HOF Profile: Jonathan Ogden
The NFL is full of personalities and that is what makes it a very appealing league as fans learn to love and hate players. There are the players who seem to be all about themselves and are more concerned with their own stats than if the teams wins. Then there are the players who are so competitive that nothing but a win can be tolerated making them extremely intense. There are also the bad boys of the league who play on, and sometimes over, the edge and make enemies of everyone but their own fans and teams. Football lends itself to these type of players as it is a game of intensity with hate as an easy motivator. Still there is room for some nice guys and these nice guys are the guys that show the best parts of competition. These nice guys do not take anything personally on the field as they go to the field and simply go for business. These guys are the type of players that will knock you down and be the first to help you back up. Jonathan Ogden was one of these players and it is part of the reason for him making the Hall of Fame. The writers are the people who vote for the Hall of Fame and there have been many times when the writers association has held a grudge against a potential Hall of Famer. Players who have no time for the press or concentrate on themselves do not get much sympathy from the press. Players like Ogden who always had time for the press, the fans, and his teammates are the people who everyone wants to see make it in. Through the intensity of a violent game Ogden shone through as a truly nice guy but more than that he was a very good nice guy.
Ogden was a lot more than just a nice guy in the NFL though as he meant everything to a city and was the building block of a franchise. In 1996 Baltimore would get what they had wanted ever since the Baltimore Colts left town in the middle of the night in 1950. The Cleveland Browns would move from Cleveland to Baltimore in 1996 to become the Baltimore Ravens. That year they would have two draft picks from the Browns’ last season and in the draft they would take two legendary players. Ray Lewis was the second pick in the first round of the draft and became the ultimate Raven who retired just this year. The first player the Ravens took was Jonathan Ogden who gained the moniker “The First Raven.”Ogden would play for the Ravens for 12 years and would be the building block of the relocated team. Around Ogden the Ravens would build an offence that would help the Ravens to Super Bowl XXXV. Only three years after the Ravens were relocated they would be Super Bowl Champions and Ogden was a big part of that. Helping to protect Trent Dilfer Ogden would be one of the most dominant tackles of the era. Without Ogden protecting the blindside the Ravens would have found it very tough to win a Super Bowl even with their great defence.
Jonathan Ogden, OT (1996-2007)
6’9” 345 lbs
Baltimore Ravens (12 years)
177 Games
– Super Bowl XXXV Champion
– 11 Time Pro Bowl Selection (1997-2007)
– 2002 NFL Alumni Offensive Lineman of the Year
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