20 most obscure team nicknames in pro sports

6. Baltimore Ravens (NFL)

PATRICK SEMANSKY/AP
Baltimore Ravens first round draft pick Matt Elam, a safety from the University of Florida, speaks at an NFL news conference at the team's practice facility in Owings Mills, Md., Friday, April 26, 2013. Elam was selected 32nd overall in the NFL draft.

The reigning Super Bowl champions credit Edgar Allan Poe, who lived in Baltimore, with inspiring the team’s nickname. In fact, it can be traced to Poe’s most famous poem, “The Raven,” published in 1845, which begins, “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary.…” Ravens are a type of large crow with a sharp beak, just the kind of menacing appearance well suited to a football team.

6 of 20
You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.