Rams legend Lawrence “Clutch” McCutcheon passes away at 76

The former Los Angeles Rams running back and long-time front office executive died Friday after a battle with Parkinson’s disease, his family announced.

By The Apex Times Newsroom2 min readAI-assisted Apex article

Lawrence “Clutch” McCutcheon, a longtime Los Angeles Rams figure as both a running back and a personnel executive, died on October 23 at age 76, according to a statement from his family.

The family said McCutcheon passed away with family at his bedside following a long, courageous battle with Parkinson’s disease.

McCutcheon was a third-round pick (70th overall) of the Rams in the 1972 NFL Draft out of Colorado State, and he began his NFL career in Los Angeles as a runner.

His breakout season came in 1973, and the Rams said it sparked a stretch in which he earned Pro Bowl selections in five straight years from 1973 to 1977, with multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons during that span.

The team highlighted the 1975 postseason, when McCutcheon recorded 37 carries for 202 yards in the Rams’ divisional-round win over the Cardinals, a run he said produced franchise postseason marks at the time.

After his playing career with the Broncos and Seahawks in 1980 and the Bills in 1981, McCutcheon returned to the Rams as a scout in 1982 and later held multiple roles in the organization’s personnel department, including Director of Scouting and Director of Player Personnel.

The Rams said he spent 42 years with the franchise and 44 years in the NFL overall before retiring on August 18, 2016.

In addition to the team’s statement honoring McCutcheon’s playing and front-office impact, his family asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

Why It Matters

McCutcheon helped define an era of Rams rushing production as a multi-year Pro Bowl running back, highlighted by both regular-season and postseason performances.
His decades-long role in the Rams’ personnel department means his influence extended beyond his playing days into player evaluation and roster-building.
The passing of a franchise all-time leading rusher figure marks the end of a direct, multigenerational Rams presence that spanned 1970s football and modern team-building.
The family’s Parkinson’s-focused memorial request also brings renewed attention to the disease within the sports community.

Sources

Key Facts

Lawrence “Clutch” McCutcheon died on October 23 at age 76, his family announced.
McCutcheon’s family said his death followed a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.
He was the Rams’ third-round pick (70th overall) in the 1972 NFL Draft from Colorado State.
The Rams said McCutcheon earned Pro Bowl selections from 1973 through 1977 and topped 1,000 rushing yards in four of those five seasons.
The team said his 37 carries for 202 yards in the 1975 divisional round against the Cardinals set franchise postseason records at the time.
After playing for the Rams, Broncos, Seahawks, and Bills, he rejoined Los Angeles as a scout in 1982 and later served in leadership roles in scouting and player personnel.
His family requested donations to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research in his memory.