SEVERAL COLTS MAKE 50TH ANNIVERSARY TEAM; THREE RAVENS BORN

By Joe Platania

1969 -- The Pro Football Hall of Fame named the league's 50th anniversary team, and it included more than a few Colts. On the first team were tight end John Mackey, defensive end Gino Marchetti and quarterback John Unitas. Second-team honorees were wideout Raymond Berry and defensive tackle Art Donovan. Receiver Lenny Moore made the third team.

1973 -- The Colts traded a 1975 third-round pick to the San Francisco 49ers for guard Elmer Collett, who started at right guard for the next four seasons, helping the team to two of its three straight AFC East Division titles.

1976 -- Baltimore sold veteran tackle Ed George to the Philadelphia Eagles for an undisclosed cash amount.

1985 -- The Ravens' 2010 fourth-round draft pick, tight end Dennis Pitta, was born in Fresno, Calif.

1987 -- For the first time, players that were in the NFL before 1959 received benefit payments from team owners.

1988 -- Ravens wide receiver LaQuan Williams was born in Baltimore.

1988 -- The Ravens' 2010 second-round draft pick, nose tackle Terrence Cody, was born in Fort Myers, Fla.

1993 -- For the first time in six years, the NFL and its players agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement, a seven-year deal that guaranteed more than $1 billion in pension and health benefits for current and retired players. It helped the league achieve labor peace for the next 18 years.

1999 -- The Ravens agreed to a free-agent deal with receiver/returner Eric Metcalf, a multiple-threat player who is also the son of former St. Louis Cardinals star Terry Metcalf. But Metcalf never played a game for Baltimore after being released in early September.

2007 -- After 15 off-and-on years of operation, the league discontinued the costly NFL Europa offshoot, which had served as a developmental platform for younger players.

2009 -- Third-round draft choice Lardarius Webb (88th overall), one of the few Ravens ever taken from a FCS (formerly Division I-AA) school (Nicholls State), signed his first pro contract, a three-year deal.

Posted June 25, 2012