NFL
By: Nathan Snell
“When I saw those Mayflower Moving trucks on TV, it literally suck the life out of the city. A team I grew up watching was gone, and a part of me was gone.” That was March 29th, 1984, as my father told me.
The Baltimore Colts relocated to Indianapolis, and for 12 years, Baltimore was without an NFL team. The city had the Baltimore Stars, but the USFL league folded in 1986 before a game was ever official. The Baltimore Stallions were a part of the CFL, and they were the most successful team in the league. They could not compete with the NFL. The Stallions relocated to Montreal, where they are currently known as the Alouettes.
Ironically, on March 29th, 1996, 12 years to the day when the Colts left Baltimore. The Baltimore Ravens were born. Raven is based on Baltimore Native Edgar Allen Poe’s 1845 poem.
It is important to point out that the City of Baltimore put their name in the hat for a team in 1995, and that team became the Carolina Panthers.
The fact that those who played for the Colts, such as Johnny Unitas, Art Donovan, and many others who stayed in Baltimore, their loyalty never left the city, even as the Ravens came into existence.
In 30 years of the Ravens’ existence, they have had one of the best regular seasons as a team with a record of 268–199–1.
Then, the owner, Art Modell, of the Cleveland Browns, moved the team to Baltimore. Modell was dealing with the same issue as Robert Irsey, as the “The World’s Largest Asylum” in Baltimore was old, and he did negotiate for a new stadium before leaving in 1984.
Modell moved the Browns to Baltimore due to their financial difficulties, and the City of Cleveland was not providing support for a new stadium, as Cleveland Municipal Stadium was in the same boat as Memorial Stadium.
November 6th, 1995. The Browns were moving to Baltimore. Since the franchise has not looked back on its success.
Another fun fact: The Stallions’ Only Grey Cup victory gave Baltimore the distinction of being the only city to have been home to a (pre-merger) NFL championship team, a Super Bowl championship team, a USFL championship team, and a Grey Cup championship team, along with an MLB franchise winning three World Series Championships.
What most Ravens remember was the first game back at Memorial Stadium, September 1st, 1996. The Ravens defeated the Raiders 19-14. Vinny Testaverde gave the team their first touchdown. Ironically, because of his ability to be a scrambler out of the pocket, the Ravens were the most efficient running team.
This season will also mark 25 years since the Ravens won their first Super Bowl in 2000 with arguably the best defense in NFL History. Could this be the year? Absolutely, the Ravens looked poised since the start of training camp.
The Ravens also featured some of the greatest players, such as Jonathan Ogden, Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Peter Boulware, Lamar Jackson, and so many players that have impacted this franchise, whether they were a draftee or a free agent.
