Niners and Rams are ready to rekindle their bitter rivalry.
With the Rams in the playoffs, the 49ers on the rebound and rising stars at QB and coach on both sides, the in-state rivalry is back on track
It hasn’t been a rivalry so much as it’s been a series between yin and yang, the haves against the have-nots.
The 49ers have a 67-65-3 regular-season advantage over the Rams dating to the 1950s, with the pendulum swinging both ways in terms of dominance.
Former Rams left tackle Jackie Slater used to think a trip to Baghdad by the Bay meant a good meal. In his first five seasons, the Rams were 9-1 against the 49ers and 5-0 in San Francisco.
“I’d always tell people the biggest thing was to decide which restaurant we going to eat at and it wasn’t about playing the 49ers,” Slater said. “We were going to thump them royally.”
By the time Slater was finished with a Hall of Fame career which spanned 20 seasons, he had a losing record against the 49ers and
had lost the last 10 in a row.
Jesse Sapolu, meanwhile, was 24-2 against the Rams in 13 seasons and the 49ers never lost in Anaheim.
“I live in Los Angeles, and to this day, Rams fans take their little disappointments out on me,” the former 49ers guard and center said with a laugh. “I just tell ’em, ‘Every time I drive by Anaheim Stadium, there are some good memories for me.’ ’’
‘Hollywood script’
The Rams and 49ers are geographical rivals again, with the Rams moving to Los Angeles for the 2016 season after 21 years in St. Louis. There hasn’t been a whiff of nostalgia as the teams meet Sunday at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum.
The Rams will sit some of their regulars as they prepare for a playoff game, but there’s reason to believe the rivalry will get a shot of adrenaline in the future.
The Rams are 11-4 under rookie coach Sean McVay, with Marin County native and second-year quarterback Jared Goff validating his status as the No. 1 overall draft pick. The 49ers, since trading for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, have won four straight under Kyle Shanahan.
“The truth of the matter is, there is potential for the new-found 49ers-Rams rivalry to exceed what we experienced and enjoyed in the past,” former 49ers president Carmen Policy said. “It’s almost a Hollywood script.”
The Rams, playing at the Coliseum, held a 39-16-2 series advantage from 1950 through the 1970s, moving to Anaheim Stadium in 1980. In the 1970s, the Rams won 17 of 20 games.
It was a geographical rivalry if not a competitive one.
“It’s only a good rivalry when both teams are strong,” former 49ers center and television analyst Randy Cross said. “L.A. was top dog when I got to the 49ers (in 1976). They had been to a Super Bowl in ’79 and we could barely even spell it back then.”
The Walsh years
The 49ers turned things around in the 1980s and 1990s, beating the Rams in 30 of 41 games, including a 17-game win streak from 1990-98.
Things turned in the 49ers’ favor when Bill Walsh, who was hired in 1979, brought in two Rams castoffs — tight end Charle Young in 1980 and linebacker Jack “Hacksaw” Reynolds in 1981.
Young was an inspirational leader, while Reynolds was a demanding one. Mike Shumann, a former 49ers receiver and sports director at KGO-TV, remembers Reynolds wearing full uniform to pregame meals.
“There’s a story where Ronnie Lott wanted to borrow a pencil from Hacksaw at a meeting,” Shumann said. “Hacksaw told him, ‘Bring your own pencil if you want to be a professional.’ And he wouldn’t give him a pencil.”
Slater saw the 49ers’ offense begin to take shape under Walsh and knew Young and Reynolds would lend locker-room stability.
“Charle was a great leader, and Hacksaw was a great technician and unbelievable defensive signalcaller, always put people in the right spot,” Slater said. “When he went over there, I knew they were going to be more difficult to deal with.”
Walsh, according to Shumann, was concerned enough about distractions in Los Angeles that he had assistant coaches dress up street people and trot them out one by one to deliver a comic message about the evils of Southern California.
The 49ers picked up RB Wendell Tyler from the Rams in 1983 after the Rams had drafted Eric Dickerson, and Tyler contributed to a Super Bowl title the following season.
Memorable moments
Eventually, in the latter stages with Joe Montana and then with Steve Young taking over for the 49ers, the Rams lost by margins big and small.
Running back Roger Craig rushed for 1,026 yards in 17 games against the Rams and had his signature performance in Anaheim. He rushed for 190 yards, including a 46-yard touchdown run with at least six broken tackles regarded as one of the greatest runs in franchise history.
“To me, that game was like Oklahoma-Nebraska, only on a bigger stage,” Craig said. “I always felt as if I had to turn it up against them.”
Wide receiver John Taylor, dubbed the “Ram killer” by Sapolu, had a Monday night game in Anaheim in which he caught 11 passes for 286 yards and touchdowns of 92 and 95 yards from Montana. The 49ers erased a 27-17 deficit to win 30-27.
That win in 1989 came after the Rams had won the first meeting, 13-12. Los Angeles advanced to the NFC Championship Game against the 49ers that season, but was blown out 30-3 at Candlestick Park. The 49ers went on to beat Denver 55-10 in the Super Bowl.
The two organizations
were on good terms. When torrential rains hit the Bay Area in 1981 and the 49ers were preparing for the postseason, 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo called Rams owner Georgia Frontiere with a problem.
The 49ers needed a place to practice.
“They said, come on down, use our facilities in Southern California, use our offices for as long as you need and we’ll have part of our office staff available to help you any way we can,” Policy said. “It wasn’t the Jedi fighting the Empire. We had a good relationship.”
The 49ers went on to win their first Super Bowl.
Policy said he can foresee the day when 49ers fans again make regular treks to Los Angeles for games, and vice versa, and there is virtual unanimity the rivalry can be something special in the future.
“Everything is positioned, geared and set up to create maybe one of the better geographical rivalries in the league,” Policy said.
Cross agrees and believes, “The league is better when you’ve got the 49ers and Rams playing well.” Shumann sees it as potentially superior to 49ers-Seahawks.
Craig thinks Garoppolo is “can’t miss” to the point that he invoked Montana’s name (as did Sapolu). But he sees L.A. as formidable as well.
“Their big back, Todd Gurley, he reminds me of myself back in the day, running, catching, making it happen for his team,” Craig said.
Slater believes in McVay and Shanahan, who add to the storyline since they have the 49ers organization in their DNA. McVay’s grandfather is former 49ers GM John McVay, Shanahan’s father Mike was the 49ers’ offensive coordinator the last time they won the Super Bowl following the 1995 season.
Then there’s Garoppolo and Goff, the latter a sudden star after a difficult rookie year.
“Right now, you’ve got Utopia in Los Angeles and Utopia in San Francisco,” Slater said. “It doesn’t get much better than that.”