I don’t think Baltimore politicians — or fans with really long memories — ever got over the Colts’ middle-of-the-night departure to Indianapolis in 1984.
The paranoia of “might the city be abandoned again?” was handed down to succeeding generations like a hideous heirloom.
You know the story. After decades as Baltimore’s National Football League team, the club, in a dispute with the city over outdated Memorial Stadium, left town for Indianapolis on a March night in 1984.
By the way, wouldn’t it have been sporting to have allowed Baltimore to retain rights to the “Colts” name while it waited for a new club?
I have nothing against the Ravens name — and love how the team was adopted by the city — but didn’t Baltimore deserve to get thrown a small bone during that trying time?
Think for a moment about what losing a team means to elected officials. Mayors, governors and City Council members’ most basic job is to keep their jurisdictions safe and intact. Losing a historic franchise on your watch — essentially a piece of yourself — is a bad look.
The effect of the Colts’ departure was compounded by the length of the wait — 12 years — before the city acquired the Cleveland Browns and named them the Ravens. By the way, Cleveland, unlike Baltimore, used the courts as leverage and smartly negotiated a deal so the “Browns” name could be stamped on a future franchise.
Many Baltimoreans still resent the Washington NFL club’s perceived role in Baltimore’s prolonged period without a team.
Then-Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke opposed expansion, then flirted with building a new stadium for his club just 15 miles south of Baltimore before settling on Prince George’s County.
I firmly believe the scars of the Colts leaving are a big reason for the state law allowing the Maryland Stadium Authority to borrow up to $1.2 billion to pay for improvements at the two publicly-owned professional sports stadiums in Baltimore.
That amounts to $600 million each for M&T Bank Stadium and Oriole Park at Camden Yards. What’s more, the cap only limits the amount of outstanding bonds at any one time.
That money — like the Jelly of the Month Club in “Christmas Vacation” — is the gift that keeps on giving.
But here’s something I didn’t know.
When I interviewed former House Speaker and native Baltimorean Nancy Pelosi in her office on Capitol Hill recently, she told me: “I always take pride in telling people that my father brought the Baltimore Colts to Baltimore.”
Her father was Mayor Tommy D’Alesandro Jr. Her older brother, “Young Tommy III,” later became a Baltimore mayor as well.
The city’s NFL opportunity arose in 1953 when the Dallas Texans franchise was cancelled by the league.
Baltimore had rebuilt its stadium to help it attract a team. But Pelosi said the league wanted more.
“NFL Commissioner Bert Bell challenged (Baltimore) to sell 15,000 season tickets within six weeks,” according to “Pre-Ravens History.”
According to Pelosi, the league, which had been protective of neighboring Washington’s NFL market, knew how difficult it would be to sell those tickets so quickly.
“They established such a criteria that they thought it was almost impossible. Except it wasn’t,” Pelosi said. “They sold those tickets and then they had to give them the team.”
And then the Colts were in Baltimore. Until they weren’t.
Have a news tip? Contact Jeff Barker at jebarker@baltsun.com.
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