even during the team's championship season) because of poor home crowds, realized he had no prospect of the Rams competing in Cleveland with the AAFC's Browns, who were to commence play the next year, and relocated the Rams to Los Angeles.[1] The Rams' move to Los Angeles marked the first of only two occasions that a professional football champion has played the following season in another city.[2]
- ^ MacCambridge, Michael (2005). America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation. Anchor Books. pp. 15–16. ISBN 978-0-375-72506-7.
- ^ The other occasion was in 1962 with the Dallas Texans of the American Football League. Five months after winning the AFL Championship, franchise owner Lamar Hunt, realizing he had no prospect of the Texans competing with the NFL's Cowboys in Dallas, relocated the Texans to Kansas City and rebranded them as the Chiefs.