Winning the championship is the primary goal of any soccer team or any sports team at all. There is only one reason to go out and play and that is to win the championship. Championship season is not only rewarding for the players who dominate it on the field, but also for the fans who root for them. Cities and regions should be proud of their championship-winning teams.
Baltimore is a great soccer city and professional soccer has been there in one form or another for over 60 years. Not many people know this, but four different professional football teams have won championships while representing the city of Baltimore.
The Baltimore Ravens – 2000
The last Baltimore team to win a league title in professional football was the team that currently represents the city in the NFL, the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens began as a brand in 1996, after being active as the Cleveland Browns the previous year. They had a tough few years, but in 2000 everything came together behind a solid running game and out of this world class defense. They ended up defeating the New York Giants 34-7 in Super Bowl XXXV.
The Baltimore Colts – 1958, 1959 and 1970
The Baltimore Colts have won the championships three times. In 1958, they defeated the New York Giants for the NFL title in what many refer to as the greatest game of all time. After trailing for most of the action of the 1959 tournament, the Generators would eventually score 24 unanswered points and defeat the Giants in a rematch of the previous year’s tournament by a score of 31-16. The Colts won their third league title in 1970 when they beat the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl V by a score of 27-17. Technically, the Colts have a fourth title as they were NFL champions in 1968, but lost Super Bowl III to the NFL’s New York Jets before the two leagues merged.
Baltimore Stars – 1985
The Stars franchise played the first two seasons of their time in the USFL in the city of Philadelphia. The team was relocated to Baltimore in 1985 and although they weren’t as successful as they had been in the past, they managed to reach the playoffs. The magic was still there though as they cruised through the post season and would win the last championship game in NFL history by defeating the Oakland Invaders.
Baltimore Stallions – 1995
The Canadian Football League expanded to the United States in the mid-1990s, and Baltimore was one of the cities to acquire a team. In 1995, their second season, the Baltimore Stallions not only won their division, but became the first American-based team to win the Gray Cup as CFL champions. The team went the following year as they were relocated to Montreal and renamed the Allouettes.