1945 Cleveland Rams season

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.

1945 Cleveland Rams season
Head coach	Adam Walsh
Home stadium	League Park
Results
Record	9–1
Division place	1st NFL Western
Playoffs	Won NFL Championship (vs. Redskins) 15–14
← 1944 Rams seasons 1946 (L.A.) →

One month after winning the NFL Championship, The team's players and the 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]

Off season

NFL draft

Main article: 1945 NFL draft

= Hall of Famer

1945 Cleveland Rams Draft

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College
1	5	Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch	End	Michigan
2	16	Milan Lazetich	Tackle	Michigan
3	21	W.G. (Dub) Wooten	End	Oklahoma
4	32	Jack Zilly	End	Notre Dame
5	37	Roger Harding	Center	California
6	48	Jerry Cowhig	Back	Notre Dame
7	59	Fred Negus	Center	Wisconsin
8	70	Johnny August	Back	Alabama
9	81	Dick Huffman	Tackle	Tennessee
10	92	Vern Walters	Back	Alma
11	103	Tom Fears	End	UCLA
12	114	Joe Winkler	Center	Purdue
13	125	Jack Aland	Tackle	Alabama
14	136	Chuck Uknes	Back	Iowa
15	147	Bill Lund	Back	Case Western Reserve
16	158	Bob Barton	End	Holy Cross
17	169	Dick Hoerner	Back	Iowa
18	180	Lee Kennon	Tackle	Oklahoma
19	191	Eagle Matulich	Back	Mississippi State
20	202	Bill Griffin	Tackle	Kentucky
21	213	Leroy Erickson	Back	Oregon
22	224	Ray Evans	Tackle	Texas-El Paso
23	235	Luke Higgins	Tackle	Notre Dame
24	246	Stan Nowak	End	South Carolina
25	257	Gene Konopka	Guard	Villanova
26	268	Ray Florek	Back	Illinois
27	279	Russ Perry	Back	Wake Forest
28	290	Pat West	Back	USC
29	301	Bill Davis	Back	Oregon
30	312	Charley Compton	Tackle	Alabama

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	Bye
2	September 30	Chicago Cardinals	W 21–0	1–0	League Park	10,872	Recap
3	October 7	Chicago Bears	W 17–0	2–0	League Park	19,580	Recap
4	October 14	at Green Bay Packers	W 27–14	3–0	City Stadium	24,607	Recap
5	October 21	at Chicago Bears	W 41–21	4–0	Wrigley Field	28,273	Recap
6	October 28	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 14–28	4–1	Shibe Park	38,149	Recap
7	November 4	at New York Giants	W 21–17	5–1	Polo Grounds	46,219	Recap
8	November 11	Green Bay Packers	W 20–7	6–1	League Park	28,686	Recap
9	November 18	at Chicago Cardinals	W 35–21	7–1	Comiskey Park	18,000	Recap
10	November 22	at Detroit Lions	W 28–21	8–1	Briggs Stadium	40,017	Recap
11	December 2	Boston Yanks	W 20–7	9–1	League Park	18,470	Recap
12	Bye
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFL Western Division
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Cleveland Rams	9	1	0	.900	7–0	244	136	W5
Detroit Lions	7	3	0	.700	5–2	195	194	W1
Green Bay Packers	6	4	0	.600	3–4	258	173	L1
Chicago Bears	3	7	0	.300	2–6	192	235	W2
Chicago Cardinals	1	9	0	.100	1–6	98	228	L6

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

Regular season

Week 2: vs. Chicago Cardinals

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	0	0	0	0	0
Rams	0	7	14	0	21

Game information
First quarter Second quarter CLE – Waterfield 8-yard run (Waterfield kick) Third quarter CLE – Pritko 4 pass from Waterfield (Waterfield kick) CLE – Gillette 25-yard run (Waterfield kick) Fourth quarter

Week Two: Cleveland Rams vs. Chicago Cardinals – Game summary

at League Park

• Date: September 30
• Game attendance: 10,872

Week 3: vs. Chicago Bears

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	0	0	0	0
Rams	14	3	0	0	17

Game information
First quarter CLE – Waterfield 8-yard run (Waterfield kick) CLE – Pritko 25 pass from Waterfield (Waterfield kick) Second quarter CLE – FG Waterfield 28 Third quarter Fourth quarter

Week Three: Cleveland Rams vs. Chicago Cardinals – Game summary

at League Park

• Date: September 30
• Game attendance: 19,580

Week 4: at Green Bay Packers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	6	0	0	21	27
Packers	0	0	7	7	14

at City Stadium, Green Bay, Wisconsin

• Game attendance: 24,607

CLE – Benton 17 pass from Waterfield (kick failed)
GB – Comp 1 run (Hutson kick)
GB – Fritsch 3 run (Hutson kick)
CLE – Colella 6 pass from Waterfield (Waterfield kick)
CLE – Greenwood 1 run (Waterfield kick)
CLE – Colella 5 run (Waterfield kick)

Week 5: at Chicago Bears

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	6	14	7	14	41
Bears	0	7	14	0	21

at Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois

• Game attendance: 28,273

CLE – Greenwood 11 run (kick failed)
CLE – Colella 3 run (Waterfield kick)
CLE – Wedel 10 run (Waterfield kick)
CHI – Margarita 1 run (Gudauskas kick)
CHI – Hennessey 42 pass from LaManna (Gudauskas kick)
CHI – Gallameau 2 run (Gudauskas kick)
CLE – Greenwood 8 run (Waterfield kick)
CLE – LaMamnna 21 pass from Waterfield (Waterfield kick)
CLE – Colella 18 pass from Reisz (Waterfield kick)

Week 6: at Philadelphia Eagles

Week 7: at New York Giants

Week 8: vs. Green Bay Packers

Week 9: at Chicago Cardinals

Week 10: at Detroit Lions

Week 11: vs. Boston Yanks

Post season

NFL Championship Game: vs. Washington Redskins

Main article: NFL Championship Game, 1945

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Redskins	0	7	7	0	14
Rams	2	7	6	0	15

NFL Championship Game

at Cleveland Municipal Stadium

• Date: December 16, 1945
• Game weather: −8 °F (−22 °C)
• Game attendance: 32,178

In the first quarter, the Redskins had the ball at their own 5-yard line. Dropping back into the end zone, quarterback Sammy Baugh threw, but the ball hit the goal post (which at the time was on the goal line instead of at the back of the end zone) and bounced back to the ground in the end zone. Under the rules at the time, this was ruled as a safety and thus gave the Rams a 2–0 lead.

In the second quarter, Baugh suffered bruised ribs and was replaced by Frank Filchock. Filchock threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Steve Bagarus to give the Redskins a 7–2 lead. But the Rams scored just before halftime when rookie quarterback Bob Waterfield threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Jim Benton. Waterfield's ensuing extra point was partially blocked, with the ball teetering on the crossbar, but it dropped over to give Cleveland a 9–7 lead.

In the third quarter, the Rams increased their lead when Jim Gillette scored on a 44-yard touchdown reception, but this time the extra point was missed. The Redskins then came back to cut their deficit to 15–14 with Bob Seymour's 8-yard touchdown catch from Filchock. In the fourth quarter, Washington kicker Joe Aguirre missed two field goals attempts, of 46 and 31 yards, that could have won the game.

Roster

Bold denotes player on the official NFL roster at the end of the 1945 season.^[3]

Name	Position	Height	Weight	1945 Games	1945 Starts	Years in NFL	University	Notes
Graham Armstrong	Tackle	6'2"	215	1	0	2	John Carroll
Jim Benton	End	6'3"	195	9	5	7	Arkansas
David Bernard	Fullback	5'10"	197	7	0	2	Mississippi
Gil Bouley	Tackle	6'2"	233	6	6	1	Boston College
Thomas Colella	Halfback	5'11-⁠1/2⁠"	185	10	1	4	Canisius
Bob DeLauer	Center	6'1"	213	2	2	1	USA
Roger Eason	Tackle	6'2"	220	2	0	1	Oklahoma
Fred Gehrke	Halfback	5'11"	190	10	7	2	Utah
James Gillette	Halfback	6'1-⁠1/2⁠"	185	10	7	3	Virginia
Don Greenwood	Fullback	5'11"	191	9	6	1	Illinois
Ray Hamilton	End	6'4"	210	9	0	4	Arkansas
Roger Harding	Center	6'2"	195	6	0	1	Cal
Howard Hickey	End	6'2"	195	8	2	2	Arkansas
Jack Jacobs	Quarterback	6'1"	180	2	1	2	Oklahoma
Harvey Jones	Halfback	6'0"	175	9	2	2	Baylor
George Koch	Halfback	6'1"	200	5	0	1	St. Mary's of Texas
Floyd Konetsky	End	6'1"	195	10	3	2	University of Miami
William Lazetich	Guard	6'1-⁠1/2⁠"	195	10	7	1	Montana
Leslie Lear	Guard	5'11"	223	9	1	2	Manitoba University
Butch Levy	Tackle	6'0"	260	7	1	1	Minnesota
Elvin Liles	Guard	5'9-⁠1/2⁠"	195	8	0	3	Oklahoma A&M	Started season with Detroit Lions.
Riley Matheson	Guard	6'2"	210	10	10	7	Texas Mines
Arthur Morgenthal	Guard	5'11"	215	10	2	1	Notre Dame
Raymond Monaco	Guard	5'10-⁠1/2⁠"	215	1	0	3	Holy Cross
Rudy Mucha	Guard	6'1-⁠1/2⁠"	246	3	0	2	Washington	Ended season with Chicago Bears.
Steve Nemeth	Quarterback	5'10"	172	9	3	1	Notre Dame
George Phillips	Quarterback	6'3-⁠1/2⁠"	215	1	0	1	UCLA
Steve Pritko	End	6'2"	210	10	10	3	Villanova
Albie Reisz	Quarterback	5'9"	170	10	0	2	Southeastern
William Reith	Center	5'11-⁠1/2⁠"	203	1	0	3	Carnegie Tech
Ralph Ruthstrom	Fullback	6'4"	208	6	2	1	Southern Methodist
Mike Scarry	Center	5'11"	220	10	10	2	Waynesburg University
Eberle Schultz	Tackle	6'4"	245	10	10	5	Oregon State
Bob Shaw	End	6'3"	229	5	0	1	Ohio State
Rudy Sikich	Tackle	6'1"	219	6	2	1	Minnesota
Bob Waterfield	Quarterback	6'1"	191	10	6	1	UCLA	1945 NFL Most Valuable Player
Pat West	Fullback	6'1"	204	10	7	1	USC
Joe Winkler	Center	6'1"	200	8	0	1	Purdue
James Worden	Halfback	5'10"	180	5	5	1	Waynesburg
Walt Zirinsky	Halfback	5'11-⁠1/2⁠"	187	5	0	1	Lafayette University

Awards and records

• Adam Walsh, Coach of the Year
• Bob Waterfield, League Most Valuable Player
• Bob Waterfield, NFL leader, Touchdowns (14 – tied)^[4]