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1984 Baltimore Colts move to Indianapolis

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On this day in 1984, Bob Irsay (1923-1997), owner of the once-mighty Baltimore Colts, moves the team to Indianapolis. Without any sort of public announcement, Irsay hired movers to pack up the team’s offices in Owings Mills, Maryland, in the middle of the night, while the city of Baltimore slept.

Robert Irsay gained control of the Colts in 1972 when he essentially traded his ownership in the Los Angeles Rams with Carol Rosenbloom, then the owner of the Colts franchise. The Colts, led by quarterback Johnny Unitas, halfback Lenny Moore and defensive linemen Gino Marchetti and Art Donovan, had been the best team in the NFL in the late 1950s and had come to embody the working class spirit of Baltimore. The players lived among the fans, worked alongside the fans in the off-season and performed with evident pride in their adopted city. It wasn’t until Irsay purchased the team that the franchise began its downward spiral. After winning Super Bowl V in 1971, the Colts had a few winning years, but by the late 1970s, the franchise was so bad that when future Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway was drafted number one overall by the Colts out of Stanford in 1983, he refused to report to the team, saying he would play baseball for the New York Yankees instead. The Colts were forced to trade Elway to the Denver Broncos.

To make matters worse for the Colts, Irsay was by most accounts a difficult boss–he was infamous for his temper and was known to angrily lash out at players and employees. In 1984, Irsay asked the city of Baltimore to pay for improvements to Memorial Stadium, where the Colts played. But, here again, his irascibility may have gotten in the way. Although the two sides told different stories of what went on in the negotiations, it did not go well by any account, and on March 28, the Maryland state legislature passed a law allowing they city of Baltimore to seize the Colts from Irsay. Rather than give up his team, Irsay quickly took a deal offered by the city of Indianapolis and moved the Colts before anyone knew what had happened. Baltimore fans were stunned, and the Colts marching band, long a fixture at games, defiantly continued to perform in the city.

Football did not return to the Charm City until 1996, when Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell (1925-2012 ), in a dispute with the city of Cleveland over the stadium the Browns played in, agreed to move the Browns to Baltimore in return for a brand-new stadium built with taxpayer money. Although the Browns had enjoyed many years of success and rabid fan support while in Cleveland, Modell claimed that financial hardship forced his hand. The Browns were renamed the Baltimore Ravens after the poem “The Raven,” penned by Baltimore native Edgar Allen Poe. Under the leadership of General Manager Ozzie Newsome, a Browns Hall of Famer, the franchise has seen consistent success in Baltimore, including victory in Super Bowl XXXV in 2001, with many players that had actually been drafted as Browns. Art Modell, however, is now as reviled a man in Cleveland as Bob Irsay was in Baltimore. He sold controlling interest in the team in 2003.

Source: www.history.com

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Water line break sprays water to the sky

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City of Bowie water crews repaired a break in this eight-inch water line on Tarrant Street in between Lindsey and Mason Wednesday. It started as a small trickle, but once the dirt was removed the line blew out, but it was soon repaired on the water supply was turned off. There were no shutdown to the water supply during the work. (Photo by Barbara Green)
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Vera Rae

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Vera Rae

April 19, 1940 to October 29, 2023
AUSTRALIA – Vera Rae, 82, passed away peacefully after a set of health issues following a fall on Oct. 7, 2023.
Vera was born in Stockport, England to John “Jack” and Alice Gooch. They migrated to Australia following the Second World War, settling in Western Australia.
Vera met the love of her life in 1957, Robert John Rae, and they married on May 30, 1959. They were blessed with two daughters, Jenny and Debby.
Vera loved the Lord, had a strong faith, and was a prayer warrior. Throughout her various illnesses in life, she remained cheerful, gracious, and loving.
Vera was preceded in death by her parents, Jack and Alice Gooch; in-laws, Don and Amy Rae, and nephew, Justin Gooch.
Vera is survived by her loving husband, Robert Rae, Port Kennedy, Western Australia; daughter, Jenny Rae Rizzolo and partner Paul, Bowie, TX, and Debby Rae Harvey and husband Ian, Waikiki, Western Australia; grandchildren, Mandy Jones, Jodie Ehle, Jacilyn Kenny and Bronwyn Has; and great grandchildren, Tahlia, Tanaya, Shelby, Khy, Jordyn, Mollie, Bryce, Brett, Kobe, Lilly, Caitlin, Morgan and Olivia.
Funeral arrangements entrusted to Greenfield’s Funerals, Port Kennedy Western Australia.
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Alton “Fred” Allen

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Fred Allen

March 17, 1945 – May 15, 2022
RINGGOLD – Alton “Fred” Allen, 77, longtime resident of Ringgold, passed away on May 15, 2022 in Bowie.
The family received friends from 7 – 8 p.m. on May 17 at the White Family Funeral Home in Bowie. A graveside service will take place at 11 a.m. on May 18 at Cowboy’s Last Ride Cemetery in Bowie with Richard Allen officiating.
Fred was born March 17, 1945 in Decatur to Alton “Frank” and Zula Prestwood Allen. He was a lifelong worker in the oil field and in his free time enjoyed fishing, hunting and spending time with his grandchildren.
He is preceded in death by his parents and brothers, Dick Allen and Gene Allen.
Fred is survived by his children, Lynn Allen, Ringgold and Zula Carol Dietrich and husband Steve, Petrolia; grandchildren, Blake Allen, Brady Allen, Barrett Allen, Jason Gray, Jennifer Gray, Terry Dietrich and Timothy Dietrich; great-grandchildren Cody and Kendra Harralson and Lincoln Gray; sister Zelta Baker, Bloomfield, NM and numerous nieces and nephews.
Arrangements entrusted to the White Family Funeral Home of Bowie.
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