The name was inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem "The Raven". Chosen in a fan contest that drew 33,288 voters, the allusion honors Poe, who spent the early part of his career in Baltimore and is buried there.

The Ravens were established in 1996, after Art Modell, who was then the owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced plans to relocate the franchise from Cleveland to Baltimore. As part of a settlement between the league and the city of Cleveland, Modell was required to leave the Browns' history and records in Cleveland for a replacement team that would be formed in 1999. In return, he was allowed to take his own team to Baltimore as an expansion team.

Baltimore's Marching Ravens were founded as the Baltimore Colts' Marching Band on September 7, 1947, and have continuously operated ever since, supporting three separate football franchises.

In 1999, during Kurt Warner's first NFL start, Lewis caught the future Hall of Famer's first career interception.

Baltimore built a 28-6 lead early in the third quarter before a partial power outage in the Superdome suspended play for 34 minutes.

During his 17 seasons, Lewis led the NFL in tackles five times (1997, 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2004).

Lamar Jackson made NFL history when he stepped onto the field on January 6, 2019 at the age of 21 years, 364 days for a wild-card matchup versus the Los Angeles Chargers.

Future Hall of Fame offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden was drafted by the Ravens 4th overall in the 1996 NFL Draft. He was an eleven-time Pro Bowl selection and a nine-time All-Pro.

During his three years in Baltimore, Jacoby Jones returned 101 kickoffs for 3,037 yards and 4 TDs--an average of 30.1 yards per return.

Jamal Lewis had his best season in 2003 when he rushed for 2,066 yards and was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year.