By Brett Grassmuck

Staff Writer

It’s been a tough football season inSt. Louis. A 24-19 loss to the Seahawks dropped the Rams to 2-9 on the season and eliminated any hope of catching Seattle in the NFC West and the Rams training room continues to look more and more like an infirmary.

But through all the adversity that is 2007, great achievements continue to be made. Each week, wide receiver Isaac Bruce climbs over another one of the NFL’s best receivers and with every extra point or field goal, another of the NFL’s greatest kickers watches Jeff Wilkins pass them by.

The biggest milestone, though, didn’t come from an individual player, but a team and a franchise fighting through adversity to hoist themselves up among the NFL elite.

When Rams safety Oshiomogho Atogwe intercepted 49ers quarterback Trent Dilfer during the final play of the Rams win over San Francsico, it gave the Rams their 500^th franchise victory, a feat only five other NFL teams have accomplished.

“I have learned this coming from an offensive background and offensive coordinator and offensive head coach, there are not style points in winning and losing,” Rams coach Scott Linehan said. “There’s just a lot of happiness all around when it comes to winning. The greatest thing about (the 49ers) game was even though the score was a low score it was a team victory and I was very proud of how all three phases played.”

With the win, the Rams (500) joined the Pittsburgh Steelers (506), who also eclipsed the 500 mark this season, the Washington Redskins (525), the New York Giants (603), the Green Bay Packers (634) and the team with the most franchise wins in NFL history, the Chicago Bears (675).

If getting the 500^th franchise win wasn’t enough, it was extra special getting it over the rival 49ers. Sixty of the Rams 500 wins have come by way of the 49ers during their heated rivalry.

The quest for the 500 win club began not in St. Louis, or Los Angeles, but in Cleveland, Ohio, where Homer Marshman and a group of local businessmen were granted an NFL expansion franchise in 1937. Marshman named the team after a former Cleveland AFL team, the Rams.

Coach Hugo Bezdek and the Rams experienced a less-than-stellar first season, going 1-10, but picking up the first franchise victory over Philadelphia on September, 17, 1937, a 21-3 rout.

Just a shade under 20 years later, the Rams, who had moved to Los Angeles from Cleveland, took on the Green Bay Packers on Dec. 20, 1954 and dazzled the 38,000 fans in attendance with an aerial attack that lead to 434 passing yards from quarterback Norm Van Brocklin and a 35-27 win for the Rams 100^th franchise victory.

Van Brocklin also accounted for two passing touchdowns in the contest while running back Dan Towler found his way to the end zone three times on 14 carries. The Rams ended 1954 fourth in the NFL’s western conference with a 6-5-1 record under coach Hampton Pool.

Sixteen years later, the Rams played the 1970 season finale against the New York Giants at Yankee stadium and blew out the Giants 31-3 for the 200^th franchise victory. Wide receiver Pat Studstill pulled double duty hauling in six Roman Gabriel passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns and also punting six times for a 39.3-yard average.

Gabriel finished the contest 13/21 with 158 yards and the two touchdown passes to Studstill. Running back Les Josephson led all rushers in the game with 106 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown. The Rams fell short of first place in the NFC West by one game to the 49ers with a 9-4-1 record. 

Fast forward ten years to 1980 and another season finale for the Rams, this time at the Los Angles Coliseum against the then NFC West rival Atlanta Falcons. With a tie game and under a minute in regulation, Rams quarterback Vince Ferragamo engineered a drive that ended with a chance at a 47-yard field goal by kicker Frank Corral. Unfortunately, the kick was blocked and the game headed into overtime.

In overtime, Rams linebacker Joe Harris forced his way into the Falcons backfield to bring down Atlanta quarterback Steve Bartkowski and forced a fumble. The Rams recovered on the Falcons’ six and Corral nailed a 23-yarder to secure the Rams 300^th franchise win.

The win wasn’t enough to keep the Rams from catching the Falcons in the west as they finished one game behind Atlanta at 11-5.

September 10, 1995 marked the return of professional football to the city of St. Louis as the Rams took on the New Orleans Saints in their inaugural season home opener. QB Chris Miller found Bruce for the team’s only offensive touchdown of the game. Running back Jerome “The Bus” Bettis lead both teams in rushing with 83 yards on 20 carries in the Rams 400^th franchise win, and first win at the now-Edward Jones Dome.

The Rams, and head coach Rich Brooks, finished the year 7-9, which was good for third place in the NFC West.

The biggest win in Rams history happened several years later and also had a number attached to it, 34.

Thirty-four as in Super Bowl XXXIV, in which the Rams took down the Tennessee Titans for the St. Louis team’s first NFL Championship during the 1999 season. The team that emerged was one of the greatest offensive powerhouses the NFL has ever seen, scoring almost at will on opposing defenses, and becoming known as the “Greatest Show on Turf.”

Bruce and wide receiver Torry Holt lead the charge through the air, catching passes from quarterback Kurt Warner, while future Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk danced through defenses and slipped through the most miniscule of holes.

In 2007, the greatest show may be over in St. Louis, but the records and milestones continue to be broken.

It may not have been the prettiest win in Rams history, but a win is a win, and the Rams holding off the 49ers in San Francisco lead to the most notable victory of the season so far. It was the win that etched the Rams among the NFL's upper class, number 500.