The Baltimore Ravens have worn basically the same jersey combinations since their inception. The Ravens took the field for their first home game in 1996 wearing purple jerseys, black pants and a black helmet.
The original road uniform consisted of the same black pants and helmet, but instead, the Ravens wore a white jersey with numbers. Baltimore has worn other color combinations, such as: white pants and white jerseys; purple jersey with black pants; purple jersey and purple pants; and the purple jersey with gold pants.
But the ones they debuted in 2004 have become a favorite. The black alternate uniform featuring a purple collar, numbers outlined in gold and purple and plain black pants with solid black socks are the preferred combination for most of the players.
“They’re sexy,“ Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson said. “It’s a sexy color. I like the color.”
Since it’s an alternative color combination, the black jerseys only get pulled out for occasional events. Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen thinks that should change.
“I love the all-black. We should wear it more, honestly. That’s probably the best combo to me,” Queen said.
The black jerseys were the choice for Thursday night football’s clash with the division rival Cincinnati Bengals who also wear a black combination sometimes. Wearing that combination in prime time was just right for the Ravens, regardless of the outcome.
“All black definitely rings the bell for me,” receiver Rashod Bateman said. “They don’t really make a statement – it’s just uniforms. We have to go play football, so we’ll see.”
Jackson said playing in a prime-time game in front of the fans at M&T Bank Stadium is electrifying so he was pumped to be out there on the field in the all-black.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said he’s just excited to walk into the locker room and see any color jerseys hanging up. Whatever the color combination that’s being worn on a particular game day is the one Harbaugh likes the most.
“It just gets me psyched up. It’s like, ‘That’s what we’re going to battle with wearing tonight,’ and that’s the one I like the best – the one that we’re wearing. That’s just the truth,” Harbaugh said.
The Ravens are in the mix for another AFC North title and could challenge for the top seed in the conference when it’s all said and done. They’ll have some big challenges down the line when they face the Jacksonville Jaguars and San Francisco 49ers on the road along with home games against the Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers to close out the season.
If the Ravens rally to make their third trip to the Super Bowl and wear the black jerseys, it would be the first time they did so. Super Bowl XLVII against the 49ers featured the black pants with white jerseys in 2012. Baltimore wore the all-white combination in Super Bowl XXXV against the New York Giants.
There’s a lot of football to be played before then, but it would be cool to see the all-black combination in the biggest game of them all.