Baltimore Football's Greatest- Counting down the best to wear the numbers.

**Bigfish** · 07-01-2015, 12:21 PM

Originally Posted by Rxdoxx

Don't think he will be heavy consideration when his number comes up, but he was a character and the '59 Colt championship team

Before my time, but a nice story I never heard.

Yanda is one of the all time greats IMO. Really hope they find a way to have him retire a Raven.

**HotInHere** · 07-01-2015, 12:22 PM

Originally Posted by Cj34

My bad. I was thinking Lenny Moore was 27 and not 24.

No prob. I was thinking you were just a HUGE Curtis Dickey fan. ;)

**HotInHere** · 07-01-2015, 12:30 PM

Originally Posted by Rxdoxx

You have the bad stuff in memory, the older of us have tons of good memories that make the loss more hurtful

Ever hear of Captain Who?

As I understand it, "Captain Who" was a joke by Butkus. Unitas always came out as captain of the O, and Marchetti came out as captain of the D. These were two players who were, at that time, pretty much the best offensive player in the league and the best defensive player in the league.

It would be like Peyton Manning and Ray Lewis going out for the coin toss with Anthony Levine. Butkus is a funny guy.

**flraven** · 07-01-2015, 01:20 PM

Originally Posted by HotInHere

No prob. I was thinking you were just a HUGE Curtis Dickey fan. ;)

I remember being at that last Baltimore Colts game, with the crowd chanting "We want Dickey, Irsay sucks!" Well, Bourbon Bob did re-sign Dickey around Christmastime, IIRC, so we got our wish. Too bad he snuck out of town with the team the following March.

This is an awesome thread and I have been following it, you're doing a great job HiH, filling in for ASB.

**RavensZ06** · 07-01-2015, 01:45 PM

Yeah HotinHere thanks for filling in. Really hope ASB is ok. Kinda wierd. But we. At least someone kept it going as weve all enjoyed it. I dont think we should "skip over" any numbers though. Yeah certain numbers are a no brainer but still post them up. And some numbers were gonna have to concede that the number just sucked lol. But hey gotta drive on lol.

**RavensZ06** · 07-01-2015, 01:46 PM

So today being the 1st what number are we on now? In respect to how ASB was running it?

Edit. Today is #74.

**Ngata Da Vida** · 07-01-2015, 02:28 PM

Originally Posted by HotInHere

As I understand it, "Captain Who" was a joke by Butkus. Unitas always came out as captain of the O, and Marchetti came out as captain of the D. These were two players who were, at that time, pretty much the best offensive player in the league and the best defensive player in the league.

It would be like Peyton Manning and Ray Lewis going out for the coin toss with Anthony Levine. Butkus is a funny guy.

Cool stuff. I am a history geek, so I like the old Colts stories.

My Colts frame of reference is simply a function of my age. I was born in 1974, and my football awareness started sometime around the Bengals-49ers Super Bowl, so what I remember of the Colts was the awful end. I imagine there are a fair number of folks on this board who have no personal memory of the Baltimore Colts at all.

**HotInHere** · 07-01-2015, 02:43 PM

Originally Posted by RavensZ06

Yeah HotinHere thanks for filling in. Really hope ASB is ok. Kinda wierd. But we. At least someone kept it going as weve all enjoyed it. I dont think we should "skip over" any numbers though. Yeah certain numbers are a no brainer but still post them up. And some numbers were gonna have to concede that the number just sucked lol. But hey gotta drive on lol.

Okay Z06, just for you then: #75.

75 is Jonathan Ogden. One of the greatest left tackles to ever play the game. A man among boys. Too many Pro Bowls and All Pros to count. The first career Raven ever enshrined in Canton. And perhaps most importantly, J.O. set the tone for the organization. If you don't believe me, imagine what would have happened had we drafted Lawrence Phillips instead.

And today we are up to #73, which we did in post #150.

**HotInHere** · 07-01-2015, 02:45 PM

Originally Posted by RavensZ06

Yeah HotinHere thanks for filling in. Really hope ASB is ok. Kinda wierd. But we. At least someone kept it going as weve all enjoyed it. I dont think we should "skip over" any numbers though. Yeah certain numbers are a no brainer but still post them up. And some numbers were gonna have to concede that the number just sucked lol. But hey gotta drive on lol.

Okay Z06, just for you then: #75.

75 is Jonathan Ogden. One of the greatest left tackles to ever play the game. A man among boys. Too many Pro Bowls and All Pros to count. The first career Raven ever enshrined in Canton. And perhaps most importantly, J.O. set the tone for the organization. If you don't believe me, imagine what would have happened had we drafted Lawrence Phillips instead.

And today we are up to #73, which we did in post #150.

**Rxdoxx** · 07-01-2015, 07:35 PM

Originally Posted by Bigfish

Before my time, but a nice story I never heard.

Yanda is one of the all time greats IMO. Really hope they find a way to have him retire a Raven.

Thanks, Alex Hawkins was our special teams ace (read that reckless), we have always loved the Benny Thompsons, Gary Stills, for Alex to be a captain sent out with Unitas/Marchetti says he contributed to special teams on the level that they did to O and D

Here is an article written by the great John Steadman in 1994
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/199...i-year-hawkins

When it comes to having a good time, Alex Hawkins, who seems more mythical than real, is at the head of the class. He's 56 going on 15, which means he's an adult who has never totally taken leave of adolescence.

Hawkins remains the perpetual free spirit. A beloved character who played hard, on and off the field, and refuses to look back or offer a word of regret. In 1976, he sold a refuse business for $400,000 instead of taking a stock option that brokers tell him would now be worth $60 million. His company slogan was unforgettable: "We'll Talk Trash With You."

A natural element of the Hawkins personality is to never take himself too seriously. He'll never let anything stand in the way of the kind of excitement an all-night card game represents.

"I've been all over this land," he was saying in his Atlanta apartment, "and there's no place like Baltimore. It's my all-time favorite. It's a city that'll never run out of characters. My only problem with Baltimore is I could only take six months living there. It takes too much out of you. I had to get away for a rest."

Hawkins once contrasted the difference in playing for the perenially-contending Colts and the woeful Atlanta Falcons by saying, "I wasn't good enough to play for a bad team but I was bad enough to play for a good team."

Alex Hawkins represents miles of smiles, non-stop, and sees to it by dint of his own effervescent personality that an enjoyable time is had by all -- be it 2 a.m. or 2 p.m. or any hour in between.

And as to Yanda
To us old-timers, Yanda is our new Jim Parker, agree, would love to see him a lifelong Raven

**Bigfish** · 07-01-2015, 08:30 PM

Originally Posted by Rxdoxx

Thanks, Alex Hawkins was our special teams ace (read that reckless), we have always loved the Benny Thompsons, Gary Stills, for Alex to be a captain sent out with Unitas/Marchetti says he contributed to special teams on the level that they did to O and D

Here is an article written by the great John Steadman in 1994
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/199...i-year-hawkins

And as to Yanda
To us old-timers, Yanda is our new Jim Parker, agree, would love to see him a lifelong Raven

Times have changed, Steadman is another one I wasn't familiar with. Years ago I read that at the time Irskay bought the Colts, there were the winningest team in NFL history. Didn't take long for him to screw that up. The Ravens are building their own great history today.

The comparison to Parker is dead on. Yanda proved last year that he could have been a quality tackle also. I'm glad Yanda didn't wear #77, would hate to make that choice.

**HotInHere** · 07-02-2015, 08:14 AM

NUMBER 72

We love our current #72. K.O. came into the league as a dominant force, and was a major reason for the victory in SBXLVII. If he re-signs with the team, he has a chance to become Baltimore's all-time greatest #72. But he's not there yet.

There are two Baltimore Colts who did that number proud.

Fred Cook played the left end of the Sack Pack. Sacks didn't become a statistic until 1981, but Cook had his share. The Colts teams of '75-'77, with that defense, complemented by Bert Jones' MVP arm, went 31-11 during those years, but lost in the playoffs to the Steelers and Raiders juggernauts. But we have to go back a few years earlier for our best all-time #72.

Bob Vogel is in the Ohio State Hall of Fame, playing under Woody Hayes as one of the best linemen in college football. The Colts took him 5th overall, in spite of the fact that they already had Jim Parker. (Sound familiar, J.O. fans?) Parker moved to guard, and Vogel spent the next ten years protecting the Golden Arm's blind side. He played in two Super Bowls and five Pro Bowls, and missed only one game in his career. Bob Vogel is Baltimore's best 72, and he's set a pretty high bar for K.O. to reach, should he attempt it.