The Baltimore Ravens' first season was in 1996 after owner Art Modell relocated the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore. Modell also hired Ted Marchibroda to coach the team (an interesting choice because Marchibroada had, during his coaching career, coached the Baltimore Colts during the 1970s and the Indianapolis Colts during the 1990s). Ozzie Newsome, Cleveland's prolific tight end for many seasons, joined Modell in Baltimore as director of football operations - later promoted to Vice President/General Manager.

After three consecutive losing seasons, Marchibroda was succeeded by Brian Billick, who had served as the offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings the season before.

Under Billick's guidance, the Ravens made the playoffs for the first time after the 2000 season. After defeating the Denver Broncos in the first round of the playoffs, the Ravens bested the Tennessee Titans (owners of the regular season's best record) and the Oakland Raiders to win a berth in Super Bowl XXXV, where they defeated the New York Giants by a score of 34-7 in January, 2001, thereby becoming only the third wild card team to win a Super Bowl championship.

In 2001, the Ravens attempted to defend their title, but injuries and poor offensive performance stymied the team. They won a wild card berth again, and beat the Miami Dolphins in the first round, but we're soundly thumped by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the next round.

In 2003, the Ravens won their first AFC North division title. The Ravens lost to the Titans in a close first round game at home. After the season, Art Modell officially transferred ownership of the team to Steve Bisciotti, a local businessman, ending over 40 years of tenure as an NFL franchise owner.

--Wikipedia