Baltimore Ravens fans at Maryland State Archives, Annapolis, Maryland, January 2012. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL
The Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League debuted in the 1996 season at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. In 1998, a 69,300-seat stadium was completed to host the team. Formerly called Ravens Stadium it was renamed M & T Bank Stadium in 2003. The Stadium is part of Baltimore's Camden Yards sports complex.
In January 2001, the Ravens won the Super Bowl championship.
From the franchise's inception in 1996, the Ravens had held their summer training camp , open to the public, at McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. In the summer of 2011, however, the Ravens began holding their training at Owings Mills. There, practices no longer are open to the public.
Johnny Unitas: The Golden Arm statue (2002), by Frederick Kail. The statue of the Baltimore Colts' quarterback appears on the north side of M & T Bank Stadium, West Hamburg St., Baltimore, Maryland, April 2008. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
M & T Bank Stadium, West Hamburg St., Baltimore, Maryland, April 2008. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
The Washington Redskins National Football League team plays at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland. The Stadium opened in 1997 and seats 80,116 people.
Minor league semi-professional football teams also compete in Maryland. The Arbutus Big Red Football Team, for example, is sponsored by the Arbutus Athletic Association, and competes in the Mason-Dixon Football League.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The University of Maryland, College Park, won the Gator Bowl on January 1, 2004, beating West Virginia 41-7.
Navy football is played at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. Opened in 1959, the Stadium seats 30,000. It is home to the midshipmen of the United States Naval Academy athletics department. On December 22, 2005, Navy beat Colorado State University 51-30 in the Pansettia Bowl.
© Copyright January 27, 2012 Maryland State Archives