Art Modell Field Dedicated at Mervo

The Mervo Mustangs are the beneficiaries of the Ravens' generosity in the form of a new Sportexe turf field, which has been named Art Modell Field.  (Mitch Stringer/PressBox)

By: Keith Mills

Obie Barnes Sr. has watched area high school football improve dramatically in both performance and participation since the Ravens moved to Baltimore 14 years ago, and now Art Modell's legacy will live on at Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical in East Baltimore

Art Modell Field at Mervo was dedicated last week, triggering memories of a promise Modell made to the city when he moved his Browns in November 1995.

"I guarantee you," Modell said then, standing in an empty lot that is now M&T Bank Stadium, "my franchise will get involved in the community. We promise to become part of the community at every level."

Modell and the Ravens' commitment to high school football has been nothing short of extraordinary. It is being continued by current owner Steve Bisciotti, Chris McAlister and the Ravens' All Community Team Foundation, which donated $1 million for the Sportexe turf field Mervo will use along with the Northwood Youth Football Program.

It is the second city high school stadium the Ravens have renovated. Three years ago, the organization donated $1.26 million to add Sportexe to Lumsden-Scott Stadium at the Poly-Western complex on Cold Spring Lane.

"Mr. Modell set a standard to how his team would interface with the community," said Brian Morris, chief executive officer of Legacy Harrison Enterprises and a graduate of Mervo. "It has been an integral part of the community."

"I can't tell you how proud we are to be a part of this," Bisciotti told the Mervo and Northwood players on hand. "We want to be here when you need us. Obviously, this is in our strike zone. Our players care very deeply about the kids and how they are being raised and how they live."

Bisciotti and Modell attended last week's dedication at Mervo, as did McAlister, who along with Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Jason Brown, Dan Wilcox and countless other current and former Ravens, have made area high school football a top priority.

"I still hear from a lot of kids," Brown said. "They say, 'I want to play football or basketball, or I want to play a sport when I grow up.'"

Brown went to Northern Vance High School in Henderson, N.C., a small town in the north-central part of the state. He was the state champion in the discus and a two-way all-state lineman who went on to earn all-Atlantic Coast Conference honors at North Carolina.

"I was a country boy, and I didn't start playing football until the eighth grade,” Brown said. “I was either going to go home and do farm work, or I was going to stay at school and play football and hang out with some of my friends. My coach told me I could hit people if I played football. I liked that."

Brown speaks regularly to local middle and high school students. "Kids today don't say they want to be doctors or lawyers or firemen or truck drivers when they grow up," Brown said. "They say they want play a sport. You can't limit yourself to just one thing. There's so much you can do academic-wise to make you 10 times more successful than you would be as an athlete.

"I try to tell them God has given every single one of them a gift, and it's important at a young age to recognize that and be responsible at whatever you do. If I hung out with the wrong people, I would not be the person I am today.

"I tell the kids if you give 100 percent on the football field or basketball court, it's not guaranteed that you're going to make a pro team, but if you give 100 percent in the classroom, guess what? Going to college and getting a degree, that's guaranteed."

And what's guaranteed now at Mervo is another state-of-the-art field that will be shared by the high school and the community and one that will carry Modell's name.

Issue 3.35: August 28, 2008