Lawrence McCutcheon: The Quiet Engine of the 1970s Rams Passes Away

By John Turney 

Lawrence McCutcheon in 1969 (l) and 1977 (r)

Lawrence McCutcheon, the durable running back who powered the Los Angeles Rams' ground game through the mid-1970s and later spent more than three decades in the franchise's front office, died Friday. He was 76.

His family said McCutcheon, known as Clutch, passed away on October 23 with family at his bedside after a long battle with Parkinson's disease."It is with great sadness that we share the passing of our husband, brother, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, Lawrence McCutcheon," the family said in a statement. "

"The Los Angeles Rams are deeply saddened by the passing of Lawrence McCutcheon," the team said in a statement. "His impact on this organization spanned generations, and he embodied what it means to be a Ram ... his legacy is woven into the fabric of our team. We extend our heartfelt condolences to the McCutcheon family as we celebrate a life that gave so much to the Rams and to our game."

Through a decade-long playing career and another 32 years in the Rams' front office, Clutch "earned the respect and admiration of teammates, opposing players, colleagues, and fans alike," added the Rams franchise, and it rings true since he was the Rams' best skill position player of the mid-1970s. For the Rams fans of that era, Clutch will be remembered forever.

Born and raised in Plainview, Texas, McCutcheon saw himself as an ordinary kid rather than a standout rural athlete. That changed when he moved from Booker T. Washington High School in Houston to Plainview High for his senior year. He found the new environment "pretty pleasant," and it did not hurt his play: the Bulldogs went 7-3 in 1967 and then won seven games in each of the next two seasons.

 Playing against higher-level competition regularly, he said, gave the local kids a better chance to be seen by college scouts which happened with his oppotunity to play at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins. There, McCutcheon established himself as one of the premier running backs in Colorado State history. 

He played three seasons in the Western Athletic Conference and became the first CSU player to rush for 1,000 yards in a season—doing so twice. 

McCutcheon at Colorado State

In 1969, he rushed for 797 yards and nine touchdowns at 5.5 yards per carry and became the first Ram to gain more than 200 yards in a game (213 against Wichita State) and was awarded with second-team All-WAC honors.

As a junior in 1970, he ran for 1,008 yards and added 486 receiving yards (1,494 yards from scrimmage), earning honorable-mention All-American recognition from the Associated Press while ranking fourth among the national leaders in yards per game and was elevated to first-team All-WAC

In his senior year of 1971 he carried 261 times for 1,112 yards and eight touchdowns and earned first-team All-WAC honors once again. He finished with 2,917 rushing yards, 67 receptions for 838 yards, 3,755 yards from scrimmage, and 27 total touchdowns. A three-year letterman, he remains in the school record books for running backs, is a member of the CSU All-Century Team, and was inducted into the Colorado State Athletics Hall of Fame.

McCutcheon in 1972 preseason

A third-round pick of the Rams in 1972, McCutcheon saw limited regular-season action as a rookie, spending most of it on the taxi squad (the forerunner to today's practice squad) but played extensively in the preseason, where he was said to have a fumbling problem and it landed him in Rams coach Tommy Prothro's doghouse and he only played three games in the season and didn't carry the ball at all. McCutcheon felt he wasn't part of the team and did think surgery on a knee he hurt in college affected him. 

But then things changed for the better,

When Head coach Chuck Knox arrived in 1973, he reviewed the '72 preseason film and concluded McCutcheon could be his starting fullback. He was correct. In the 1973 preseason, McCutcheon earned the starting job.

Even though there was still a fumbling problem, it was soon corrected. Rams great Tank Younger, then a Rams' scout, taped into a handle to a football and presented it to McCutcheon as a reminder to hold on to the ball. Lesson learned, problem solved.

McCutcheon led the Rams in rushing for five consecutive seasons (1973-77), earning a Pro Bowl selection each year. He also prided himself on being a complete back, one who runs, catches and blocks, attributing it to why he became a starter in 1973.

In 1974, he told the press about his success: "All it takes is quickness and blocking," he said. "If you have our kind of blocking and my kind of ability, you should gain 1,000 yards every year. Quickness is the ability to hit between the blockers as soon as the hole starts to open. Speed only help on end runs."

Going on, "A back might have 9.6 speed and still not be a good inside runner because he isn't a particularly fast starter. But quickness, the ability to accelerate, is the key ingredient."

McCutcheon feels his ability to block and catch passes also impressed Knox. "On a pass play, a running back is always single-covered. It's the only opportunity I have to go one-on-one against a defensive man. On running plays, it's 11 against one." 

1973

He was a first-team All-Pro selection by the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) in 1974 and a second-team NEA All-Pro in 1973, while also earning first- or second-team All-NFC honors throughout the 1973-77 stretch. 

McCutcheon produced four 1,000-yard seasons in that span, peaking at 1,238 yards and seven touchdowns in 1977. In the 1975 playoffs, he rushed for 202 yards against the St. Louis Cardinals—the second-highest total in pro football history at the time—helping the Rams to a 35-23 victory. 

In 1976 Knox moved him to halfback; over the next two seasons he averaged just over 1,200 rushing yards and ranked in the top five in Proscout, Inc., evaluations. Injuries later limited his production but had a final hurrah by throwing a halfback option pass in Super Bowl XIV in a 31-19 loss to the Steelers.

With the Rams, he carried 1,435 times for 6,186 yards and 23 touchdowns. For a period, those totals made him the franchise's all-time leading rusher; he now ranks fourth behind Steven Jackson, Eric Dickerson, and Marshall Faulk. 

In the postseason, he rushed for 687 yards, fifth-most in NFL history at the time of his retirement after the 1981 season. He also added 184 receptions for 1,683 yards with the club and appeared in 11 postseason games, including Super Bowl XIV, where he threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Ron Smith that briefly gave the Rams the lead.

During his 1973-77 peak, he rushed for 5,523 yards; only O.J. Simpson gained more on the ground in that five-year window. His 7,029 yards from scrimmage in the same span ranked behind only Simpson, Lydell Mitchell, and Chuck Foreman.

McCutcheon in 1980 and 1981 with Broncos, Seahawks and Bills

In 1980, the Rams traded McCutcheon to the Denver Broncos, where he was expected to bolster the running game. That did not materialize, and he was released during the season and signed with Seattle for the remainder of the season. 

In 1981, he signed with the Buffalo Bills and was reunited with Knox, who employed him as a backup and as one of "his guys"—a group of players who had performed well for Knox in Los Angeles, including Isiah Robertson, Bill Simpson, Ron Jessie, and others.

After his playing days ended, McCutcheon returned to the Rams organization as a scout. He rose to director of player personnel, a post he held from 2003 until his retirement in 2016, giving him 42 years with the franchise.

In the end, McCutcheon’s career embodied the unglamorous virtues he himself described: quickness into the hole, reliable blocking, and good hands rather than pure speed or raw power. He wasn't going to bowl anyone over like an Earl Campbell or run away from someone like an O.J. Simpson. He was a workhorse, steady, strong and one who would get you a first down; it might not look spectacular, but it was reliable. 

Those same traits carried him from Texas to the Colorado State backfield through 42 years with the franchise—on the field and later in the front office—leaving the Rams organization and its fans with a lasting standard of steady, professional production.

He will always be a Rams legend and will be missed.