The entrepreneur who moved pro football 2,000 miles west

History · Published 2 November 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In 1946, Dan Reeves made a move so radical his fellow owners called it financially irresponsible. By moving the Cleveland Rams to Los Angeles, he didn't just relocate a team; he pioneered West Coast sports, broke racial barriers, and invented the modern scouting system.

Born in 1912 to Irish immigrants who rose from fruit peddlers to grocery store magnates, Dan Reeves inherited both wealth and an ambition for sports ownership. After his family's chain merged with Safeway in 1941, the 28-year-old Reeves purchased two-thirds of the Cleveland Rams. While the team was initially struggling—at one point having only 200 season ticket holders and no television revenue—Reeves turned it into a championship winner by 1945, led by rookie quarterback Bob Waterfield.

The defining moment came in 1946 when Reeves moved the Rams to Los Angeles. At the time, the city was 2,000 miles from the nearest NFL team and had no pro-football tradition. To secure a home at the Los Angeles Coliseum, Reeves agreed to a mandatory condition: racial integration. This led him to sign Kenny Washington in 1946, making him the first modern-day NFL owner to do so. This move occurred just one year before Jackie Robinson broke the baseball color barrier.

Reeves was also a structural innovator who established the NFL's first full-time scouting staff to evaluate college talent—a model every other team eventually copied. Despite early financial hurdles in California, including a $250,000 deficit that forced him to take on partners like oil mogul Edwin Pauley and entertainer Bob Hope, Reeves used his business acumen to build a lasting legacy. He even launched a "Free Football for Kids" program to cultivate future fans, eventually buying out his partners for $4.8 million in 1962.

His influence extended beyond the field; he hired Pete Rozelle as a publicity director, who would later become the NFL commissioner. In 1967, the Pro Football Hall of Fame welcomed Reeves, acknowledging his role as a key creator of today's professional football scene rather than merely an owner.

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