With only one chance to make a good first impression, the Rams unknowingly did so in 1965 in the eyes of a six-year-old Midwestern boy named Mel Owens.

And it'd pay off 16 years later when they chose him in the first round of the 1981 NFL Draft.

"I loved it because the Rams were my favorite team growing up as a kid. It was unbelievable. Just unbelievable," Owens said. "The Rams always had the afternoon game, right? And that game was at four. In the winter, it got dark early and so you'd typically be inside. (And watching their games played in Los Angeles), all of a sudden, it'd be sunny and warm with palm trees and green grass. I loved the Rams and I loved Deacon Jones.

"They had just cut Hacksaw Reynolds and I think Bob Brudzinski, they traded him to Miami, so they were down a couple l

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