LA Rams: 15 greatest wide receivers of All Time

Another player’s name who may not come to mind easily for you is that of Rams offensive end Tom Fears. While you may not know about him, you can bet that NFL fans in his day knew all about him, whether they were fans who cheered for the LA Rams or cheered against them.

Tom Fears was inaugurated into the NFL Hall of Fame with the Class of 1970. For his era, he was a huge target. He stood 6-foot-2 and weighed 216 pounds. He would play the end position for the LA Rams for nine seasons.  His best statistical season came in 1950 when his 84 catches for 1,116 yards and seven touchdowns would catapult him to his first and only NFL All-Pro honors.

But his best performance season came the next season when he helped quarterback Norm Van Brocklin and teammate “Crazy Legs” Hirsch to the NFL Championship.

As crazy as it sounds now, he played defensive back in college. But after being drafted to the LA Rams, they flipped him to the offensive side of the ball and never looked back. In fact, his first three seasons on the offensive side of the ball were his absolute best. But he would dominate for nine seasons. Over the course of his career, he would catch 400 passes for 5,397 yards and 38 touchdowns.

While a big player of his time, he was an excellent route runner and was famous (or infamous) for his buttonhook route that was next to impossible to defend. He defined his career in the 1951 NFL Championship Game in the fourth quarter with the score tied at 17-17 against the Cleveland Browns.  Quarterback Norm Van Brocklin dropped back to make a 13-yard completion to Fears from the 27-yard line. But as has become the LA Rams calling card, Fears put up an additional 60 yards after the catch to score the game-winning touchdown.

Tom Fears passed away on January 4, 2000. His play will live on in the memories of those who watched and loved his play. Curiously enough, it was Fears who gave teammate Dick Lane the nickname “Night Train” due to his appreciation for the Buddy Morrow popular song of the time: Night Train.  It just so happened that Tom Fears had the only copy of the record, so Dick Lane would stop by frequently to hear the song.