The Baltimore Ravens did not exist under a different NFL team name before 1996; the franchise itself was created when the Cleveland Browns organization relocated to Baltimore, but the Browns’ name, colors, and history stayed in Cleveland.

Quick Scoop

  • The Ravens franchise came into being in 1996 when Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell moved his team’s operations to Baltimore.
  • As part of an NFL agreement, everything “Browns” (name, records, colors) legally remained in Cleveland for a future Browns team, so the Baltimore club had to start fresh as the Ravens.
  • The name “Ravens” was chosen in a fan contest and was inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s poem The Raven ; Poe lived and is buried in Baltimore, making the name a local cultural fit.

So who were they “before”?

From a football-history perspective, there are two overlapping answers:

  1. Organizationally / front office and roster
    • Much of the football operation (owner, many staff, and players) came from the Cleveland Browns franchise that existed before the move.
 * However, because the Browns’ identity officially stayed in Cleveland, the Ravens are recorded by the NFL as a new expansion team starting in 1996, not as a continuation of the old Browns.
  1. The “original” Baltimore Ravens name
    • Before the NFL team, “Baltimore Ravens” was the name of a local wheelchair basketball team founded in 1972.
 * In the 1990s, that wheelchair team sold the naming rights; after the football team adopted “Ravens,” the wheelchair squad rebranded as the Maryland Ravens.

Mini timeline

  1. Pre-1995 – Cleveland Browns
    • Historic NFL franchise based in Cleveland.
  1. 1995–1996 – Relocation deal
    • Art Modell announces plans to move operations to Baltimore.
 * Settlement: Cleveland keeps the Browns identity for a future team; Baltimore gets the relocated organization but must take a new name and fresh record.
  1. 1996 – Birth of the Baltimore Ravens
    • Baltimore fans vote, “Ravens” wins a large public poll run by The Baltimore Sun.
 * Name publicly unveiled in March 1996, with black, purple, and metallic gold as team colors.

Forum-style angle & trending context

“So were the Ravens just the Browns in disguise?”

On forums and fan discussions, people often say “the Ravens used to be the Browns,” which is partly true in terms of ownership and people, but not in terms of official records or branding. The NFL record book treats:

  • Cleveland Browns : Continuous history in Cleveland, with a gap in on-field play from 1996–1998 but uninterrupted franchise records and legacy.
  • Baltimore Ravens : A separate, younger franchise starting in 1996, despite inheriting much of the Browns’ football infrastructure.

This odd split still comes up in debates whenever Hall of Fame rĂ©sumĂ©s, franchise records, or “which city owns what legacy” arguments are trending in NFL circles.

TL;DR:

  • The Ravens did not simply “change their name” from something else; they were created in 1996 when the Browns’ organization moved but left the Browns identity behind.
  • The “Ravens” name itself existed earlier with a local wheelchair basketball team, which later sold the name to the NFL franchise.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.