Ravens Insider: Then and now: 1971 vs. 2024

ExtremeRavens · January 26

It’s been a long time since this city has seen an AFC championship game played at home in Baltimore. Over five decades have passed since the Colts defeated the Raiders on Sunday, Jan. 3, 1971.

Since then, a new NFL football franchise has risen in Baltimore, along with home prices and hem lines. Here’s a look at some of the changes and what remains the same.

Sports

Then: The Oakland Raiders fall to the Baltimore Colts, 27-17, in the AFC championship game in Baltimore at Memorial Stadium.

Now: The Ravens take on the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Jan. 28, in the AFC championship game at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium.

News

This image released by NASA last year shows the Tarantula Nebula star-forming region as captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. Since the telescope's launch in 2021, the Space Telescope Science Institute at the Johns Hopkins University's Homewood campus has been its earthly home base. File. (Associated Press) — Space Telescope Science Institute Office of Public Outreach/NASA via AP
This image released by NASA last year shows the Tarantula Nebula star-forming region as captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. Since the telescope’s launch in 2021, the Space Telescope Science Institute at the Johns Hopkins University’s Homewood campus has been its earthly home base. File. (Associated Press)

Then: Apollo 14 lands on the moon with astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr., Stuart A. Roosa and Edgar D. Mitchell aboard. It was the third human landing.

Now: The Baltimore-based Space Telescope Science Institute’s James Webb Space Telescope continues to capture images from the N79 nebula star-forming region of the Milky Way galaxy.

Population

Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun
The scene during an AL East division contest between the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees in front of a sellout crowd of 42,829 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 29.

Then: 207,372,000, as of Sept. 1, 1971, according to U.S. Census estimates.

Now: 335,893,238, as of Jan. 1, according to U.S. Census estimates.

Income

Then: $10,290 is the median family income in 1971, marking it the first year the amount goes above $10,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Now: $74,580, according to U.S. Census Bureau information based on 2022, the year with the most recent data.

Food prices

Then: A&P Mart offers fresh whole chickens for 26 cents per pound.

Now: Giant offers whole roaster chickens, drumsticks or thighs for $1.29 per pound, on sale.

Gas prices

Ulysses Muñoz/The Baltimore Sun
A man pumps gas Friday at a BP gas station in Federal Hill in South Baltimore.

Then: Fill up for 36 cents per gallon — the national average retail gas price in 1971.

Now: Fill up for $3.14 per gallon, the Maryland average retail gas price for regular gas as of Jan. 26, according to AAA.

Car prices

Automobile ADV Jan 3 1971 — Automobile ADVJan 3 1971

Then: A new Ford Mustang hardtop is priced at $2,888, while a new Chevrolet Camaro costs $2,894, according to The New York Times. The Chevrolet Impala model starts at $3,447.

Now: A new 2024 Ford Mustang starts at MSRP $30,920.

Music

Matt Sayles/Matt Sayles/Invision/AP
Ariana Grande performs a medley at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Los Angeles.

Then: “Joy to the World,” by Three Dog Night, is the top song of 1971, hitting no. 1. on the Hot 100 for six weeks in a row, according to Billboard Music.

Now: “Yes, And?” by Ariana Grande, is the top song for the week ending Jan. 27, according to Billboard Music.

Movies

Awards_Season_91268_aa538f-4.jpg?fit=620 — This image released by Universal Pictures shows Cillian Murphy in a scene from “Oppenheimer.” (Universal Pictures via AP)

Then: “Patton,” a World War II movie is nominated for 10 Academy Awards. It won seven of those, including Best Picture in 1971.

Now: “Oppenheimer,” a World War II movie is nominated for 13 Academy Awards in 2024.

Television

Then: “All in the Family,” starring Carroll O’Connor, is the highest-rated TV show in 1971, followed by The Flip Wilson Show and Marcus Welby, M.D.

Now: “Young Sheldon,” is the most-streamed TV title, while “NBC Sunday Night Football” leads traditional broadcast ratings, according to Nielsen’s most recent data.

Business

.A Starbucks sign is seen June 26, 2019, outside a coffee shop in downtown Pittsburgh. After ceasing sales of print newspapers, Starbucks announced Oct. 1 that it will offer customers free digital access to several newspapers for a limited time.Then: The first Starbucks coffee shop opens March 30, 1971, in Seattle’s historic Pikes Place Market.

Now: Starbucks plans for its U.S. store count to reach more than 16,300 in 2024, the company said in a news release last fall about its long-term growth strategy.

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