When was the last time the AFC Championship was played in Baltimore? It's been decades
BALTIMORE – When the Ravens host the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday, it will be the first time Baltimore will host an AFC Championship game since the NFL/AFL merger in the 1970 season.
"We won the Super Bowl in 1971," former Baltimore Colt defensive back Rick Volk said. "I know the fans were on that dugout yelling at us as we were coming down to the locker room. Other than that, it's sort of a blur. There was a lot of noise. I know that."
The Baltimore Colts defeated the Oakland Raiders 27-17 in the 1970 AFC Championship Game, played in January 1971.
"The fans were addicted to the Baltimore Colts-it was just a wonderful atmosphere. To be honest with you, to be that young and be able to be on the field, I was in total shock when they asked me to do it," sports broadcaster Tom Davis said.
The game was played at Memorial Stadium on 33rd Street in Baltimore on a field the Colts shared with the Baltimore Orioles.
"They painted the dirt green, so it looked like grass. So, when you hit it, it came up like dust," Volk said.
NFL Films billed the game as the "Duel in the Dust."
"They called (Memorial Stadium) 'The Outdoor Insane Asylum.' That was the nickname for it because people were so crazy about the Colts and they cheered so much," Davis said.
Volk had an interception in the AFC title game, in what many considered a play that sealed the win for the Colts. He says he does not have much advice for this year's Ravens team other than to soak it in.
"You have to be prepared. It's a big game. You might not get in it again," Volk said.
