Rams Haunted Since the Day Eric Went Away

Today is the 10-year anniversary of the L.A. Ram trade that sent premier running back Eric Dickerson to the Indianapolis Colts. The deal led to the downfall of Dickerson and had a negative impact on the career of Coach John Robinson and others. Many trace the decline of the franchise to that trade, helping to eventually push the team out of Los Angeles.

Dickerson, who forced the trade, was disgruntled because he was making only $682,000 in 1987 after leading the league in rushing three of his first four years in the NFL.

Dickerson was traded to Indianapolis in a three-team swap that included Buffalo. The Rams wound up with three first-round and three second-round draft choices.

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Trivia time: Who led the NFL in rushing in Dickerson’s first season in Indianapolis?

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Eric gets rich: Dickerson signed a four-year, $5.6-million deal with the Colts. He was 27 when he was traded, but his rushing average declined every year after he left the Rams.

The statistics: Four-plus years with the Rams: 7,245 yards and 56 touchdowns.

First four years with the Colts: 4,658 yards, 31 touchdowns.

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Shortchanged: The players the Rams selected with the draft picks were generally busts, including UCLA running back Gaston Green, Arizona State receiver Aaron Cox, Miami running back Cleveland Gary and Notre Dame linebacker Frank Stams.

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Losing syndrome: After Dickerson was traded, the Rams had winning seasons in 1988 and 1989, but haven’t since, extending to St. Louis, where the franchise was relocated in 1995.

Dickerson finished his career with Atlanta in 1993 and with 13,259 rushing yards is second on the all-time NFL list to Walter Payton.

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That would be a ‘no’: Chris Chelios, Chicago Blackhawk defenseman, when asked after a recent game against Dallas if he has mellowed:

“I knocked Joe Nieuwendyk’s teeth out with an elbow.”

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Mega-deal: From The Good Doctor in Inside Sports:

Question: “Rick Fox decided to leave the Boston Celtics and join the Lakers. What did L.A. offer him?”

Answer: “Didn’t you hear? L.A. is selling the Dodgers to Fox.”

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Ball heist: Someone made off with 107,000 recycled golf balls last weekend after slicing through a metal locking plate on a storage unit at a Nitro Golf warehouse in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

But the 214 boxes of recycled balls--each worth about 22 cents--were recovered Wednesday after someone, who claimed he bought them from a wholesaler in Florida, suspected they might be stolen.

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Trivia answer: Charles White of the Rams, with 1,374 yards.

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And finally: Speaking of Dickerson, former Ram running back coach Gil Haskell, now with Green Bay, told The Times in 1991: “The big crime is that Coach [John Robinson] and he together were a hell of a combination.”