Maryland's professional football team is the Baltimore Ravens. The team's predecessors were the Baltimore Colts and Baltimore Stallions.
Baltimore Ravens fans at Maryland State Archives, Annapolis, Maryland, February 2013. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL
The Baltimore Colts first began as a team in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) from 1947 to 1949. They joined the National Football League (NFL) in 1950, but folded that same year. The team name Colts was chosen to honor Baltimore's horse racing industry, including the Preakness Stakes horse race, the second event in the Triple Crown.
In 1953, a new team called the Baltimore Colts debuted and they played at Memorial Stadium until 1983. The Colts made it to the postseason ten times, winning the NFL Championship in 1958, 1959, and 1968. In 1971, the Colts won Super Bowl V.
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.
As part of the short-lived U.S. Football League, a professional football league aimed at spring and summer markets, Maryland was home to the Baltimore Stars during 1985. The Stars had relocated to Baltimore from Philadelphia, and played at the University of Maryland's Byrd Stadium (now SECU Stadium) in College Park. The Baltimore Stars won the USFL Championship at East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 14, 1985, defeating the Oakland Invaders. Although scheduled to play at Memorial Stadium during the 1986 season, the League ceased operation, and the team only played one season in Maryland.
In 1987, the Washington Commandos, based in Landover, debuted in the newly-formed Arena Football League (AFL). After a year's hiatus, the team was renamed the Maryland Commandos for the 1989 season, after which the team moved to Fairfax, Virginia, and adopted its former name.
The Baltimore Football Club, later called the Baltimore Stallions, formed in the Canadian Football League (CFL). Playing at Memorial Stadium from 1994 to 1995, the team chose a horse head logo, as well as blue and white colors, as a nod to the former Baltimore Colts. It had winning records both years. Considered the most successful of all the League's teams in the U.S., the team became the first American one to win the League's Grey Cup trophy. The Stallions ceased operation in Baltimore after the NFL returned for the 1996 season with the new Baltimore Ravens.
M&T Bank Stadium, West Hamburg St., Baltimore, Maryland, April 2008. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
Poe, Baltimore Ravens mascot, Maryland State Fair, Timonium, Maryland, September 2015. Photo by Sarah A. Hanks.
The Ravens won Super Bowl XXXV in 2001 and Super Bowl XLVII in 2013.
On September 5, 2024, the Ravens’ 2024-2025 season began.
In July 2020, the Washington Redskins retired their name and logo. They were then known as the Washington Football Team. On February 2, 2022, the team was renamed the Washington Commanders.
The Commanders' 2024-2025 season started on September 8, 2024.
Maryland had several professional indoor football teams, including the Western Maryland Warriors and Maryland Eagles, both of which played in the American Arena League.
The Baltimore Brigade, a team in the Arena Football League (AFL), played their home games at the Royal Farms Arena (now CFG Bank Arena) from 2017 to 2019. Other indoor football teams that have played in Baltimore include the Baltimore Blackbirds (2007) of the American Indoor Football Association and the Baltimore Mariners (2008-10, 2014), who first played for the American Indoor Football Association and then for American Indoor Football.
There are several women's football teams in Maryland. The Baltimore Nighthawks, founded in 2007, play in the Women’s Football Alliance at Woodlawn High School. The Baltimore Burn debuted in April 2001 and played at the Eugene “Utz” Twardowicz Field at Patterson Park as part of the Women's Tackle Football League.
There were several semi-professional football teams in Maryland, including the Brunswick Railroaders and Maryland Blackhawks.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The University of Maryland, College Park's football team, the Terrapins, or Terps, compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division 1. The team has won 2 national championships, 11 Conference championships, and 11 Bowl games. Most recently, the Terps won the Military Bowl on December 29, 2010, beating East Carolina University, 51-20.
On July 1, 2014, the University of Maryland, College Park joined the Big Ten Conference. The University had been part of the Atlantic Coast Conference from 1953 to 2014.
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, 550 Taylor Ave., Annapolis, Maryland, April 2016. Photo by Sarah A. Hanks.
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