Baltimore

==Sports==
{{Main|Sports in Baltimore}}

===Baseball===
{{Further|List of World Series champions|American League Championship Series}}
[[File:CamdenYards 2005-05-08.jpg|thumb|[[Oriole Park at Camden Yards]], home to the [[Baltimore Orioles]] of [[Major League Baseball]]]]
Baltimore has a long and storied baseball history, including its distinction as the birthplace of [[Babe Ruth]] in 1895. The original [[Baltimore Orioles (19th century)|19th century Baltimore Orioles]] were one of the most successful early franchises, featuring numerous hall of famers during its years from 1882 to 1899.
As one of the eight inaugural American League franchises, the Baltimore Orioles played in the AL during the 1901 and 1902 seasons. The team moved to New York City before the 1903 season and was renamed the New York Highlanders, which later became the [[New York Yankees]].
Ruth played for the [[Baltimore Orioles (minor league)|minor league Baltimore Orioles]] team, which was active from 1903 to 1914. After playing one season in 1915 as the Richmond Climbers, the team returned the following year to Baltimore, where it played as the Orioles until 1953.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

The team currently known as the [[Baltimore Orioles]] has represented Major League Baseball locally since 1954 when the [[St. Louis Browns]] moved to Baltimore. The Orioles advanced to the World Series in 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1979 and 1983, winning three times (1966, 1970 and 1983), while making the playoffs all but one year (1972) from 1969 through 1974.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mlb.com/orioles/history/timeline|title=Baltimore Orioles Franchise Timeline|website=[[Baltimore Orioles]]|publisher=[[MLB Advanced Media]]|access-date=May 15, 2022}}</ref>

In 1995, local player (and later Hall of Famer) [[Cal Ripken Jr.]] broke [[Lou Gehrig]]'s streak of 2,130 consecutive games played, for which Ripken was named [[Sportsman of the Year]] by ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' magazine.{{citation needed|date=February 2014}} Six former Orioles players, including Ripken (2007), and two of the team's managers have been inducted into the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame]].

Since 1992, the Orioles' home ballpark has been [[Oriole Park at Camden Yards]], which has been hailed as one of the league's best since it opened.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Orioles Ballparks: 1954 - Present {{!}} Baltimore Orioles |url=https://www.mlb.com/orioles/history/ballparks |access-date=September 27, 2023 |website=MLB.com |language=en}}</ref>

===Football===
{{Further|History of the Baltimore Colts|Baltimore Ravens}}
[[File:M&T Bank Stadium DoD.jpg|thumb|[[M&T Bank Stadium]], home to the [[Baltimore Ravens]] of the [[National Football League]]]]
Prior to a [[National Football League]] team moving to Baltimore, there had been several attempts at a professional football team prior to the 1950s, which were blocked by the Washington team and its NFL friends. Most were minor league or [[semi-professional]] teams. The first major league to base a team in Baltimore was the [[All-America Football Conference]] (AAFC), which had a team named the [[Baltimore Colts (1947–50)|Baltimore Colts]]. The AAFC Colts played for three seasons in the AAFC (1947, 1948, and 1949), and when the AAFC folded following the 1949 season, moved to the NFL for a single year (1950) before going bankrupt. 

In 1953, the NFL's [[Dallas Texans (NFL)|Dallas Texans]] folded. Its assets and player contracts were purchased by an ownership team headed by Baltimore businessman [[Carroll Rosenbloom]], who moved the team to Baltimore, establishing a new team also named the [[History of the Baltimore Colts|Baltimore Colts]]. During the 1950s and 1960s, the Colts were one of the NFLs more successful franchises, led by [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]] quarterback [[Johnny Unitas]] who set a then-record of 47 consecutive games with a touchdown pass. The Colts advanced to the [[NFL Championship]] twice (1958 & 1959) and [[Super Bowl]] twice (1969 & 1971), winning all except [[Super Bowl III]] in 1969. After the 1983 season, the team [[Baltimore Colts relocation to Indianapolis|left Baltimore for Indianapolis in 1984]], where they became the [[Indianapolis Colts]].

The NFL returned to Baltimore when the former [[Cleveland Browns relocation controversy|Cleveland Browns]] moved to Baltimore to become the [[Baltimore Ravens]] in 1996. Since then, the Ravens won a Super Bowl championship in [[Super Bowl XXXV|2000]] and [[Super Bowl XLVII|2012]], seven [[AFC North]] division championships (2003, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2018, 2019 and 2023), and appeared in five [[AFC Championship Game]]s (2000, 2008, 2011, 2012 and 2023).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baltimoreravens.com/team/history/baltimore-football|title=Baltimore Ravens History|access-date=May 15, 2022}}</ref>

Baltimore also hosted a [[Canadian Football League]] franchise, the [[Baltimore Stallions]] for the [[1994 CFL season|1994]] and [[1995 CFL season|1995 season]]s. Following the 1995 season, and ultimate end to the [[Canadian Football League in the United States]] experiment, the team was sold and relocated to [[Montreal]].

===Other teams and events===
[[File:Shackleford preakness winner.jpg|thumb|The [[Preakness Stakes]], the second leg of the [[United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing|Triple Crown]], is run every May at [[Pimlico Race Course]] in Baltimore.]]
The first professional sports organization in the United States, [[Maryland Jockey Club|The Maryland Jockey Club]], was formed in Baltimore in 1743. [[Preakness Stakes]], the second race in the [[United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing]], has been held every May at [[Pimlico Race Course]] in Baltimore since 1873.

College [[lacrosse]] is a common sport in the spring, as the [[Johns Hopkins Blue Jays]] men's lacrosse team has won 44 national championships, the most of any program in history. In addition, [[Loyola University Maryland|Loyola University]] won its first men's [[NCAA]] lacrosse championship in 2012.

The [[Baltimore Blast]] are a professional arena [[soccer]] team that play in the [[Major Arena Soccer League]] at the [[SECU Arena]] on the campus of [[Towson University]]. The Blast have won nine championships in various leagues, including the MASL. A previous entity of the [[Baltimore Blast (1980–92)|Blast]] played in the [[Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–92)|Major Indoor Soccer League]] from 1980 to 1992, winning one championship. The Baltimore Kings, a Baltimore Blast affiliate,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Graham|first=Glenn|title=Blast welcome the Baltimore Kings, who will serve as farm team in Major Arena Soccer League's third division|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/bs-sp-masl-baltimore-kings-blast-farm-team-20210630-kltsvfe3z5br7fsw5rd237hxkm-story.html|access-date=December 30, 2021|website=baltimoresun.com|date=June 30, 2021 }}</ref> joined [[Major Arena Soccer League 3|MASL 3]] in 2021 to begin play in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web|title=MASL 3 Announces Regular Season Schedule for Eastern Conference|url=http://www.masl3.com/news/masl3-easternconference-scheduleannouncement|access-date=December 30, 2021|website=www.masl3.com|date=November 29, 2021 }}</ref>

[[FC Baltimore|FC Baltimore 1729]] was a semi-professional soccer club in the [[National Premier Soccer League|NPSL league]], with the goal of bringing a community-oriented competitive soccer experience to Baltimore. Their inaugural season started on May 11, 2018, and they played their home games at [[Community College of Baltimore County#Essex Campus|CCBC Essex Field]]. Baltimore City F.C. is an [[Eastern Premier Soccer League]] club that plays since 2023 at Middle Branch Fitness Center in [[Cherry Hill, Baltimore|Cherry Hill]].

The [[Baltimore Blues]] were a semi-professional [[rugby league]] club which began competition in the [[USA Rugby League]] in 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usarugbyleague.com/2011/12/usarl-welcome-the-blues/ |title=USARL &#124; USA Rugby League &#124; American Rugby League " Uncategorized " USARL welcome the Blues! |publisher=USA Rugby League |date=December 12, 2011 |access-date=January 8, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120109033821/http://www.usarugbyleague.com/2011/12/usarl-welcome-the-blues/ |archive-date=January 9, 2012 }}</ref> The [[Baltimore Bohemians]] were an American [[Football (soccer)|soccer club]] which competed in the [[USL Premier Development League]], the fourth tier of the [[American Soccer Pyramid]]. Their inaugural season started in the spring of 2012.

The [[Baltimore Grand Prix]] debuted along the streets of the Inner Harbor section of the city's downtown on September 2–4, 2011. The event played host to the [[American Le Mans Series]] on Saturday and the [[IndyCar Series]] on Sunday. Support races from smaller series were also held, including [[Indy Lights]]. After three consecutive years, on September 13, 2013, it was announced that the event would not be held in 2014 or 2015 due to scheduling conflicts.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-no-grand-prix-20130913,0,5532611.story|title=Grand Prix of Baltimore canceled through 2015, and likely beyond|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|author=Scott Dance|date=September 13, 2013|access-date=April 8, 2014|archive-date=August 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140802231954/http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-no-grand-prix-20130913,0,5532611.story|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The athletic equipment company [[Under Armour]] is also based in Baltimore. Founded in 1996 by [[Kevin Plank]], a [[University of Maryland]] alumnus, the company's headquarters are located in Tide Point, adjacent to [[Fort McHenry]] and the [[Domino Sugar]] factory. The [[Baltimore Marathon]] is the flagship race of several races. The marathon begins at [[Camden Yards]] and travels through many diverse neighborhoods of Baltimore, including the scenic Inner Harbor waterfront area, historic Federal Hill, [[Fells Point]], and [[Canton, Baltimore]]. The race then proceeds to other important focal points of the city such as [[Patterson Park]], Clifton Park, Lake Montebello, the Charles Village neighborhood, and the western edge of downtown. After winding through 42.195 kilometres (26.219&nbsp;mi) of Baltimore, the race ends at virtually the same point at which it starts.

The [[Baltimore Brigade]] were an [[Arena Football League]] team based in Baltimore that, from 2017 to 2019, played at [[Royal Farms Arena]]. In 2019, the team ceased operations along with the rest of the league.