07/23/26 10:32:00
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07/23 22:31 CDT Rams unveil alternate uniforms to honor LA's 1951 title team,
1960s Fearsome Foursome era
Rams unveil alternate uniforms to honor LA's 1951 title team, 1960s Fearsome
Foursome era
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --- The Los Angeles Rams have unveiled two alternate uniforms
designed to connect the current team to its rich California history.
At an event for season-ticket holders next to SoFi Stadium on Thursday night,
the Rams revealed a new uniform that pays tribute to their 1951 NFL
championship team with a yellow jersey and blue satin numerals in the style
used 75 years ago. The Rams then introduced a white alternate uniform with blue
numerals emulating the Rams' primary look during the 1960s, an era best known
for the team's Fearsome Foursome defensive front.
The uniform with yellow jerseys and white pants is dubbed "Classic Sol," while
the all-white alternates with blue numerals are called "Fearsome White." The
Rams will still wear the three uniforms they used last season as well,
including their main home and away looks along with their all-black "Midnight
Mode" Rivalries uniform.
The Rams will debut their Classic Sol look on Monday night at home in Week 2
against the New York Giants, and they'll come out again for a high-profile
Thursday night home showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs in December. The
Fearsome White uniforms will come out on Thanksgiving Eve for a home game
against the Green Bay Packers.
While designing these long-anticipated alternates over the past several years,
the Rams' creative team focused on creating throwbacks with modern twists that
will remind and educate the 21st-century fan about the franchise's roots.
Cory Befort, the Rams' creative executive director, said fans have repeatedly
expressed interest in uniforms that would amplify the historic achievements of
a franchise that has relocated several times, but still spent most of its
existence in Southern California.
"It felt like it was time, but we wanted to do it with intention and meet the
moment," Befort said.
The Rams spent 49 years in Southern California before former owner Georgia
Frontiere moved them to her native St. Louis in January 1995. New owner Stan
Kroenke brought the Rams back home in 2016, and he opened their
multibillion-dollar stadium complex in Inglewood in 2020.
The Rams were founded in Cleveland in 1937, but moved out west in 1946 to
become Los Angeles' most significant major professional sports team to that
point. They subsequently won the city's first major pro sports championship in
1951, beating the Cleveland Browns in the NFL title game at the Los Angeles
Coliseum.
That team celebrated its victories at a bar called Tom Bergin's in the Fairfax
district, and it even donated a championship banner to the still-operating
Irish tavern. The wordmark used in the Rams' Classic Sol throwbacks is pulled
directly off that banner, and the numerals are designed to mimic the 1951
jerseys.
Even the blue numerals and shoulder stripes themselves are throwbacks: The
creative team decided to use authentic satin, which doesn't stretch like modern
uniform material, so the satin stripes are sewn individually onto pieces of
gold polyester to prevent excessive ripping and tearing.
"These uniforms are a celebration and reminder of the moments and people that
built the Rams into what and who we are today," Rams chief marketing officer
Kat Frederick said. "Every detail was intentionally designed to honor the grit
and greatness of our history while delivering a modern look for today's players
and fans."
The Fearsome Whites are topped by a helmet with a white horn and a white
facemask in a departure from the usual blue facemask, while the jersey
shoulders have their own small numerals and a continuous blue stripe, just like
the 1960s look. The blue chest numerals are outlined in black on the new
jerseys.
The Rams launched a rebranding in 2020 for the opening of their new stadium,
but never introduced their full NFL complement of five uniform alternatives ---
a "closet," in league parlance --- until now.
The Rams already unveiled a revamping of their primary uniforms from that
rebranding earlier this year, notably eliminating the jersey numerals' unique
color gradient --- the fade on the colors at the bottom of the numbers --- and
dumping the nearly-white uniform color called "Bone" in favor of a traditional
white shade. The creative team also simplified its Ram head logo and monogram
logo.
The team will alter its game presentation depending on which uniforms are being
worn at SoFi, Befort said, with new field paint and stenciling along with
additional changes that won't be revealed until September.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL
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