Top 50 Athletes In Baltimore Sports History: Preview

Baltimore is an interesting town when it comes to sports. They have some teams from the 30s and 40s and a team that started in 1996. However, that’s what makes Baltimore so unique. That’s what makes Baltimore, Baltimore.

From Johnny Unitas winning NFL championships in the 50s and 60s to Cal Ripken playing 2,632 consecutive games. From the Baltimore Colts leaving for Indianapolis in the middle of the night to the Baltimore Bullets moving to Washington D.C. It hasn’t been pretty, but it’s Baltimore.

Baltimore hasn’t always had it easy. As I mentioned before, two teams have moved away from the city. The Baltimore Orioles went ten consecutive years with losing records two times. The Ravens put over ten quarterbacks on the playing field before finding a good one. It has been rough, but it has paid off in the end.

The Orioles won three championships within a span of 17 years. The Ravens won a Super Bowl in only their fifth year of existence and another one 12 years later. The Baltimore Colts featured three-time MVP Johnny Unitas, who was one of the best quarterbacks of all-time and led them to two NFL World Championships (1958, 1959) and one Super Bowl victory (1970). The Baltimore Bullets were a fascinating franchise of players with stars like Earl Monroe and Wes Unseld.

Through these rough and exciting years there have been many great players to step foot in Baltimore. However, are there really 50 great ones? To answer this question; no, there are way more than that.

Over the next two months or so I will be counting down the top 50 greatest players to ever play in “Charm City”. This includes the Baltimore Bullets, Baltimore Colts, Baltimore Ravens, Baltimore Orioles, and one or two other sports (let me keep that as a surprise). Every week I will release another ten.

The first addition will include the players that just missed the cut, followed by players 50-41, and then 40-31 the next week etc. Even if you’re not a fan of any Baltimore teams, this list should still be intriguing to you. If you are a fan, then you will learn a lot about certain players that (there is a good chance) you never knew anything about.