Baltimore, Maryland Sports Teams
Baltimore, Maryland is home to five major league sports teams including football, soccer, baseball, lacrosse and basketball. Any type of sports fan can find a team in Baltimore to be proud of.
The Baltimore Orioles play in Camden Yard wearing uniform colors of black an orange. Their most famous player was Cal Ripken Jr. who set a major league record of two thousand six hundred thirty two straight games played. He became known as the Iron man. The streak ended when Cal Ripken decided to sit out a game on September 20, 1998. The team came to Baltimore in 1953 when team owners voted unanimously to move the St. Louis Browns to Baltimore. They started playing in 1954. The team has been to the World Series six times, they won the first time they got there in 1966 by sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers. Their last world championship was in 1983 by defeating the Philadelphia Philies four games to one. When the team started to play in Baltimore, they played in Memorial Stadium until 1991 when they started playing in their new stadium, Camden Yards.
The other major team in Baltimore is the football team Baltimore Ravens wearing the colors of black, purple and metallic gold. The team started in 1996 and won its only Super Bowl in 2001 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They rank third in their division in the 2005 season and did not make the playoffs. The Baltimore Ravens are owned by Steve Bisciotti and coached by Brian Billick. The Baltimore Ravens play in M&T Bank Stadium. M&T Bank Stadium is located at the south point of Camden Yards and is the crowning jewel of the NFL's premier sports facilities.
Baltimore is also home to the Baltimore Bayhawks a Major League Lacrosse team was founded in 2001. They play at the Johnny Unitas Stadium wearing the colors blue, green, silver and white. They have won the MLL Championships twice, once in 2002 and once in 2005 and have won their National Division Championships each year since their inception except 2004.
The Baltimore Blast is a major indoor league soccer team which has won the championship for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. They were founded in 1992 by Bill Stealy a software designer and until 1998 the team was known as the Baltimore Spirits. They have won four division titles and a currently coached by Tim Wittman. The Baltimore Blast plays at the 1st Mariner Arena which was formerly known as the Baltimore Civic Center or Baltimore Arena.
The Baltimore Pearls are a basketball team with the American Basketball Association. They are owned by Melvin Coles and Brother Bey and coached by R.A. Turner. They are a relatively new basketball team and for the Fall 2005 season won 2 out of 5 games.
Baltimore, Maryland has a number of sports teams to be proud of. These sports teams bring the city closer together through team spirit. With all their sports teams Baltimore has got to be a fun place to go.