early in the 1999 season. That “gold” pick wound up being more like platinum, when the Ravens netted the No. 5 pick overall in the 2000 draft and landed Jamal Lewis, who ran them to a Lombardi Trophy on that sun-drenched day in Tampa.
“David never pretends to know football with Ozzie and me,” coach Brian Billick said of the sage advice Modell offered. “He lets us do our job as far as X’s and O’s. But he’s a kid who has grown up in this business all of his life and he gets our respect when he does say something because he’s not always hanging around and offering it. He has a clear grasp of the business and the game.”
Running the business would not be an easy assignment upon David Modell’s entry into Baltimore.
Virtually everything about the business was in chaos when the team arrived.
They had a small staff of people whom they trusted to make the transition from Cleveland, but no salespeople or office staff. Hell, they didn’t even have an office!
They had no logo. They had no letterhead. They weren’t even allowed to do business right away for nearly three months.
Memorial Stadium, where they were forced to play for two seasons, was in the final stages of decay. The state of Maryland was leaning on them regarding stadium funding for what would become PSI Net Stadium. Cleveland and its citizens were suing their ass off at every turn. The NFL brass and competing owners were steamed that the family moved to Baltimore and were in no hurry to aid the Modells.
David, who by his own admittance was “basically thrown out of college,” had most of the mess fall into his lap. He didn’t truly know what to do or what he was doing, but he took charge and learned along the way. He asked good questions and got good answers.
“Of course there is no advice in the world that will replace experience,” he now says.
Modell acquired a competent staff of trustworthy people, mainly with Baltimore roots, and together with his new employees immediately made a sound list of corporate values, goals and a mission statement that the new Baltimore Ravens would abide by.
If you walk up to him today, he’ll hand you a laminated business card with the following statements:
VALUES
WE WILL ACHIEVE OUR MISSION THROUGH:
- 100% COMMITMENT TO TEAM
- ACCEPTANCE OF ROLES AND ACCOUNTABILITY
- THOUGHTFUL AND THOROUGH PREPARATION
- ATTENTION TO DETAIL
- EFFICIENT EXECUTION
- THOUGHTFUL COMMUNICATION
- RESPECTING STAKEHOLDERS CONTRIBUTIONS (TEAMMATES, CUSTOMERS AND COMMUNITY)
- SACRIFICING FOR SUCCESS
- INNOVATION
ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS
- GO TO AND WIN SUPER BOWL
- BE RECOGNIZED AS A MODEL ORGANIZATION
- CREATE AND MAXIMIZE INVESTMENT TO WIN
- WORK VIGOROUSLY TO CREATE, PROTECT AND APPROPRIATELY ALLOCATE RESOURCES
- MAKE CUSTOMERS ECSTATIC
- MAKE A CONTRIBUTION TO OUR COMMUNITY
- REPRESENT COMMUNITY DIVERSITY
- HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ART’S WAY
“IF YOU ARE GOING TO GO, GO FIRST CLASS”
“COMPASSION IS THE GREATEST GIFT”
MISSION
THE BALTIMORE RAVENS’ MISSION IS TO WIN FOOTBALL GAMES. WE CAN ONLY ACHIEVE OUR MISSION IF WE ARE A TEAM OF PEOPLE ASPIRING TO BE THE LEADING PROFESSIONAL SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY. SETTING THE STANDARD IN COMPETITION, CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND BUSINESS PRACTICES IS OUR IMPERATIVE. HERE, THE EXTRAORDINARY MUST BE COMMONPLACE.
Despite the younger Modell’s clear vision and the elder Modell’s decision to move the team to the greener pastures of Baltimore, the same old demon of the Cleveland Browns haunted the family in Baltimore: money problems.
Modell might have escaped the money pit of Cleveland Stadium and the Cleveland Stadium Corporation, but the further debt he incurred with the move and the eventual buyout of his two partners from Cleveland, Robert Gries and Al Lerner, left him with precious little breathing space
(NEXT)
