New York Rangers theme by 1_BAD_SOLDIER
Download: NewYorkRangers.p3t
(2 backgrounds)
| New York Rangers | |
|---|---|
 2023–24 New York Rangers season | |
 | |
| Conference | Eastern |
| Division | Metropolitan |
| Founded | 1926 |
| History | New York Rangers 1926–present |
| Home arena | Madison Square Garden |
| City | New York, New York |
 | |
| Team colors | Royal blue, red, white[1][2] |
| Media | MSG Network MSG Sportsnet ESPN (98.7 FM) ESPN Deportes (1050 AM) |
| Owner(s) | Madison Square Garden Sports (James Dolan, chairman) |
| General manager | Chris Drury |
| Head coach | Peter Laviolette |
| Captain | Jacob Trouba |
| Minor league affiliates | Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL) Bloomington Bison (ECHL) |
| Stanley Cups | 4 (1927–28, 1932–33, 1939–40, 1993–94) |
| Conference championships | 2 (1993–94, 2013–14) |
| Presidents' Trophy | 4 (1991–92, 1993–94, 2014–15, 2023–24) |
| Division championships | 8 (1926–27, 1931–32, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1993–94, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2023–24) |
| Official website | nhl |
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at Madison Square Garden, an arena they share with the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). They are one of three NHL franchises located in the New York metropolitan area; the others being the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders.
Founded in 1926 by Tex Rickard, the Rangers are one of the Original Six teams that competed in the NHL before its 1967 expansion, along with the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. The team attained success early on under the guidance of Lester Patrick, who coached a team containing Frank Boucher, Murray Murdoch, and Bun and Bill Cook to win the Stanley Cup in only their second season.[3] They were the first NHL franchise in the United States to win the trophy, and are still the fastest true expansion team in NHL history to do so. The team won two more Stanley Cups in 1933 and 1940.
Following this initial grace period, the franchise struggled between the 1940s and 1960s, wherein playoff appearances and successes were infrequent. The team enjoyed a mini-renaissance in the 1970s, where they made the Stanley Cup finals twice, losing to the Bruins in 1972 and the Canadiens in 1979. The Rangers subsequently embraced a rebuild for much of the 1980s and early 1990s, which eventually paid dividends in 1994, where the team, led by Mark Messier, Brian Leetch, Adam Graves, and Mike Richter, captured their fourth Stanley Cup.
The team was unable to duplicate that success in the years that followed, and entered into another period of mediocrity. They endured a franchise-record seven-year postseason drought from 1998 to 2005 and languished for the majority of the 2000s before enjoying another period of prosperity after the 2004–05 NHL Lockout. After the arrival of goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers thrived, missing the playoffs just once between 2006 and 2017. They reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 2014, falling to the Los Angeles Kings in five games.
Several former members of the Rangers have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, four of whom—Buddy O'Connor, Chuck Rayner, Andy Bathgate, and Messier—have won the Hart Memorial Trophy while playing for the team.
History[edit]
Early years (1926–1967)[edit]
George Lewis "Tex" Rickard, president of Madison Square Garden, was awarded an NHL franchise for the 1926–27 season to compete with the New York Americans, who had begun play at the Garden the previous season. The Americans' early success in their inaugural season exceeded expectations, leading Rickard to pursue a second team for the Garden despite promising the Amerks that they were going to be the only hockey team to play there.[4] The new team was quickly nicknamed "Tex's Rangers".
Rickard's franchise began play in the 1926–27 season. The first team crest was a horse sketched in blue carrying a cowboy waving a hockey stick aloft, before being changed to the familiar "RANGERS" in diagonal.[5] Future Toronto Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe was hired to assemble the team, however he had a falling-out with Rickard's hockey man, Col. John S. Hammond, and was fired as manager-coach on the eve of the first season—he was paid a then-hefty $2,500 to leave. Smythe was replaced by Pacific Coast Hockey Association co-founder Lester Patrick.[6] The new team Smythe assembled turned out to be a winner. The Rangers won the American Division title their first year but lost to the Boston Bruins in the playoffs.[7][8]
The team's early success led to players becoming minor celebrities and fixtures in New York City's Roaring Twenties nightlife. It was during this time, playing at the Garden on 49th Street, blocks away from Times Square, that the Rangers obtained their nickname "The Broadway Blueshirts". On December 13, 1929, the Rangers became the first team in the NHL to travel by plane when they hired the Curtiss-Wright Corporation to fly them to Toronto for a game against the Maple Leafs, which they lost 7–6.[9]
In only the Rangers' second season, they won the 1928 Stanley Cup, defeating the Montreal Maroons three games to two.[10] One of the most memorable stories that emerged from the finals involved Patrick playing in goal at the age of 44. At the time, teams were not required to dress a backup goaltender. When the Rangers' starting goaltender, Lorne Chabot, left a game with an eye injury, Maroons head coach Eddie Gerard vetoed Patrick's original choice for an emergency replacement, Alex Connell of the Ottawa Senators, who was in attendance. An angry Patrick lined up between the pipes for two periods in Game 2 of the finals, allowing one goal to Maroons center Nels Stewart. Frank Boucher scored the game-winning goal in overtime for New York.[11]
After a loss to the Bruins in the 1929 Stanley Cup Finals[3] and an early struggle in the early 1930s, the Rangers, led by brothers Bill and Bun Cook on the right and left wings, respectively, and Frank Boucher at center, defeated the Maple Leafs in the 1933 best-of-five finals three games to one to win their second Stanley Cup. The Rangers spent the rest of the 1930s playing close to 0.500 hockey until their next Cup win. Lester Patrick stepped down as head coach and was replaced by Frank Boucher.[12]
In their 1939–40 season, the Rangers finished the regular season in second place behind Boston. The two teams then met in the first round of the playoffs. The Bruins gained a two-games-to-one series lead from New York, but the Rangers recovered to win three-straight games, defeating the first-place Bruins four games to two. The Rangers' first-round victory gave them a bye until the finals. The Detroit Red Wings defeated the New York Americans in their first-round best-of-three series two games to one, and the Toronto Maple Leafs ousted the Chicago Black Hawks two games to none. The Maple Leafs then swept Detroit a best-of-three series to advance to the finals. The 1940 Cup Finals commenced in Madison Square Garden. In Game 1, the Rangers needed overtime to gain a 1–0 series lead, but they won game two more easily with a 6–2 victory. The series then shifted to Toronto, where the Maple Leafs won the next two games, tying the series at two games apiece. In Games 5 and 6, the Rangers won in overtime, taking the series four games to two to earn their third Stanley Cup.
However, the Rangers collapsed by the mid-1940s, losing games by scores as lopsided as 15–0. In 1943–44, goaltender Ken McAuley led the league with 39 losses and 310 goals allowed in 50 games played; his 6.24 goals-against average that year remains the worst in NHL history by a goaltender playing at least 25 games in a season.[13] They missed the playoffs for five consecutive seasons before earning the fourth and final playoff spot in 1947–48. They lost in the first round and missed the playoffs again in 1948–49. In the 1950 Stanley Cup Finals, the Rangers were forced to play all of their games, including "home" games, in Toronto, while the circus was held at the Garden. They lost to the Detroit Red Wings in overtime in the seventh game of the finals.
During this time, Red Wings owner James E. Norris became the largest stockholder in the Garden. However, he did not buy controlling interest in the arena, which would have violated the NHL's rule against one person owning more than one team. Nonetheless, he had enough support on the board to exercise de facto control. The Rangers remained a mark of futility in the NHL for most of the remainder of the Original Six era, missing the playoffs in 12 of the next 16 years. However, the team was rejuvenated in the late 1960s, symbolized by moving into the fourth version of Madison Square Garden in 1968. A year earlier, they made the playoffs for the first time in five years on the strength of rookie goaltender Eddie Giacomin and 37-year-old former 1950s Montreal Canadiens star right wing Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion, signed out of retirement in 1966.
Post-Original Six era (1967–1993)[edit]
The Rangers made the finals twice in the 1970s, but lost both times to two '70s powerhouses; in six games to the Boston Bruins in 1972, who were led by such stars as Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge, Johnny Bucyk and Wayne Cashman; and in five games to the Canadiens in 1979, who had Bob Gainey, Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson, Ken Dryden, Guy Lapointe and Serge Savard.
The Rangers reached the 1972 Stanley Cup Finals despite losing high-scoring center Jean Ratelle (who had been on pace over Bruin Phil Esposito to become the first Ranger since Bryan Hextall in 1942 to lead the NHL in scoring) to injury during the stretch drive of the regular season. The strength of players such as Brad Park, Jean Ratelle, Vic Hadfield and Rod Gilbert (the last three constructing the famed "GAG line", standing for "goal-a-game") carried them through the playoffs. They defeated the defending-champion Canadiens in the first round and the Chicago Black Hawks in the second, but lost to the Bruins in the finals.
In the 1972 playoffs, with Ratelle sidelined with a broken ankle and Gilbert hampered by injuries, Walt Tkaczuk played a key role as the Rangers defeated the defending champion Canadiens and the previous year's finalists, the Black Hawks, to reach the 1972 Stanley Cup Finals. While the Rangers lost to the Boston Bruins in six games, Tkaczuk earned much respect for holding the Bruins' Phil Esposito without a goal in the series.
The Rangers played a legendary conference semi-final series against the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1973–74 playoffs, losing in seven games and becoming the first Original Six club to lose a playoff series to a 1967 expansion team. This series was noted for a Game 7 fight between Dale Rolfe of the Rangers and Dave Schultz of the Flyers.[14] The Rangers' new rivals, the New York Islanders, who entered the League in 1972 after paying a hefty territorial fee – some $4 million – to the Rangers, were their first-round opponents in the 1975 playoffs. After splitting the first two games, the Islanders defeated the more-established Rangers 11 seconds into overtime of the deciding Game 3, establishing a rivalry that continued to grow for years.
In a blockbuster trade with the Boston Bruins, the Rangers acquired Esposito and Carol Vadnais from the Bruins for Park, Ratelle and Joe Zanussi in 1975, while Swedish stars Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson jumped to the Rangers from the League's rival, the World Hockey Association (WHA) in 1978. In the 1979 NHL playoffs, New York defeated the surging Islanders in the conference semi-finals and advanced to the 1979 Cup Finals, losing to the Canadiens. In the three consecutive 1982 through 1984 playoffs, the Rangers were eliminated by the rival Islanders, who went on to win the Stanley Cup each of those years.
.JPG)
The Rangers stayed competitive through the 1980s and early 1990s, making the playoffs each year. In the 1986 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Rangers, behind the play of rookie goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck, upended the Patrick Division-winning Flyers in five games followed by a six-game win over the Washington Capitals in the Patrick Division finals. Montreal, however, disposed of the Rangers in the Wales Conference finals behind a rookie goaltender of their own, Patrick Roy. For the 1986–87 season, the team acquired superstar center Marcel Dionne after almost 12 years with the Los Angeles Kings.[15] In 1988, while a Ranger, Dionne moved into third place in NHL career goals scored. Dionne spent nine games in the minors before retiring during the 1988–89 season.
Frustration was at its peak when the 1991–92 Rangers captured the Presidents' Trophy. They took a 2–1 series lead on the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins and then faltered in three-straight (some observers note a Ron Francis slapshot from outside the blue line that eluded goaltender Mike Richter as the series' turning point).[16][17] The following year, injuries and a 1–11 regular season finish landed the Rangers at the bottom of the Patrick Division after being in a playoff position for much of the season. Head coach Roger Neilson did not finish the season.
During this period, the Rangers were owned by Gulf+Western, which was renamed to Paramount Communications in 1989, and sold to Viacom in 1994. Viacom then sold the team to ITT Corporation and Cablevision, and a couple of years later, ITT sold their ownership stake to Cablevision, who owned the team until 2010, when they spun off the MSG properties as their own company.
Ending the curse (1993–94)[edit]
The 1993–94 New York Rangers season was their most successful in 54 years, as Mike Keenan coached the Rangers to the 1994 Stanley Cup championship, winning their fourth Cup.[18] By the 1993–94 season, the Rangers had acquired seven players who had been part of the Edmonton Oilers' Cup-winning teams: Oilers captain (and new Rangers captain) Mark Messier, Adam Graves, Kevin Lowe, Jeff Beukeboom, Esa Tikkanen, Craig MacTavish and Glenn Anderson. Graves set a team record with 52 goals, breaking the prior record of 50 held by Vic Hadfield. The Rangers clinched the Presidents' Trophy by finishing with the best record in the NHL at 52–24–8, setting a franchise record with 112 points earned.[19]
The Rangers successfully made it past the first two rounds of the playoffs, sweeping the New York Islanders, and then defeating the Washington Capitals in five games. However, in the conference finals against the third-seeded New Jersey Devils, the Rangers lost the series opener at home in double overtime, but won the next two games before the Devils defeated them 3–1 and 4–1. The series headed back to the Meadowlands for the sixth game, in which Messier, who had guaranteed a win to the press, scored three times in the final period to lead the Rangers to a 4–2 win and set up a seventh game back at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers won Game 7, 2–1, when Stephane Matteau scored a goal in double overtime, leading the team to the finals for the first time since 1979.
Up against the Vancouver Canucks, the Rangers again lost the series opener at home in overtime. The Rangers bounced back and they won the next three games, allowing the Canucks just four goals. However, the Canucks won the next two 6–3 and 4–1 to set up a seventh game, for the second consecutive series, at home.[20] In the seventh game, the Rangers took a 2–0 first period lead, with Messier scoring later to put the Rangers up 3–1, the eventual Cup winning goal as the home team won 3–2, becoming the first (and to this date, only) player to captain two teams to the Stanley Cup.[21] Brian Leetch became the first American-born player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP,[22] while Alexander Karpovtsev, Alexei Kovalev, Sergei Nemchinov and Sergei Zubov became the first Russians to have their names engraved on the Cup.[23]
Expensive acquisitions and postseason drought (1995–2005)[edit]
Despite having coached the Rangers to a regular season first-place finish and the Stanley Cup victory, head coach Mike Keenan left after a dispute with general manager Neil Smith. During the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season, the Rangers won their first-round series with the Quebec Nordiques, but lost in the second round of the playoffs to the Philadelphia Flyers in four games with succeeding head coach Colin Campbell. General manager Neil Smith orchestrated a deal that sent Sergei Zubov and center Petr Nedved to Pittsburgh in exchange for defenseman Ulf Samuelsson and left-winger Luc Robitaille in the summer of 1995. The 1995–96 Rangers defeated the Canadiens in six games in the playoffs, but lost their second-round series to the Penguins in five games.
The Rangers then acquired Wayne Gretzky in 1996. Gretzky's greatest accomplishment with the Rangers was leading them to the 1997 Eastern Conference finals, where they lost 4–1 to the Flyers, who were then led by Eric Lindros. Mark Messier, a former Oiler teammate of Gretzky's, left in the summer of 1997 and the team failed in a bid to replace him with Colorado Avalanche superstar Joe Sakic.[24] The Rangers missed the playoffs for seven consecutive seasons, finishing no higher than fourth in their division. Gretzky retired at the end of the 1998–99 season.
In March 2000, Smith was fired along with head coach John Muckler, and that summer, James Dolan hired Glen Sather to replace him.[25] By the end of the 2000–01 season, the Rangers had landed a significant amount of star power. Messier had returned to New York, Theoren Fleury joined the Rangers after spending most of his career with the Calgary Flames[26] and Eric Lindros was traded to the Rangers by the Flyers.[27] The Rangers also acquired Pavel Bure late in 2001–02 from the Florida Panthers.[28] It was also the rookie season of goalie Dan Blackburn, who made the NHL All-Rookie Team even as the Rangers fell back to last place in the Conference,[29] and finished out of the playoffs. Later years saw other stars such as Alexei Kovalev, Jaromir Jagr, Martin Rucinsky and Bobby Holik added, but in 2002–03 and 2003–04, the team again missed the playoffs. Blackburn started strongly in 2002–03, but burned out after 17 games. He missed 2003–04 due to mononucleosis and a damaged nerve in his left shoulder. Blackburn could not rehabilitate the damaged nerve, and was forced to retire at the age of 22.[30] Towards the end of the 2003–04 season, general manager Glen Sather finally gave in to a rebuilding process by trading away Brian Leetch, Alexei Kovalev, and eight others for numerous prospects and draft picks. With the retirements of Pavel Bure and Mark Messier, as well as Eric Lindros signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the post-lockout Rangers, under new head coach Tom Renney, moved away from high-priced veterans towards a group of talented young players, such as Petr Prucha, Dominic Moore and Blair Betts.
Henrik Lundqvist era (2005–2020)[edit]
Return to the playoffs (2005–2011)[edit]
The Rangers were expected to struggle during the 2005–06 season, but behind stellar performances by Swedish rookie goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers finished the season with a record of 44–26–12, their best record since 1993–94. Jagr broke the Rangers' single-season points record with a first-period assist in a 5–1 win against the New York Islanders on March 29, 2006.
New York Giants theme by 1_BAD_SOLDIER Download: NewYorkGiants.p3t
National Football League (1925–present)
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays its home games at MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, 5 miles (8 km) west of New York City. The stadium is shared with the New York Jets. The Giants are headquartered and practice at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center, also in the Meadowlands.[5]
The Giants were one of five teams that joined the NFL in 1925, and they are the only one of that group still existing, as well as the league's longest-established team in the Northeastern United States. The team ranks third among all NFL franchises with eight NFL championship titles: four in the pre–Super Bowl era (1927, 1934, 1938, 1956) and four since the advent of the Super Bowl (XXI (1986), XXV (1990), XLII (2007), and XLVI (2011)), along with more championship appearances than any other team, with 19 overall appearances. Their championship tally is surpassed only by the Green Bay Packers (13) and the Chicago Bears (9). Throughout their history, the Giants have featured 29 Hall of Fame players, including NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) award winners Mel Hein, Frank Gifford, Y. A. Tittle, and Lawrence Taylor.
To distinguish themselves from the professional baseball team of the same name, the football team was incorporated as the "New York National League Football Company, Inc." in 1929 and then changed to "New York Football Giants, Inc." in 1937. While the baseball team moved to San Francisco after the 1957 season, the football team continues to legally use it as its corporate name,[6] which the team is often referred to by fans and sportscasters alike. The team has also acquired several nicknames, including "Big Blue", the "G-Men", and the "Jints", an intentionally mangled contraction seen frequently in the New York Post and New York Daily News, originating from the baseball team when they were based in New York. In addition, the team as a whole is occasionally referred to as the "Big Blue Wrecking Crew", even though this moniker primarily and originally refers to the Giants defensive unit during the 1980s and early-1990s.
The team's heated rivalry with the Philadelphia Eagles is the oldest of the NFC East rivalries, dating back to 1933, and has been called the best rivalry in the NFL in the 21st century.[7][8]
The Giants played their first game as an away game against All New Britain in New Britain, Connecticut, on October 4, 1925.[9][10] They defeated New Britain 26–0 in front of a crowd of 10,000.[9] The Giants were successful in their first season, finishing with an 8–4 record.[11]
In its third season, the team finished with the best record in the league at 11–1–1 and was awarded the NFL title.[12] After a disappointing fourth season (1928) owner Tim Mara bought the entire squad of the Detroit Wolverines, principally to acquire star quarterback Benny Friedman, and merged the two teams under the Giants name.
In 1930, there were still many who questioned the quality of the professional game, claiming the college "amateurs" played with more intensity than professionals. In December 1930, the Giants played a team of Notre Dame All Stars at the Polo Grounds to raise money for the unemployed of New York City. It was also an opportunity to establish the skill and prestige of the pro game. Knute Rockne reassembled his Four Horsemen along with the stars of his 1924 Championship squad and told them to score early, then defend. Rockne, like much of the public, thought little of pro football and expected an easy win.[13] But from the beginning it was a one-way contest, with Friedman running for two Giant touchdowns and Hap Moran passing for another. Notre Dame failed to score. When it was all over, Coach Rockne told his team, "That was the greatest football machine I ever saw. I am glad none of you got hurt."[14] The game raised $100,000 for the homeless, and is often credited with establishing the legitimacy of the professional game for those who were critical.[13] It also was the last game the legendary Rockne ever coached; he was killed in an airplane crash on March 31, 1931.
In a 16-year span from 1931 to 1947, the Giants qualified to play in the NFL championship game 8 times, winning twice.[12] During this period the Giants were led by Hall of Fame coach Steve Owen, and Hall of Fame players Mel Hein, Red Badgro, and Tuffy Leemans. In 1933 the Giants faced the Chicago Bears in the championship game and were defeated 23–21.
The famous "Sneakers Game" was played in this era where the Giants defeated the Chicago Bears on an icy field in the 1934 NFL Championship Game, while wearing sneakers for better traction.[12] The team would return to the championship game the following year but would fall to the Detroit Lions 26–7.
The giants captured their third NFL championship in 1938 with a 23–17 win over the Green Bay Packers. Both teams returned to the championship game the following year in 1939, with the Packers shutting out the Giants 27–0.
The period also featured the 1944 Giants, which are ranked as the #1 defensive team in NFL history, "...a truly awesome unit".[16] They gave up only 7.5 points per game (a record that still stands) and shut out five of their 10 opponents, though they lost 14–7 to the Green Bay Packers in the 1944 NFL Championship Game. The Giants played the Detroit Lions to a scoreless tie on November 7, 1943.[17][18][19] To this day, no NFL game played since then has ended in a scoreless tie. The Giants were particularly successful from the latter half of the 1930s until the United States entry into World War II.[12]
The Giants won their next championship in 1956, the first year the team began playing at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. Aided by a number of future Pro Football Hall of Fame players such as running back Frank Gifford, linebacker Sam Huff, and offensive tackle Roosevelt Brown, as well as all-pro running back Alex Webster. The Giants' 1956 championship team not only included players who would eventually find their way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but a Hall of Fame coaching staff, as well. Head coach Jim Lee Howell's staff had Vince Lombardi coaching the offense and Tom Landry coaching the defense.[20] From 1958 to 1963, the Giants played in the NFL Championship Game five times, but failed to win.[12] Most significantly, the Giants played the Colts in the 1958 NFL Championship Game, which is considered a watershed event in the history of the NFL.[21] The game, which the Giants lost in overtime 23–17,[12] is often called "The Greatest Game Ever Played" and is considered one of the most important events in furthering the NFL's popularity. The following year, they lost the championship to the Colts again, giving up a 9–7 fourth-quarter lead en route to a 31–16 loss.
Both the 1961 and 1962 championship game matched the Giants up against the Green Bay Packers, with the Giants losing both 37–0 and 16–7 respectively. In 1963, led by league MVP quarterback Y. A. Tittle, who threw a then-NFL record 36 touchdown passes, the Giants advanced to the NFL Championship Game, where they lost to the Bears 14–10 for their third consecutive championship loss, as well as their fifth loss in the title game in 6 years.[22]
From 1964 to 1978, the Giants registered only two winning seasons and no playoff appearances.[11] With players, such as Tittle and Gifford approaching their mid 30s, the team declined rapidly, finishing 2–10–2 in 1964.[11] They rebounded with a 7–7 record in 1965,[11] before compiling a league-worst 1–12–1 record,[23] and allowing more than 500 points on defense in 1966.[23] During the 1969 preseason, the Giants lost their first meeting with the New York Jets, 37–14, in front of 70,874 fans at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut.[24] Following the game, Wellington Mara fired coach Allie Sherman,[25] and replaced him with former Giants fullback Alex Webster.[26]
In 1967, the team acquired quarterback Fran Tarkenton from the Minnesota Vikings. Despite having several respectable seasons with Tarkenton at quarterback, including a 7–7 finish in 1967 and 9–5 in 1970,[11] the Giants traded him back to the Vikings after a 4–10 finish in 1971.[27] Tarkenton would go on to lead the Vikings to three Super Bowls and earn a place in the Hall of Fame,[27] while the Giants suffered through one of the worst stretches in their history,[11] winning only 23 games from 1973 to 1979.[11] Before the 1976 season, the Giants tried to revive a weak offense by replacing retired RB Ron Johnson with future Hall of Fame fullback Larry Csonka, but Csonka was often injured and ineffective during his 3 years in New York. The 1977 season featured a roster which included three rookie quarterbacks.[28]
The Giants were allowed to play their home games at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut in 1973 and 1974, and at Shea Stadium (home of the Mets and Jets) in Queens, New York in 1975, due to the renovation of Yankee Stadium. They finally moved into their own dedicated state-of-the-art stadium in 1976,[20] when they moved into Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey, located 5 miles west of New York City. One of the low points during this period was the play known as the "Miracle at the Meadowlands", which occurred in 1978.[29] With the Giants trying to kill the clock and secure a win against the Philadelphia Eagles,[29] offensive coordinator, Bob Gibson, chose to call a running play. This resulted in "The Fumble" by QB Joe Pisarcik that was returned for a game-winning touchdown by the Eagles' Herman Edwards.[29]
The Giants' front office operations were complicated by a long-standing feud between Wellington Mara and his nephew, Tim Mara.[30] Jack Mara had died in 1965, leaving his share of the club to his son Tim. Wellington and Tim's personal styles and their visions for the club clashed, and eventually they stopped talking to each other. NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle intervened and appointed a neutral general manager, George Young, allowing the club to operate more smoothly. The feud became moot on February 20, 1991, when Tim Mara sold his shares in the club to Preston Robert Tisch.
In 1979, the Giants began the steps that would, in time, return them to the pinnacle of the NFL. These included the drafting of quarterback Phil Simms in 1979, and linebacker Lawrence Taylor in 1981.
Baltimore Ravens theme by 1_BAD_SOLDIER Download: BaltimoreRavens.p3t
National Football League (1996–present)
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its home games at M&T Bank Stadium and is headquartered in Owings Mills, Maryland.[9]
The Baltimore Ravens were established in 1996 after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced plans in 1995 to relocate the franchise from Cleveland to Baltimore.[10] As part of a settlement between the league and the city of Cleveland, Modell was required to leave the Browns' history, team colors, and records in Cleveland for a replacement team and replacement personnel that would resume play in 1999. In return, he was allowed to take his own personnel and team to Baltimore, where such personnel would form an expansion team. The team is now owned by Steve Bisciotti and valued at $2.98 billion, making the Ravens the 33rd-most valuable sports franchise in the world as of 2021.[11]
The Ravens have been one of the most successful NFL franchises since their inception, compiling a regular season record of 256–194–1 (.569), the third-highest among active franchises.[12] They also own the fourth-highest playoff winning percentage at 17–13 (.567).[12] The team has qualified for the NFL playoffs 15 times since 2000 with two Super Bowl titles (Super Bowl XXXV and Super Bowl XLVII), two AFC Championship titles (2000 and 2012), five AFC Championship game appearances (2000, 2008, 2011, 2012, and 2023), and seven AFC North division titles (2003, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2018, 2019, and 2023). They are one of two teams to be undefeated in multiple Super Bowl appearances, along with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Ravens organization was led by general manager Ozzie Newsome from 1996 until his retirement following the 2018 season, and has had three head coaches: Ted Marchibroda, Brian Billick, and since 2008, John Harbaugh. Starting with a record-breaking defensive performance in their 2000 season, the Ravens have established a reputation for strong defensive play throughout team history. Former players such as middle linebacker Ray Lewis, safety Ed Reed, and offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden have been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The name "Ravens" was inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's poem The Raven.[4][13] Chosen in a fan contest that drew 33,288 voters, the allusion honors Poe who spent the early part of his career in Baltimore and is buried there.[14] As The Baltimore Sun reported at the time, fans also "liked the tie-in with the other birds in town, the Orioles, and found it easy to visualize a tough, menacing black bird".[15] Edgar Allan Poe also had distant relatives who played football for the Princeton Tigers in the 1880s through the early 1900s. These brothers were famous players in the early days of American football.
Before the football team, there was the Baltimore Ravens wheelchair basketball team — the original Baltimore Ravens.[16] In 1972, the Ravens wheelchair basketball team was founded by Ralph Smith, long-term resident of Baltimore, second Vice President of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) and Member of the NWBA Hall of Fame.[17] The name "Ravens" was inspired by Bob Ardinger, a member of the Ravens wheelchair basketball team. In the 1990s, the naming rights were later sold to the football team when they came to the city and the wheelchair basketball team became known as the Maryland Ravens.
After the controversial 1984 relocation of the Colts to Indianapolis, several attempts were made to bring an NFL team back to Baltimore. In 1993, ahead of the 1995 league expansion, the city was considered a favorite, behind only St. Louis, to be granted one of two new franchises.[18] League officials and team owners feared litigation due to conflicts between rival bidding groups if St. Louis was awarded a franchise. In October Charlotte, North Carolina was the first city chosen. Several weeks later, Baltimore's bid for a franchise—dubbed the Baltimore Bombers, in honor of the locally produced Martin B-26 Marauder bomber—had three ownership groups in place[18] and a state financial package which included a proposed $200 million, rent-free stadium and permission to charge up to $80 million in personal seat license fees.[19][20] Baltimore, however, was unexpectedly passed over in favor of Jacksonville, Florida, despite Jacksonville's minor TV market status and that the city had withdrawn from contention in the summer, only to return with then-Commissioner Paul Tagliabue's urging.[18] Although league officials denied that any city had been favored, it was reported that Tagliabue and his longtime friend Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke had lobbied against Baltimore due to its proximity to Washington, D.C.,[18][20][21] and that Tagliabue had used the initial committee voting system to prevent the entire league ownership from voting on Baltimore's bid.[22] This led to public outrage and The Baltimore Sun describing Tagliabue as having an "Anybody But Baltimore" policy.[22] Maryland governor William Donald Schaefer said afterward that Tagliabue had led him on, praising Baltimore and the proposed owners while working behind-the-scenes to oppose Baltimore's bid.[22]
By May 1994, Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos had gathered a new group of investors, including author Tom Clancy, to bid on teams whose owners had expressed interest in relocating.[23] Angelos found a potential partner in Georgia Frontiere, who was open to moving the Los Angeles Rams to Baltimore. Jack Kent Cooke opposed the move, intending to build the Redskins' new stadium in Laurel, Maryland, close enough to Baltimore to cool outside interest in bringing in a new franchise.[24] This led to heated arguments between Cooke and Angelos, who accused Cooke of being a "carpetbagger."[23] The league eventually persuaded Rams team president John Shaw to relocate to St. Louis instead, leading to a league-wide rumor that Tagliabue was again steering interest away from Baltimore, a claim which Tagliabue denied.[25] In response to anger in Baltimore, including Governor Schaefer's threat to announce over the loudspeakers Tagliabue's exact location in Camden Yards any time he attended a Baltimore Orioles game,[26] Tagliabue remarked of Baltimore's financial package: "Maybe (Baltimore) can open another museum with that money."[20] Following this, Angelos made an unsuccessful $200 million bid to bring the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Baltimore.[27]
Having failed to obtain a franchise via the expansion, the city, despite having "misgivings,"[20] turned to the possibility of obtaining the Cleveland Browns, whose owner Art Modell was financially struggling and at odds with the city of Cleveland over needed improvements to the team's stadium.
Enticed by Baltimore's available funds for a first-class stadium and a promised yearly operating subsidy of $25 million, Modell announced on November 6, 1995, his intention to relocate the team from Cleveland to Baltimore the following year. The resulting controversy ended when representatives of Cleveland and the NFL reached a settlement on February 8, 1996. Tagliabue promised the city of Cleveland that an NFL team would be located in Cleveland, either through relocation or expansion, "no later than 1999".[28] Additionally, the agreement stipulated that the Browns' name, colors, uniform design and franchise records would remain in Cleveland. The franchise history includes Browns club records and connections with Pro Football Hall of Fame players. Modell's Baltimore team, while retaining all current player contracts, would, for purposes of team history, appear as an expansion team, a new franchise.[29] Not all players, staff or front office would make the move to Baltimore, however.
After relocation, Modell hired Ted Marchibroda as the head coach for his new team in Baltimore. Marchibroda was already well known because of his work as head coach of the Baltimore Colts during the 1970s and the Indianapolis Colts during the early 1990s. Ozzie Newsome, the Browns' tight end for many seasons, joined Modell in Baltimore as director of football operations. He was later promoted to vice-president/general manager.
The home stadium for the Ravens first two seasons was Baltimore's Memorial Stadium, previously home to the Baltimore Colts, the Baltimore Orioles, and the Canadian Football League’s Baltimore Stallions. The Ravens moved to their own new stadium, now known as M&T Bank Stadium, next to Camden Yards in 1998.
In the 1996 NFL Draft, the Ravens, with two picks in the first round, drafted offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden at No. 4 overall and linebacker Ray Lewis at No. 26 overall. Both Ogden and Lewis went on to play for the Ravens for their entire professional careers and were both inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The 1996 Ravens won their opening game against the Oakland Raiders, but finished the season 4–12 despite receiver Michael Jackson leading the league with 14 touchdown catches. The 1997 Ravens started 3–1. Peter Boulware, a rookie defender from Florida State, recorded 11.5 sacks and was named AFC Defensive Rookie of the Year. The team finished 6–9–1. On October 26, the team made its first trip to Landover, Maryland to play their new regional rivals, the Washington Redskins. The Ravens won the game 20–17. On December 14, 1997, the Ravens played the final professional sporting event at Baltimore’s historic Memorial Stadium, winning 21–19 over the Tennessee Oilers.
1998 marked the opening of a new stadium for the Ravens, currently known as M&T Bank Stadium, but originally named “PSINet Stadium” after the now-defunct internet service provider which purchased the original naming rights. Quarterback Vinny Testaverde left for the New York Jets before the season, and was replaced by former Indianapolis Colt Jim Harbaugh, and later Eric Zeier. Cornerback Rod Woodson joined the team after a successful stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Priest Holmes started getting the first playing time of his career and ran for 1,000 yards. The Ravens finished 1998 with a 6–10 record. On November 29, the Ravens welcomed the Colts back to Baltimore for the first time in 15 years. Amidst a shower of negative cheers towards the Colts, the Ravens won 38–31.
Three consecutive losing seasons under Marchibroda led to a change in the head coach. Brian Billick took over as head coach in 1999. Billick had been offensive coordinator for the record-setting Minnesota Vikings the season before. Quarterback Tony Banks came to Baltimore from the St. Louis Rams and had the best season of his career with 17 touchdown passes and an 81.2 pass rating. He was joined by receiver Qadry Ismail, who posted a 1,000-yard season. The Ravens initially struggled with a record of 4–7 but managed to finish with an 8–8 record.
Due to continual financial hardships for the organization, the NFL took an unusual move and directed Modell to initiate the sale of his franchise. On March 27, 2000, NFL owners approved the sale of 49% of the Ravens to Steve Bisciotti. In the deal, Bisciotti had an option to purchase the remaining 51% for $325 million in 2004 from Art Modell. On April 9, 2004, the NFL approved Steve Bisciotti's purchase of the majority stake in the club.
Banks shared playing time in the 2000 regular season with Trent Dilfer. Both players put up decent numbers (and a 1,364-yard rushing season by rookie Jamal Lewis helped too) but the defense became the team's hallmark and bailed a struggling offense out in many instances through the season. Ray Lewis was named Defensive Player of the Year. Two of his defensive teammates, Sam Adams and Rod Woodson, made the Pro Bowl. Baltimore's season started strong with a 5–1 record. But the team struggled through mid-season, at one point going five games without scoring an offensive touchdown. The team regrouped and won each of their last seven games, finishing 12–4 and making the playoffs for the first time.
During the 2000 season, the Ravens' dominating defense broke a notable NFL record. They held opposing teams to 165 total points, surpassing the 1986 Chicago Bears mark of 187 points for a 16-game season, which at that time was the current NFL record. That record still stands, and the 2000 Ravens remain in the discussion as one of the greatest NFL defenses of all time, most notably alongside the 1985 Chicago Bears defense.
Since the divisional rival Tennessee Titans had a record of 13–3, the Ravens had to play in the wild card round. They dominated the Denver Broncos 21–3 in their first game. In the divisional playoff, they went on the road to Tennessee. With the score tied 10–10 in the fourth quarter, an Al Del Greco field goal attempt was blocked and returned for a touchdown by Anthony Mitchell, and a Ray Lewis interception return for a score put the game squarely in Baltimore's favor. The 24–10 win put the Ravens in the AFC Championship against the Oakland Raiders. The game was rarely in doubt. Shannon Sharpe's 96-yard touchdown catch early in the second quarter followed by an injury to Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon were crucial as the Ravens won easily, 16–3.
Baltimore then went to Tampa for Super Bowl XXXV against the New York Giants. The Ravens’ defense carried them to a win. They recorded four sacks and forced five turnovers, one of which was a Kerry Collins interception returned for a touchdown by Duane Starks. The Giants' only score was a Ron Dixon kickoff return for a touchdown; however, the Ravens immediately countered with a touchdown return on the ensuing kickoff by Jermaine Lewis. The Ravens became champions with a 34–7 win.
In 2001, the Ravens attempted to defend their title with Elvis Grbac as their new starting quarterback, but a season-ending injury to Jamal Lewis on the first day of training camp and poor offensive performances stymied the team. After a 3–3 start, the Ravens defeated the Minnesota Vikings in the final week to clinch a wild card berth at 10–6. In the first round the Ravens showed flashes of their previous year with a 20–3 win over the Miami Dolphins, in which the team forced three turnovers and out-gained the Dolphins 347 yards to 151. In the divisional playoff the Ravens played the Pittsburgh Steelers. Three interceptions by Grbac ended the Ravens' season, as they lost 27–10.
Baltimore ran into salary cap problems entering the 2002 season and was forced to part with a number of impact players. In the NFL Draft, the team selected Ed Reed with the 24th overall pick. Reed would go on to become one of the best safeties in NFL history, making nine Pro Bowls until leaving the Ravens for the Houston Texans in 2013. Despite low expectations, the Ravens stayed somewhat competitive in 2002 until a losing streak in December eliminated any chances of a postseason berth and a 7–9 finish.
In 2003, the Ravens drafted their new quarterback, Kyle Boller, but he was injured midway through the season and was replaced by Anthony Wright. Jamal Lewis ran for 2,066 yards (including a then-NFL record 295 yards in one game against the Cleveland Browns on September 14). With a 10–6 record, Baltimore won their first AFC North division title. Their first playoff game, at home against the Tennessee Titans, went back and forth, with the Ravens being held to only 54 yards total rushing. The Titans won 20–17 on a late field goal, and Baltimore's season ended early.
Ray Lewis was also named Defensive Player of the year for the second time in his career.
In April 2003, Art Modell sold 49% of Green Bay Packers theme by King Brad Download: GreenBayPackers.p3t
Independent (1919–1920) The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Competing in the National Football League (NFL) as part of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division, the Packers are the third-oldest franchise in the NFL, established in 1919.[11][12] They are the only non-profit, community-owned major league professional sports team based in the United States.[a][13] Since 1957, home games have been played at Lambeau Field. They hold the record for the most wins in NFL history.[14][15]
The Packers are the last of the "small-town teams" that were common in the NFL during the league's early days of the 1920s and 1930s. Founded in 1919 by Earl "Curly" Lambeau and George Whitney Calhoun, the franchise traces its lineage to other semi-professional teams in Green Bay dating back to 1896. Between 1919 and 1920, the Packers competed against other semi-pro clubs from around Wisconsin and the Midwest, before joining the American Professional Football Association (APFA), the forerunner of today's NFL, in 1921. In 1933, the Packers began playing part of their home slate in Milwaukee until changes at Lambeau Field in 1995 made it more lucrative to stay in Green Bay full-time; Milwaukee is still considered a home media market for the team.[16][17][18] Although Green Bay is the smallest major league professional sports market in North America,[a][19] Forbes ranked the Packers as the world's 27th-most-valuable sports franchise in 2019, with a value of $2.63 billion.[20]
The Packers have won 13 league championships, the most in NFL history, with nine pre-Super Bowl NFL titles and four Super Bowl victories. The Packers, under coach Vince Lombardi, won the first two Super Bowls in 1966 and 1967; they were the only NFL team to defeat the American Football League (AFL) before the AFL–NFL merger. After Lombardi retired, the Super Bowl trophy was named for him, but the team struggled through the 1970s and 1980s. Since 1993, the team has enjoyed much regular-season success, making the playoffs 23 times and winning two Super Bowls in 1996 under head coach Mike Holmgren and 2010 under head coach Mike McCarthy.[21] The Packers have the most wins (826) and the second-highest win–loss record (.571) in NFL history, including both regular season and playoff games.[22][23]
The Packers are longstanding adversaries of the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, and Detroit Lions, who today form the NFL's NFC North division (formerly known as the NFC Central Division). They have played more than 100 games against each of those teams, and have a winning overall record against all of them, a distinction only shared with the Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys, and Miami Dolphins. The Bears–Packers rivalry is one of the oldest rivalries in U.S. professional sports history, dating to 1921.
The Green Bay Packers were founded on August 11, 1919,[1] by former high-school football rivals Earl "Curly" Lambeau and George Whitney Calhoun.[24] Lambeau solicited funds for uniforms from his employer, the Indian Packing Company, a meat packing company.[25] He was given $500 ($8,800 today) for uniforms and equipment, on the condition that the team be named after its sponsor.[26] The Green Bay Packers have played in their original city longer than any other team in the NFL.
On August 27, 1921, the Packers were granted a franchise in the American Professional Football Association, a new national pro football league that had been formed the previous year. The APFA changed its name to the National Football League a year later. Financial troubles plagued the team, and the franchise was forfeited within the year before Lambeau found new financial backers and regained the franchise the next year. These backers, known as "The Hungry Five", formed the Green Bay Football Corporation.[27]
After a near-miss in 1927, Lambeau's squad claimed the Packers' first NFL title in 1929 with an undefeated 12–0–1 campaign, behind a stifling defense which registered eight shutouts.[28] Green Bay would repeat as league champions in 1930 and 1931, bettering teams from New York, Chicago and throughout the league, with all-time greats and future Hall of Famers Mike Michalske, Johnny (Blood) McNally, Cal Hubbard and Green Bay native Arnie Herber.[29][30] Among the many impressive accomplishments of these years was the Packers' streak of 29 consecutive home games without defeat, an NFL record which still stands.[31]
The arrival of the end Don Hutson from Alabama in 1935 gave Lambeau and the Packers the most feared and dynamic offensive weapon in the game. Credited with inventing pass patterns, Hutson would lead the league in receptions in eight seasons and spur the Packers to NFL championships in 1936, 1939 and 1944. An Iron Man, Hutson played both ways, leading the league in interceptions as a safety in 1940. Hutson claimed 18 NFL records when he retired in 1945, many of which still stand.[32] In 1951, his number 14 was the first to be retired by the Packers, and he was inducted as a charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
After Hutson's retirement, Lambeau could not stop the Packers' slide. He purchased a large lodge near Green Bay for team members and families to live in. Rockwood Lodge was the home of the 1946–49 Packers. The 1947 and 1948 seasons produced a record of 12–10–1, and 1949 was even worse at 3–9. The lodge burned down on January 24, 1950, and insurance money paid for many of the Packers' debts.[33]
Curly Lambeau departed after the 1949 season. Gene Ronzani and Lisle Blackbourn could not coach the Packers back to their former magic, even as a new stadium was unveiled in 1957. The losing would descend to the disastrous 1958 campaign under coach Ray "Scooter" McLean, whose lone 1–10–1 year at the helm is the worst in Packers history.[34]
Former New York Giants assistant Vince Lombardi was hired as Packers head coach and general manager on February 2, 1959. Few suspected the hiring represented the beginning of a remarkable, immediate turnaround. Under Lombardi, the Packers would become the team of the 1960s, winning five championships over seven years, including victories in the first two Super Bowls. During the Lombardi era, the stars of the Packers' offense included Bart Starr, Jim Taylor, Carroll Dale, Paul Hornung (as halfback and placekicker), Forrest Gregg, and Jerry Kramer. The defense included Willie Davis, Henry Jordan, Willie Wood, Ray Nitschke, Dave Robinson, and Herb Adderley. The Packers' first regular-season game under Lombardi was on September 27, 1959, a 9–6 victory over the Chicago Bears in Green Bay. After winning their first three, the Packers lost the next five before finishing strong by sweeping their final four. The 7–5 record represented the Packers' first winning season since 1947, enough to earn rookie head coach Lombardi the NFL Coach of the Year.
The next year, the Packers, led by Paul Hornung's 176 points, won the NFL West title and played in the NFL Championship against the Philadelphia Eagles at Philadelphia. In a see-saw game, the Packers trailed by only four points when All-Pro Eagle linebacker Chuck Bednarik tackled Jim Taylor just nine yards short of the goal line as time expired.
The Packers returned to the NFL Championship game the following season and faced the New York Giants in the first league title game to be played in Green Bay. The Packers scored 24-second-quarter points, including a championship-record 19 by Paul Hornung, on special "loan" from the Army (one touchdown, four extra points, and three field goals), powering the Packers to a 37–0 rout of the Giants, their first NFL Championship since 1944.[35] It was in 1961 that Green Bay became known as "Titletown".
The Packers stormed back in the 1962 season, jumping out to a 10–0 start on their way to a 13–1 season. This consistent level of success would lead to Lombardi's Packers becoming one of the most prominent teams of their era, and to be featured as the face of the NFL on the cover of Time on December 21, 1962, as part of the magazine's cover story on "The Sport of the '60s".[36] Shortly after Time's article, the Packers faced the Giants in a much more brutal championship game than the previous year, but the Packers prevailed on the kicking of Jerry Kramer and the determined running of Jim Taylor. The Packers defeated the Giants in New York, 16–7.
The Packers returned to the championship game in 1965 following a two-year absence when they defeated the Colts in a playoff for the Western Conference title. That game would be remembered for Don Chandler's controversial tying field goal in which the ball allegedly went wide right, but the officials signaled "good". The 13–10 overtime win earned the Packers a trip to the NFL Championship game, where Hornung and Taylor ran through the defending champion Cleveland Browns, helping the Packers win, 23–12, to earn their third NFL Championship under Lombardi and ninth overall. Goalpost uprights would be made taller the next year.
The 1966 season saw the Packers led to the first-ever Super Bowl by MVP quarterback Bart Starr. The team went 12–2, and as time wound down in the NFL Championship against the Dallas Cowboys, the Packers clung to a 34–27 lead. Dallas had the ball on the Packers' two-yard line, threatening to tie the ballgame. But on fourth down the Packers' Tom Brown intercepted Don Meredith's pass in the end zone to seal the win. The team crowned its season by rolling over the AFL champion Kansas City Chiefs 35–10 in Super Bowl I.
The 1967 season was the last for Lombardi as the Packers' head coach.[37] The NFL Championship game, a rematch of the 1966 contest against Dallas, became indelibly known as the "Ice Bowl" as a result of the brutally cold conditions at Lambeau Field.[38] Still the coldest NFL game ever played, it remains one of the most famous football games at any level in the history of the sport.[39] With 16 seconds left, Bart Starr's touchdown on a quarterback sneak brought the Packers a 21–17 victory and their still unequaled third straight NFL Championship. They then won Super Bowl II with a 33–14 victory over the Oakland Raiders. Lombardi stepped down as head coach after the game, and Phil Bengtson was named his suc Dallas Cowboys theme by 1_BAD_SOLDIER Download: DallasCowboys.p3t
National Football League (1960–present)
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team is headquartered in Frisco, Texas, and has played its home games at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, since its opening in 2009. The stadium took its current name prior to the 2013 season, following the team's decision to sell the stadium's naming rights to telecommunications company AT&T.[6][7] In January 2020, Mike McCarthy was hired as head coach of the Cowboys.[8] He is the ninth in the team's history.[9] McCarthy follows Jason Garrett, who coached the team from 2010 to 2019.[9]
The Cowboys joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1960.[10] The team's national following might best be represented by its NFL record of consecutive sell-outs. The Cowboys' streak of 190 consecutive sold-out regular and post-season games (home and away) began in 2002.[11] The franchise has made it to the Super Bowl eight times, tying it with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos for second-most Super Bowl appearances in history behind the New England Patriots' record 11 appearances. Their eight NFC championships are tied for most in the conference's history. The Cowboys are the only NFL team to record 20 straight winning seasons (from 1966 to 1985) during which they missed the playoffs only twice (1974 and 1984).[12]
In 2015, the Dallas Cowboys became the first sports team to be valued at $4 billion, making it the most valuable sports team in the world, according to Forbes.[13] The Cowboys also generated $620 million in revenue in 2014, a record for a U.S. sports team.[13] In 2018, they also became the first NFL franchise to be valued at $5 billion[14] and making Forbes' list as the most valued NFL team for the 12th straight year.[15]
Prior to the formation of the Dallas Cowboys, there had not been an NFL team south of Washington, D.C. since the Dallas Texans folded in 1952 after only one season. Two businessmen had tried and failed to get Dallas a team in the NFL: Lamar Hunt responded by forming the American Football League with a group of owners, which would spur the NFL to expand beyond twelve teams. Oilman Clint Murchison Jr. persisted with his intent to bring a team to Dallas, but George Preston Marshall, owner of the Washington Redskins, had a monopoly in the South (after the addition of Dallas, the South would see three further teams - NFL teams in Atlanta and New Orleans, and an AFL team in Miami - added in the next six years).[16]
Murchison had tried to purchase the Washington Redskins (now Commanders) from Marshall in 1958 with the intent of moving them to Dallas. An agreement was struck, but as the deal was about to be finalized, Marshall called for a change in terms, which infuriated Murchison, and he called off the deal.[17] Marshall then opposed any franchise for Murchison in Dallas. Since NFL expansion needed unanimous approval from team owners at that time, Marshall's position would prevent Murchison from joining the league.
Marshall had a falling out with the Redskins band leader Barnee Breeskin, who had written the music to the Redskins fight song "Hail to the Redskins", and Marshall's wife had penned the lyrics. Breeskin owned the rights to the song and was aware of Murchison's plight to get an NFL franchise. Angry with Marshall, Breeskin approached Murchison's attorney to sell him the rights to the song before the expansion vote in 1959: Murchison subsequently purchased "Hail to the Redskins" for $2,500.[18]
Before the vote to award franchises in 1959, Murchison revealed to Marshall that he now owned the song, and barred Marshall from playing it during games. After Marshall launched an expletive-laced tirade, Murchison sold the rights to "Hail to the Redskins" back to Marshall in exchange for his vote, the lone one against Murchison getting a franchise at that time, and a rivalry was born.[18] Murchison hired CBS Sports executive and former Los Angeles Rams general manager Tex Schramm as team president and general manager,[19] San Francisco 49ers scout Gil Brandt as head of player personnel,[20] and New York Giants defensive coordinator Tom Landry as head coach,[21] thus forming a triumvirate that would lead the Cowboys' football operations for three decades.
Like most expansion teams, the Cowboys struggled at first. They failed to win a game in their inaugural season.[23] However, Landry slowly brought the team to respectability. In 1965, they finally got to .500. They broke all the way through a year later, winning consecutive Eastern Conference titles in 1966 and 1967. However, they lost the NFL Championship Game each time to the Green Bay Packers with the second loss coming in the 1967 Ice Bowl.[24] They would win consecutive division titles in 1968 and 1969 when the NFL adopted a divisional format, but were defeated in the playoffs both years by the Cleveland Browns.
From 1970 through 1979, the Cowboys won 105 regular season games, more than any other NFL franchise during that time span.[25] In addition, they appeared in five Super Bowls, winning two (1971 and 1977).
Led by quarterback Craig Morton, the Cowboys had a 10–4 season in 1970. They defeated Detroit 5–0 in the lowest-scoring playoff game in NFL history[26] and then defeated San Francisco 17–10 in the first-ever NFC Championship Game to qualify for their first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history, a mistake-filled Super Bowl V, where they lost 16–13 to the Baltimore Colts courtesy of a field goal by Colts' kicker Jim O'Brien with five seconds remaining in the contest. Despite the loss, linebacker Chuck Howley was named the Super Bowl MVP, the first and only time in Super Bowl history that the game's MVP did not come from the winning team.[27][28]
The Cowboys moved from the Cotton Bowl to Texas Stadium in week six of the 1971 season. Landry named Staubach as the permanent starting quarterback to start the second half of the season, and Dallas was off and running. The Cowboys won their last seven regular season games (finishing 11–3) before dispatching the Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs to return to the Super Bowl. In Super Bowl VI, behind an MVP performance from Staubach and a then Super Bowl record 252 yards rushing,[29] the Cowboys crushed the upstart Miami Dolphins, 24–3, to finally bury the "Next Year's Champions" stigma.
After missing the playoffs in 1974, the team drafted well the following year, adding defensive lineman Randy White (a future Hall of Fame member) and linebacker Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson. The fresh influx of talent helped the Cowboys back to the playoffs in 1975 as a wild card, losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21–17, in Super Bowl X.[30]
Dallas began the 1977 season 8–0, finishing 12–2. In the postseason, the Cowboys routed the Chicago Bears 37–7 and Minnesota Vikings 23–6 before defeating the Denver Broncos 27–10 in Super Bowl XII in New Orleans.[31] As a testament to Doomsday's dominance in the hard-hitting game, defensive linemen Randy White and Harvey Martin were named co-Super Bowl MVPs, the first and only time multiple players have received the award. Dallas returned to the Super Bowl, following the 1978 season, losing to Pittsburgh 35–31. Bob Ryan, an NFL Films editor, dubbed the Cowboys "America's Team" following the Super Bowl loss, a nickname that has earned derision from non-Cowboys fans but has stuck through both good times and bad.[32] Danny White became the Cowboys' starting quarterback in 1980 after quarterback Roger Staubach retired. Despite going 12–4 in 1980, the Cowboys came into the playoffs as a Wild Card team. In the opening round of the 1980–81 NFL playoffs they avenged their elimination from the prior year's playoffs by defeating the Rams. In the Divisional Round they squeaked by the Atlanta Falcons 30–27. For the NFC Championship they were pitted against division rival Philadelphia Eagles, the team that won the division during the regular season. The Eagles captured their first conference championship and Super Bowl berth by winning 20–7.
1981 brought another division championship for the Cowboys. They entered the 1981–82 NFL playoffs as the number 2 seed. Their first postseason saw them blow out Tampa Bay in a 38–0 shutout. The Cowboys then advanced to the NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers, the number 1 seed. Despite having a late 4th quarter 27–21 lead, they would lose to the 49ers 28–27. 49ers quarterback Joe Montana led his team on an 89-yard game-winning touchdown drive, connecting with Dwight Clark in a play known as The Catch.[33]
The 1982 season was shortened after a player strike. With a 6–3 record Dallas made it to the playoffs for the 8th consecutive season. As the number 2 seed for the 1982–83 NFL playoffs they eliminated the Buccaneers 30–17 in the Wild Card round and dispatched the Packers 37–26 in the Divisional round to advance to their 3rd consecutive Conference championship game. However, the third time was not the charm for the Cowboys as they fell 31–17 to their division rival and eventual Super Bowl XVII champions, the Washington Redskins.
Although it was not apparent at the time, the loss in the 1982 NFC title game marked the end of an era. For the 1983 season the Cowboys went 12–4 and made it once again to the playoffs but were upset at home in the Wild Card by the Rams 24–17. However, 1983 was a missed opportunity as prior to their playoff defeat, the Cowboys had a chance to clinch the NFC East and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs against Washington in the penultimate week of the regular season, but were defeated soundly 31–10 at home, and conceded control of the division to the Redskins in which they would not relinquish a week later. Prior to the 1984 season, Murchison sold the Cowboys to another Texas oil magnate, H.R. "Bum" Bright and his ten partners.[34] Dallas posted a 9–7 record that season but missed the playoffs for the first time in 10 seasons and only the second time in 18 years. After going 10–6 in 1985 and winning a division title, the Cowboys were shut out 20–0 by the Rams in the Divisional round in Los Angeles.
Hard times came for the organization as they went 7–9 in 1986, 7–8 in 1987, and 3–13 in 1988. During this time period, Bright became disenchanted with the team. During an embarrassing home loss to Atlanta in 1987, Bright told the media that he was "horrified" at Landry's play calling. During the savings and loan crisis, Bright's savings and loan was taken over by the FSLIC. With most of the rest of his money tied up in the Cowboys, Bright was forced to sell the team to Jerry Jones on February 25, 1989, for $150 million.[35]
Jones immediately fired Tom Landry, the only head coach in franchise history, replacing him with University of Miami head coach Jimmy Johnson, who was also Jones' teammate at the University of Arkansas as a fellow defensive lineman.[36] The hiring of Johnson also reunited Johnson with second-year wide receiver Michael Irvin, who had played collegiately at Miami. With the first pick in the draft, the Cowboys selected UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman. Later that same year, they would trade veteran running back Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings for five veteran players and eight draft choices. Although the Cowboys finished the 1989 season with a 1–15 record, their worst in almost 30 years, "The Trade" later allowed Dallas to draft a number of impact players to rebuild the team.[37]
Johnson quickly returned the Cowboys to the NFL's elite. Skillful drafts added fullback
Denver Broncos Inverted theme by ShadowOfaSolja Download: DenverBroncosInverted.p3t P3T Unpacker v0.12 This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit! Download for Windows: p3textractor.zip Instructions: Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme. The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract. The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: Carolina Panthers theme by ShadowOfaSolja Download: CarolinaPanthers.p3t
National Football League (1995–present)
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The team is headquartered in Bank of America Stadium in Uptown Charlotte; which also serves as the team's home field. The Panthers are supported throughout the Carolinas; although the team has played its home games in Charlotte since 1996, it played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina, during its first season in 1995.
The Panthers were announced as the league's 29th franchise in 1993 and began playing in 1995 under the original owner and founder Jerry Richardson. The Panthers played well in their first two years, finishing 7–9 in 1995 (an all-time best for an NFL expansion team's first season) and 12–4 the following year, winning the NFC West before ultimately losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game. They did not have another winning season until 2003 when they won the NFC Championship Game and reached Super Bowl XXXVIII, losing 32–29 to the New England Patriots. After recording playoff appearances in 2005 and 2008, the team failed to record another playoff appearance until 2013, the first of three consecutive NFC South titles. After losing in the divisional round to the San Francisco 49ers in 2013 and the Seattle Seahawks in 2014, the Panthers returned to the Super Bowl in 2015 but lost to the Denver Broncos. Since then, the team has appeared in the playoffs only once, in 2017. The team's five NFC South titles since the division's establishment in 2002 rank second only to the New Orleans Saints.
As of 2024, the Carolina Panthers remain the newest club in the NFC, excluding the Seahawks who were founded in 1976 but moved to the NFC in 2002. The franchise is legally registered as Panther Football, LLC.[11] and are controlled by David Tepper, whose purchase of the team from founder Jerry Richardson was unanimously approved by league owners on May 22, 2018. The club, which Forbes valued at approximately US$2.3 billion in 2018,[12] is estimated at $4.1 billion by it in 2023.[13]
On December 15, 1987, entrepreneur Jerry Richardson announced his bid for an NFL expansion franchise in the Carolinas.[2] A North Carolina native, Richardson was a former wide receiver on the Baltimore Colts who had used his 1959 league championship bonus to co-franchise the first Hardee's restaurant in Spartanburg, SC, eventually expanding to a chain of franchises as co-founder of Spartan Food Systems before becoming president and CEO of Flagstar.[14] Richardson drew his inspiration to pursue an NFL franchise from George Shinn, who had made a successful bid for an expansion National Basketball Association (NBA) team in Charlotte, the Charlotte Hornets. Richardson founded Richardson Sports, a partnership consisting of himself, his family, and a number of businessmen from North and South Carolina who were also recruited to be limited partners.[15] Richardson looked at four potential locations for a stadium, ultimately choosing uptown Charlotte.
To highlight the demand for professional football in the Carolinas, Richardson Sports held preseason games around the area from 1989 to 1991. The first two games were held at Carter–Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, while the third and final game was held at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. The matchups were between existing NFL teams. In 1991, the group formally filed an application for the open expansion spot, and on October 26, 1993, the 28 NFL owners unanimously named the Carolina Panthers as the 29th member of the NFL.[2]
The Panthers first competed in the 1995 NFL season; they were one of two expansion teams to begin playing that year, the other being the Jacksonville Jaguars.[16] The Panthers were put in the NFC West to increase the size of that division to five teams; there were already two other southeastern teams in the division, the Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints.[17] Former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Dom Capers was named the first head coach. The team finished its inaugural season 7–9, the best performance ever from a first-year expansion team.[16] They performed even better in their second season, finishing with a 12–4 record and winning the NFC West division, as well as securing a first-round bye.[18] The Panthers beat the defending Super Bowl champions Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round[19] before losing the NFC Championship Game to the eventual Super Bowl champions, the Green Bay Packers.[20] The team managed only a 7–9 finish in 1997 and slipped to 4–12 in 1998, leading to Capers' dismissal as head coach.[18]
The Panthers hired former San Francisco 49ers head coach George Seifert to replace Capers, and he led the team to an 8–8 record in 1999. The team finished 7–9 in 2000 and fell to 1–15 in 2001, winning their first game but losing their last 15. This performance tied the NFL record for most losses in a single season, and it broke the record held by the winless 1976 Buccaneers for most consecutive losses in a single season (both records have since been broken by the 2008 Lions), leading the Panthers to fire Seifert.[21]
After the NFL's expansion to 32 teams in 2002, the Panthers were relocated from the NFC West to the newly created NFC South division.[22] The Panthers' rivalries with the Falcons and Saints were maintained, and they would be joined by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. New York Giants defensive coordinator John Fox was hired to replace Seifert[23] and led the team to a 7–9 finish in 2002. Although the team's defense gave up very few yards, ranking the second-best in the NFL in yards conceded, they were hindered by an offense that ranked as the second-worst in the league in yards gained.[24]
The Panthers improved to 11–5 in the 2003 regular season, winning the NFC South[25] and making it to Super Bowl XXXVIII before losing to the New England Patriots, 32–29, in what was immediately hailed by sportswriter Peter King as the "Greatest Super Bowl of all time". King felt the game "was a wonderful championship battle, full of everything that makes football dramatic, draining, enervating, maddening, fantastic, exciting" and praised, among other things, the unpredictability, coaching, and conclusion.[26] The game is still viewed as one of the best Super Bowls of all time,[27][28][29][30] and in the opinion of Charlotte-based NPR reporter Scott Jagow, the Panthers' Super Bowl appearance represented the arrival of Charlotte onto the national scene.[31]
Following a 1–7 start in 2004, the Panthers rebounded to win six of their last seven games despite losing 14 players for the season due to injury. They lost their last game to New Orleans, finishing the 2004 season at 7–9. Had they won the game, the Panthers would have made the playoffs.[32] The team improved to 11–5 in 2005, finishing second in the division behind Tampa Bay and clinching a playoff berth as a wild-card.[33] In the first round of the playoffs, the Panthers went on the road to face the New York Giants, beating them 23–0 for the NFL's first playoff shutout against a home team since 1980.[34] The following week, they beat Chicago 29–21 on the road, but lost key players Julius Peppers, a defensive end, and DeShaun Foster, a running back, who were both injured during the game.[35] The Panthers were then defeated 34–14 by the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game, ending their season.[36] Although the Panthers went into the 2006 season as favorites to win the NFC South and the free agent signing of Keyshawn Johnson,[37] they finished with a disappointing 8–8 record.[38] The team finished the 2007 season with a 7–9 record after losing quarterback Jake Delhomme early in the season due to an elbow injury.[39]
In 2008, the Panthers rebounded with a 12–4 regular season record, winning the NFC South and securing a first-round bye. They were eliminated in the divisional round of the playoffs, losing 33–13 to the eventual NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals after Delhomme turned the ball over six times.[40] Delhomme's struggles carried over into the 2009 season, where he threw 18 interceptions in the first 11 games before breaking a finger in his throwing hand.[41] The Panthers were at a 4–7 record before Delhomme's season-ending injury, and his backup, Matt Moore, led the team to a 4–1 finish to the season for an 8–8 overall record.[42] In 2010, after releasing Delhomme in the offseason, the Panthers finished with a league-worst (2–14) record; their offense was the worst in the league. John Fox's contract expired after the season ended, and the team did not retain him or his staff.[43]
The team hired Ron Rivera to replace Fox as head coach[44] and drafted Auburn's Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Cam Newton with the first overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft.[45] The Panthers opened the 2011 season 2–6, but finished with a 6–10 record,[44] and Newton was awarded the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award after setting the NFL record for most rushing touchdowns from a quarterback (14) in a single season and becoming the first rookie NFL quarterback to throw for over 4,000 yards in a single season. He also was the first rookie quarterback to rush for over 500 yards in a single season.[46]
After strengthening the defense with future all-pro Luke Kuechly in the 2012 draft, the Panthers again opened the 2012 season poorly, losing five out of their first six games, leading longtime general manager Marty Hurney to be fired in response. The team slid to a 2–8 record before winning five of their last six games, resulting in a 7–9 record. This strong finish helped save Rivera's job.[44]
The Panthers had a winning season the following year, finishing with a 12–4 record and winning their third NFC South title and another playoff bye,[47] but they were beaten by the 49ers in the Divisional Round. In 2014, the Panthers opened the season with two wins, but after 12 games, sat at 3–8–1 due in part to a seven-game winless streak. A four-game winning streak to end the season secured the team their second consecutive NFC South championship and a playoff berth, despite a losing record of 7–8–1.[48] The Panthers defeated the Arizona Cardinals, 27–16, in the wild card round to advance to the divisional playoffs,[49] where they lost to eventual NFC champion Seattle, 31–17. The 2015 season saw the Panthers start the season 14–0 and finish the season 15–1, which tied for the best regular-season record in NFC history. During the same season, Cam Newton was named NFL MVP.[50][51] The Panthers also secured their third consecutive NFC South championship, as well as their first overall top-seeded playoff berth.[52] In the 2015–16 playoffs, the Panthers defeated the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Divisional playoffs, 31–24, after shutting them out in the first half, 31–0,[53] and the Arizona Cardinals, 49–15, in the NFC Championship Game to advance to Super Bowl 50, their first Super Bowl appearance since the 2003 season.[54] The Panthers lost a defensive struggle to the AFC champion Denver Broncos, 24–10.[55][56] In the 2016 season, the Panthers regressed on their 15–1 record from 2015, posting a 6–10 record and a last-place finish in the NFC South, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2012,[57] and losing the division title to the second-seeded Falcons,[58] who went on to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LI. In 2017, the Panthers finished with an 11–5 record and a #5 seed. However, they lost to the New Orleans Saints 31–26 in the Wild Card Round, their first loss in that round in franchise history.
On May 16, 2018,[59] David Tepper, formerly a minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, finalized an agreement to purchase the Panthers. The sale price was nearly $2.3 billion, a record. The agreement was approved by the league owners on May 22, 2018.[60] The sale officially closed on July 9, 2018.[61] After starting 6–2, the Panthers finished the 2018 season 7–9. They began the 2019 season 5–3 but lost the last eight games to finish 5–11; late in the season, Tepper fired Rivera as head coach. Perry Fewell finished the season as interim coach, going 0–4.
On January 7, 2020, the Panthers hired Baylor head coach Matt Rhule as head coach.[62] On January 15, 2020, Luke Kuechly announced his retirement from the league.[63] On March 17, 2020, the Panthers signed
Patriots theme by ShadowOfaSolja Download: Patriots.p3t Redirect to: Denver Broncos theme by ShadowOfaSolja Download: DenverBroncos.p3t
American Football League (1960–1969)
National Football League (1970–present)
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquartered in Dove Valley, Colorado.
The team began play in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL) and joined the NFL as part of the merger in 1970. The Broncos are currently owned by the Walton-Penner group, and play their home games at Empower Field at Mile High since 2001; Denver previously played its home games at Mile High Stadium from its inception in 1960 through the 2000 season.
The Broncos were barely competitive during their 10-year run in the AFL and their first three years in the NFL. They did not have a winning season until 1973 and qualified for their first playoffs in 1977, eventually advancing to Super Bowl XII that season. Since 1975, the Broncos have become one of the NFL's most successful teams, having suffered only eleven losing seasons.[8] They have won eight AFC Championships (1977, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1997, 1998, 2013, 2015), and three Super Bowl championships (1997 (XXXII), 1998 (XXXIII), 2015 (50), and share the NFL record for most Super Bowl losses (5 – tied with the New England Patriots). The Broncos have nine primary members enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame: John Elway, Floyd Little, Shannon Sharpe, Gary Zimmerman, Terrell Davis, Champ Bailey, Steve Atwater, and Randy Gradishar, along with late club owner Pat Bowlen.[9]
According to Forbes, the Broncos are valued at $4.65 billion in July 2022 making them the twelfth most-valuable team in the NFL.[10]
The Denver Broncos were founded on August 14, 1959, when minor league baseball owner Bob Howsam was awarded an American Football League (AFL) charter franchise.[2] The Broncos won the first-ever AFL game over the Boston Patriots 13–10, on September 9, 1960. Seven years later on August 5, 1967, they became the first-ever AFL team to defeat an NFL team, with a 13–7 win over the Detroit Lions in a preseason game.[2] However, the Broncos were not successful in the 1960s, winning more than five games only once (7–7, 1962), compiling a 39–97–4 (.293) record during the ten seasons of the AFL.[11]
Denver came close to losing its franchise in 1965, until a local ownership group took control,[12][13] and rebuilt the team.[14] The team's first superstar, "Franchise" Floyd Little, was instrumental in keeping the team in Denver, due to his signing in 1967 as well as his Pro Bowl efforts on and off the field. The Broncos were the only original AFL team that never played in the title game, as well as the only original AFL team never to have a winning season while a member of the AFL during the upstart league's 10-year history.[15]
In 1972, the Broncos hired former Stanford University coach John Ralston as their head coach. In 1973, he was the UPI's AFC Coach of the Year, after Denver achieved its first winning season at 7–5–2. In five seasons with the Broncos, Ralston guided the team to three winning seasons. Though Ralston finished the 1976 season with a 9–5 record, the team, as was the case in Ralston's previous winning seasons, still missed the playoffs. Following the season, several prominent players publicly voiced their discontent with Ralston, which soon led to his resignation.[16]
Red Miller, a long-time assistant coach, was hired and along with the Orange Crush Defense (a nickname originated in 1977, also the brand of the popular orange-flavored soft drink) and aging quarterback Craig Morton, took the Broncos to what was then a record-setting 12–2 regular-season record and their first playoff appearance in 1977, and ultimately made their first Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl XII, in which they were defeated by the Dallas Cowboys (Morton's former team), 27–10.[17]
In 1981, Broncos' owner Gerald Phipps, who had purchased the team in May 1961 from the original owner Bob Howsam, sold the team to Canadian financier Edgar Kaiser Jr., grandson of shipbuilding industrialist Henry J. Kaiser.[18] In 1984, the team was purchased by another Canadian, Pat Bowlen, who placed team ownership into a family trust sometime before 2004 and remained in day-to-day control until his battle with Alzheimer's disease forced him to cede the team to Joe Ellis in 2014.[19][20][21]
Dan Reeves became the youngest head coach (37) in the NFL when he joined the Broncos in 1981 as vice president and head coach. Quarterback John Elway, who played college football at Stanford, arrived in 1983 via a trade. Originally drafted by the Baltimore Colts as the first pick of the draft, Elway proclaimed that he would shun football in favor of baseball (he was drafted by the New York Yankees to play center field and was also a pitching prospect), unless he was traded to a selected list of other teams, which included the Broncos.[22] Prior to Elway, the Broncos had over 24 different starting quarterbacks in its 23 seasons to that point.[23]
Reeves and Elway guided the Broncos to six post-season appearances, five AFC West divisional titles, three AFC championships and three Super Bowl appearances (Super Bowl XXI, XXII and XXIV) during their 12-year span together. The Broncos lost Super Bowl XXI to the New York Giants, 39–20; Super Bowl XXII to the Washington Redskins, 42–10; and Super Bowl XXIV to the San Francisco 49ers, 55–10; the latter score remains the most lopsided scoring differential in Super Bowl history. The last year of the Reeves-Elway era were marked by feuding, due to Reeves taking on play-calling duties after ousting Elway's favorite offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan after the 1991 season, as well as Reeves drafting quarterback Tommy Maddox out of UCLA instead of going with a wide receiver to help Elway. Reeves was fired after the 1992 season and replaced by his protégé and friend Wade Phillips, who had been serving as the Broncos' defensive coordinator.[24][25][26] Phillips was fired after a mediocre 1994 season, in which management felt he lost control of the team.
In 1995, Mike Shanahan, who had formerly served under Reeves as the Broncos' offensive coordinator, returned as head coach. Shanahan drafted rookie running back Terrell Davis. In 1996, the Broncos were the top seed in the AFC with a 13–3 record, dominating most of the teams that year. The fifth-seeded Jacksonville Jaguars, however, upset the Broncos 30–27 in the divisional round of the playoffs, ending the Broncos' 1996 run.[16]
During the 1997 season, Elway and Davis helped guide the Broncos to their first Super Bowl victory, a 31–24 win over the defending champion Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXII. Though Elway completed only 13 of 22 passes, throwing one interception and no touchdowns (he did, however, have a rushing touchdown), Davis rushed for 157 yards and a Super Bowl-record three touchdowns to earn the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award—this while overcoming a severe migraine headache that caused him blurred vision.[27]
The Broncos repeated as Super Bowl champions the following season, defeating the Atlanta Falcons (led by Elway's longtime head coach Dan Reeves) in Super Bowl XXXIII, 34–19. Elway was named Super Bowl MVP, completing 18 of 29 passes for 336 yards, with an 80-yard touchdown to wide receiver Rod Smith and one interception.[26] John Elway retired following the 1998 season, and Brian Griese started at quarterback for the next four seasons. After a 6–10 record in 1999, mostly due to a season-ending injury to Terrell Davis, the Broncos recovered in 2000, earning a Wild Card playoff berth, but losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens. After missing the playoffs the following two seasons, former Arizona Cardinals' quarterback Jake Plummer replaced Griese in 2003, and led the Broncos to two straight 10–6 seasons, earning Wild Card playoff berths both years. However, the Broncos went on the road to face the Indianapolis Colts in back-to-back seasons and were blown out by more than 20 points in each game, allowing a combined 90 points.[16]
In the years following the back-to-back championships, a league investigation revealed that the team had cheated the salary cap in both seasons and the 1996 season by deferring additional money to Elway and Davis outside of the salary cap. In addition, they purposefully avoided waiving certain players before a certain date. Denver claimed the moves did not give them additional competitive advantage. Between two separate punishments, they were stripped of their third-round picks in both the 2002 and 2005 drafts and fined nearly $2 million combined.[28][29]
Plummer led the Broncos to a 13–3 record in 2005 and their first AFC West division title since 1998. After a first-round bye, the Broncos defeated the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, 27–13, denying New England from becoming the first NFL team ever to win three consecutive Super Bowl championships. They were the first team to beat the Patriots in the playoffs during the Tom Brady era. The Broncos' playoff run came to an end the next week, after losing at home to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship game, 34–17. The Steelers went on to win Super Bowl XL.
The Broncos' defense began the first five games of the 2006 season allowing only one touchdown — an NFL record that still stands. ESPN commentator and Super Bowl-winning quarterback Joe Theismann gave the 2006 defense the name "Bad Blue" on Monday Night Football as they played the Ravens. However, the team struggled down the season stretch. Plummer led the team to a 7–2 record, but struggled individually with inconsistent performance and more interceptions than touchdown passes. As a result, he would be replaced by rookie quarterback Jay Cutler. Cutler went 2–3 as a starter, and the Broncos finished with a 9–7 record, losing the tiebreaker to the Kansas City Chiefs for the final playoff spot. Cutler's first full season as a starter in 2007 became the Broncos' first losing season since 1999, with a 7–9 record.
The 2008 season ended in a 52–21 loss at the San Diego Chargers, giving the Broncos an 8–8 record and their third straight season out of the playoffs. Mike Shanahan, the longest-tenured and most successful head coach in Broncos' franchise history, was fired after 14 seasons.[30]
On January 11, 2009, two weeks after Shanahan was fired, the Broncos hired former New England Patriots' offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as the team's new head coach.[31] Three months later, the team acquired quarterback Kyle Orton as part of a trade that sent Jay Cutler to the Chicago Bears.
Under McDaniels and Orton, the Broncos jumped out to a surprising 6–0 start in 2009. However, the team lost eight of their next ten games, finishing 8–8 for a second consecutive season and missing the playoffs. The next season (2010), the Broncos set a new franchise record for losses in a single season, with a 4–12 record.[32] McDaniels was fired before the end of the 2010 season following a combination of the team's poor record and the fallout from a highly publicized videotaping scandal. Running backs coach Eric Studesville was named interim coach for the final four games of the 2010 season.[33] He chose to start rookie first-round draft choice Tim Tebow at quarterback for the final three games.
Following the 2010 season, Joe Ellis was promoted from chief operating officer to team president, while John Elway returned to the organization as the team's executive vice president of football operations.[34] In addition, the Broncos hired John Fox as the team's 14th head coach. Fox previously served as the Carolina Panthers' head coach from 2002 to 2010.[35]
Following a 1–4 start to the 2011 season, Tim Tebow replaced Kyle Orton as the Broncos' starting quarterback, and "Tebow Time" was born. Tebow led the Broncos with toughness, determination and miraculous come-from-behind victories which gave the Broncos hope and were the catalyst for better things to come. Tebow led the Broncos to an 8–8 record and garnered the team's first playoff berth and division title since 2005. The Broncos defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round on a memorable 80-yard touchdown pass from Tebow to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas on the first play of overtime, setting a record for the fastest overtime in
New York Giants
(3 backgrounds)
New York Giants 
Current seasonEstablished August 1, 1925[1]
First season: 1925
Play in MetLife Stadium
East Rutherford, New Jersey
Headquartered in the Quest Diagnostics Training Center
East Rutherford, New Jersey[2]
Logo Wordmark League/conference affiliations 
Team colors Dark blue, red, white[3][4]
Website giants.com Personnel Owner(s) John Mara, Chris Mara, Steve Tisch Chairman Steve Tisch President John Mara General manager Joe Schoen Head coach Brian Daboll Team history Team nicknames
Championships League championships (8)
1927, 1934, 1938, 1956Conference championships (11)
Division championships (16)
Playoff appearances (33)
Home fields
Team owner(s)
Franchise history[edit]
Mara family era (1925–1990)[edit]
Earl Potteiger years (1927–1928)[edit]
NFL champions (1927)[edit]
Steve Owen years (1931–1953)[edit]
NFL champions (1934)[edit]
NFL champions (1938)[edit]
Jim Lee Howell years (1954–1960)[edit]
NFL champions (1956)[edit]
Allie Sherman years (1961–1968)[edit]
Baltimore Ravens
(3 backgrounds)
Baltimore Ravens Current seasonEstablished February 9, 1996[1][2]
First season: 1996
Play in M&T Bank Stadium
Baltimore, Maryland
Headquartered in Owings Mills, Maryland[3]
Logo Wordmark League/conference affiliations 
Team colors Purple, black, metallic gold[4][5]
Fight song "The Baltimore Fight Song"[6] Mascot Poe (costumed mascot)
Rise and Conquer (live ravens)[7]Website baltimoreravens.com Personnel Owner(s) Steve Bisciotti[8] President Sashi Brown General manager Eric DeCosta Head coach John Harbaugh Team history Championships League championships (2)
2000 (XXXV), 2012 (XLVII)Conference championships (2)
Division championships (7)
Playoff appearances (15)
Home fields
Team owner(s)
History[edit]
Team name[edit]
Background[edit]
Return of American football in Baltimore[edit]
The early years and Ted Marchibroda era (1996–1998)[edit]
Brian Billick era (1999–2007)[edit]
2000: Super Bowl XXXV champions[edit]
2001–2007[edit]
Green Bay Packers
(13 backgrounds)
Green Bay Packers Current seasonEstablished August 11, 1919[1]
First season: 1919
Play in and headquartered at Lambeau Field
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Logo Wordmark League/conference affiliations
National Football League (1921–present)
Team colors Dark green, gold, white[2][3]
Fight song "Go! You Packers Go!" Website packers.com Personnel Owner(s) Green Bay Packers, Inc. (537,460 stockholders – governed by a Board of Directors)[4][5] Chairman Mark Murphy CEO Mark Murphy President Mark Murphy General manager Brian Gutekunst Head coach Matt LaFleur Team history Team nicknames
Championships League championships (13†[9][10])
Conference championships (9)
Division championships (26)
† – Does not include the NFL Championships won during the same seasons as the Super Bowls before the 1970 AFL–NFL mergerPlayoff appearances (36)
Home fields
Team owner(s)
Franchise history[edit]
Curly Lambeau years (1919–1949)[edit]
NFL champions (1929, 1930, 1931)[edit]
NFL champions (1936, 1939, 1944)[edit]
Vince Lombardi years (1959–1967)[edit]
NFL champions (1961, 1962, 1965)[edit]
Super Bowl I champions (1966)[edit]
Super Bowl II champions (1967)[edit]
Dallas Cowboys
(3 backgrounds)
Dallas Cowboys Current seasonEstablished January 28, 1960[1][2]
First season: 1960
Play in AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas)
Headquartered in Ford Center at The Star (Frisco, Texas)
Logo Wordmark League/conference affiliations 
Team colors Navy blue, metallic silver, royal blue, silver-green, white[3][4][5]
Fight song Cowboys Stampede March Mascot Rowdy Website dallascowboys.com Personnel Owner(s) Jerry Jones CEO Stephen Jones President Jerry Jones General manager Jerry Jones Head coach Mike McCarthy Team history Team nicknames
Championships League championships (5)
Conference championships (10)
Division championships (25)
Playoff appearances (36)
Home fields
Team owner(s)
Franchise history[edit]
Clint Murchison/Harvey Bright era (1960–1988)[edit]
Tom Landry years (1960–1988)[edit]
Super Bowl VI champions (1971)[edit]
Super Bowl XII champions (1977)[edit]
Jerry Jones era (1989–present)[edit]
Jimmy Johnson years (1989–1993)[edit]
Denver Broncos Inverted
(1 background)
Copyright (c) 2007. Anoop Menon
p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.Carolina Panthers
(1 background)
Carolina Panthers Current seasonEstablished October 26, 1993[1][2]
First season: 1995
Play in and headquartered at Bank of America Stadium
Charlotte, North Carolina[3]
Logo Wordmark League/conference affiliations 
Team colors Black, process blue, silver[4][5][6]
Mascot Sir Purr Website panthers.com Personnel Owner(s) David Tepper[7][8] President Kristi Coleman[9][10] General manager Dan Morgan Head coach Dave Canales Team history Championships League championships (0) Conference championships (2)
Division championships (6)
Playoff appearances (8)
Home fields
Team owner(s)
Franchise history[edit]
Beginnings[edit]
Jerry Richardson era (1995–2017)[edit]
John Fox years (2002–2010)[edit]
Ron Rivera years (2011–2019)[edit]
David Tepper era (2018–present)[edit]
Matt Rhule years (2020–2022)[edit]
Patriots
(1 background)
[[link]]s). However, do not replace these redirected links with a simpler link unless the page is updated for another reason (see WP:NOTBROKEN).Denver Broncos
(1 background)
Denver Broncos Current seasonEstablished August 14, 1959[1][2]
First season: 1960
Play in Empower Field at Mile High
Denver, Colorado
Headquartered at Centura Health Training Center in Dove Valley, Colorado[3][4]
Logo Wordmark League/conference affiliations 
Team colors Sunset orange, midnight navy, summit white[5][6][7]
Mascot Thunder (live horse)
Miles (costume suit)Website denverbroncos.com Personnel Owner(s) Rob Walton[a] CEO Greg Penner President Damani Leech General manager George Paton Head coach Sean Payton Team history Team nicknames
Championships League championships (3)
Conference championships (8)
Division championships (15)
Playoff appearances (22)
Home fields
Team owner(s)
Franchise history[edit]
Bob Howsam/Gerald Phipps era (1960–1980)[edit]
Edgar Kaiser/Pat Bowlen era (1981–2018)[edit]
Dan Reeves years (1981–1992)[edit]
Mike Shanahan years (1995–2008)[edit]
Super Bowl XXXII champions (1997)[edit]
Super Bowl XXXIII champions (1998)[edit]
Josh McDaniels years (2009–2010)[edit]
John Fox years (2011–2014)[edit]
Man Utd
