When you view this week’s NFL Schedule, the Rams at the Browns appear to be one of the few games that will have no playoff implications. While that is true, these teams have a rich history of not only sharing the same city but facing each other in three classic title games in the 1950’s

The Cleveland Rams were an expansion team in 1937. They won the NFL title in 1945 led by the passing and place kicking of rookie of the year quarterback Bob Waterfield. They packed up a couple of months after winning the championship and moved to sunny Los Angeles for 1946.

In 1946 a new league was formed, the All America Football Conference, one of its members were the Cleveland Browns, they replaced the Rams as Cleveland’s team. The Browns dominated the new league winning every championship from 1946 to 1949. After 1949, three AAFC members, the Browns, 49ers, and Colts merged with the NFL.

The Browns were placed in the Eastern Division for 1950, which was renamed the American Conference and placed first. The Los Angeles Rams won the National Conference. They would face each other in the 1950 championship game.

The Rams came back to Cleveland for the title game and scored on the first play from scrimmage, on a Waterfield pass to former West Point star Glenn Davis. The exciting game went back and forth, with 28 seconds remaining Hall of Famer Lou Groza kicked the winning field goal for the Browns, they won their first NFL championship 30-28.

Each team repeated in 1951 as conference champions and played the rematch for the title in Los Angeles. This was another back and forth game, this time won by the Rams on a 73 yard TD throw in the 4th period from Hall of Famer Norm Van Brocklin to Hall of Fame end Tom Fears, the Rams won the championship 24-17 and brought  the state California their first major pro sports championship

In 1955 the teams repeated as division champions and met in the LA Coliseum for the title game. Playing in his last game, Browns Hall of Fame quarterback Otto Graham threw for 2 scores and ran for two more as the Browns won their third NFL championship with a 38-14 victory.