Rams Sign Stokes, 12th-Round Draft Pick

By CHRIS DUFRESNE

July 17, 1987 12 AM PT

The Rams signed 12th-round draft choice Fred Stokes, a defensive end from Georgia Southern, Thursday. He is only the second of the team’s draft selections to come to terms. Earlier, the Rams signed eighth-round choice Michael Stewart, a safety from Fresno State.

Stokes’ signing left nine draft choices unsigned just two days before Sunday’s opening of training camp for rookies and free agents. And one of them, running back Tracy Ham, the ninth-round pick, will remain that way. He has chosen to play with Edmonton of the Canadian Football League.

Veteran Ram players still unsigned include safety Vince Newsome, kicker Mike Lansford, linebackers Jim Collins and Mike Wilcher, tight end Tony Hunter, offensive tackles Duval Love and Irv Pankey, and wide receivers Michael Young and Henry Ellard.

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Chris Dufresne

Chris Dufresne was the Los Angeles Times’ national college football/basketball columnist from 1995 to 2015. He also covered skiing at the Winter Olympics and wrote extensively on most sports. He is a multiple national award winner and was named 2011 California Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Assn. A Los Angeles native, he started at The Times in 1976 as a truck loader and literally worked his way up (two floors to be exact).