Year opened: 1950
Capacity: 60,240, up from 31,000 at opening
Names:
Memorial Stadium, 1950-2001
Pro football tenants:
Baltimore Colts (NFL), 1950 (original)
Baltimore Colts (NFL), 1953-83 (second franchise)
Baltimore CFLers/Stallions (CFL), 1994-95
Baltimore Ravens (NFL), 1996-97
Postseason games hosted:
NFL Championship, Colts 31 Giants 16, Dec. 27, 1959
NFL Western Conf. Championship, Colts 24 Vikings 14, Dec. 22, 1968
AFC Divisional playoff, Colts 17 Bengals 0, Dec. 26, 1970
AFC Championship, Colts 27 Raiders 17, Jan. 3, 1971
AFC Divisional playoff, Steelers 40 Colts 14, Dec. 19, 1976
AFC Divisional playoff, Raiders 37 Colts 31, Dec. 24, 1977
CFL East Division semifinal, CFLers 34 Argonauts 15, Nov. 12, 1994
CFL South Division semifinal, Stallions 36 Blue Bombers 21, Nov. 4, 1995
CFL South Division final, Stallions 21 Texans 11, Nov. 12, 1995
Other tenants of note:
Baltimore Orioles (minor league baseball), 1950-53
Baltimore Orioles (MLB – AL), 1954-91
Baltimore Bays (NASL), 1967-68
Bowie Baysox (minor league baseball), 1993
Notes: Replaced Municipal/Babe Ruth Stadium, which stood at same location, was demolished and rebuilt into Memorial Stadium. The stadium was occasionally used for University of Maryland football games against major opponents. Also hosted two annual Thanksgiving Day high school football games – Baltimore City College vs. Baltimore Polytechnic Institute (“City vs. Poly”, 1954-99) and Calvert Hall College vs. Loyola Blakefield (1957-99). A small plane crashed into the upper deck following the Dec. 19, 1976 AFC Divisional playoff, but fortunately that area of the stadium had already cleared and there were few injuries.
The large Memorial Wall on the outside of the stadium was inscribed “Dedicated as a memorial to all who so valiantly fought in the world wars with eternal gratitude to those who made the supreme sacrifice to preserve equality and freedom throughout the world - time will not dim the glory of their deeds”.
Fate: Demolished in 2001, the site is now occupied by a YMCA facility and two apartment complexes. Concrete from the stadium was used to create an artificial reef in Chesapeake Bay.
