Since the Ravens’ inaugural season, the team’s uniform has remained mostly unchanged.
Purple jerseys are normally worn at home, while white jerseys are worn on the road. The Ravens were based in Cleveland until the owner of the Browns moved the franchise after being enticed by the funding in Baltimore.
The home stadium for the team’s first two seasons was the previous home of the Baltimore Colts, a team that moved to Indianapolis. The Ravens would get their new stadium in 1998 – M&T Bank Stadium, with a capacity of 71,008 and solid home-win advantage for #RavensNation.
The team’s name was inspired by Edgar Allan Poe, a poet, Boston native and Baltimore resident, who wrote a poem entitled “The Raven.” As a result, the color scheme of deep purple and black reflects the horror genre Poe was known for.
We decided to take a dive into the black and purple flock of the Baltimore Ravens to see how their jersey has evolved throughout the past 20 years.
Logo History
The Ravens are among the few teams in NFL history that don’t have many changes from the original logo debuted during their inauguration year – 1996. The Poe-lovin’ team has only switched up their logo once to incorporate their mascot as well as the city of Baltimore.
1996–1998:
The team’s first logo uses a winged letter “B” to represent the city name. It’s encased in a gold shield that bears the team name along with more wings on the outside.
1999–Present:
The current logo cleaned up the previous design for a simplistic, aggressive Raven head with the letter “B” representing the city in a bold, gold font.
Baltimore Ravens 28” x 40” Double-Sided House Flag
Notable Uniform Changes
1996: The team’s first home uniform utilizes a purple jersey with a black helmet. The pants have a minimal white stripe, and the jersey features white numbering with purple and gold trim. The white road uniform follows a similar coloring with a white jersey, purple-block numbering, and black and white pants.
Riddell Baltimore Ravens Revolution Speed Full-Size Authentic Football Helmet
1997: The team goes with a more classic look at home by wearing white pants instead of black.
1998: The Ravens adopt the white pants on the road to feature an all-white road uniform.
2004: The team introduces an all-black alternate design.
2008: The Ravens bring back black pants with the white uniform. The team also introduces a new combination of the alternate: a black jersey with white pants.
2010: The Ravens revert to black pants with purple jerseys for a few select games.
2012: As Nike becomes the official provider of NFL jerseys, team uniforms receive modern touch-ups but remain mostly the same.
Joe Flacco Baltimore Ravens Nike Game Jersey – Purple
2012: The Ravens don a patch to celebrate the team’s Super Bowl appearance during the big game.
2015: The team unexpectedly debuts gold pants to wear as an alternate uniform combination.
Looking Back to Look Forward
To the shock of many, the Baltimore Ravens are among the few National Football League teams to have not retired any jersey numbers.
Ray Lewis, legendary linebacker for the Ravens, rocked No. 52 on his back for all 17 seasons played as a purple bird. During his tenure, Lewis was selected to play in the Pro Bowl 13 times as well as seven first-team All-Pro lineups. Since his retirement after the 2012 season, the franchise dedicated a statue to Brickwall (Ray Lewis) in front of their home turf – M&T Bank Stadium. Critics claim that the placing of the statue makes up for not retiring his number, while fans are in agreement that No. 12 is one for the books!
Heading out to the next game? Be sure to be a part of the flock by representing #RavensNation with the latest gear and essentials! For all your purple and black needs, look no further than Fanatics – the ultimate sports apparel and fan gear store.
Sources
- http://www.sportslogos.net/logos/list_by_team/153/Baltimore_Ravens/
- http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/L/LewiRa00.htm
- http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/rav/
- http://www.baltimorebeatdown.com/2015/7/19/8999967/ravens-jersey-number-to-retire
- http://www.nfl.com/history/retirednumbers
- http://www.sportslogos.net/logos/list_by_team/153/Baltimore_Ravens/
