Top 50 Players In Baltimore Sports History: 40-31

36. Earl “the pearl” Monroe, SG, Baltimore Bullets

Apr 5, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Knickerbockers honor the 40th anniversary of the 1972-73 World Championship team at halftime of the Knicks and Bucks game at Madison Square Garden. those honored were

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New York Knicks defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 101-83. Mandatory Credit: Jim O

Why not start off the basketball category with this guy? In 1967, the two-time All-American was drafted second overall in the draft. He won the rookie of the year award averaging 24.3 points-per game. He scored 56 points in a single game against the Los Angelas Lakers which is third-best on the all-time rookie list.

The reason that he is only 36 on this list is because he only played four years on the Bullets. However, he performed at a high level in each of his years in Baltimore. He averaged over 21 points and 4.4 assists in each season with the Bullets, shooting 45% from the field. He missed just three games in his four-year stint with the Bullets. You could see the full story on how he became Earl “the pearl” right here.

35. Art Donovan, DT, Baltimore Colts

In each of his first three seasons, Donovan played for a team which went out of business. He started out with the first Baltimore Colts, who folded after his rookie season in 1950, followed by the New York Yanks in 1951 and their successor, the Dallas Texans, in 1952. After the Texans franchise was moved to Baltimore in 1953 and became the second Baltimore Colts, Donovan played with that team. He became one of the stars in an outstanding defense and was selected to five straight Pro Bowls, from 1953 through 1957.

Donovan played in the first-ever overtime game in the 1958 NFL Championship game. The Colts played against the New York Giants. Donovan made an important tackle in OT leading to Johnny Unitas’ 80-yard drive to win the game. The championship is widely considered the “greatest game ever played”. Donovan played 138 games in 12 seasons and became the first Colt to be elected into the pro football Hall of Fame in 1968.