DUSTBIN

July 13,1972

Trades are an integral part of sports, but team owners Robert Irsay and Carroll Rosenbloom pulled the ultimate deal, swapping NFL franchises. Irsay picked up the Los Angeles Rams for $19 million, then traded his ownership of the franchise to Rosenbloom, who turned over ownership of his Baltimore Colts to Irsay. Since the trade, the two franchises have combined for 30 losing seasons (17 for the Colts, 13 for the Rams), 22 playoff berths (15 for the Rams, seven for the Colts), two Super Bowl appearances (the Rams in Super Bowl 14 and Super Bowl 34) and two relocations (the Colts from Baltimore to Indianapolis and the Rams from Los Angeles to St. Louis), Now, after uneven franchise histories since the club swap, the the defending Super Bowl champion Rams and Colts are both serious contenders to reach Super Bowl 35.

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