July 12, 2002: The Orioles option slumping second baseman Brian Roberts, 24, to Triple-A Rochester. Roberts “needs to believe in himself as much as everyone else believes in him,” manager Mike Hargrove says. Roberts will play 13 years in Baltimore, hit .278 and make the All-Star team twice.

July 16, 1996: A disappointing crowd of 200 fans turns out to watch the first day of practice for the Ravens, Baltimore's new NFL team, at Western Maryland (now McDaniel) College.

July 10, 1987: Maryland releases the names of six student-athletes who earned a perfect 4.0 academic average in the past school year. One is Richard Shure (Calvert Hall), a fullback on the football team and an economics major.

July 10, 1976: In an all-rookie game, the Colts defeat the Philadelphia Eagles, 21-20, before an announced 11,000 at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis. With less than two minutes left, 6-foot-6 Tim Baylor (Morgan State), one of the tallest safeties in NFL history, blocks a conversion attempt to seal the win.

July 13, 1969: The Orioles' 6-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox at Memorial Stadium gives left-hander Dave McNally his 13th straight win (15 in a row over two seasons). McNally is 27-2 since the 1968 All-Star break.

July 12, 1965: Jim Parker, the Colts' 275-pound lineman, helps police officer Joseph Snyder restrain a suspected drug dealer near his liquor store at Liberty Heights Avenue and Garrison Boulevard.

July 14, 1959: Milt Pappas, 20, wins his 10th game with a 3-1 defeat of the visiting Kansas City Athletics, matching his victory total of 1958. Roger Maris homers for the losers.

July 15, 1928: Jud “Boojum” Wilson gets four hits as the Baltimore Black Sox defeat the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants in an Eastern Colored League game. Wilson will be inducted posthumously into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.

Birthday

July 11, 1936: Jerry Richardson, onetime Colts receiver who caught a touchdown pass in the team's 1959 NFL title victory. He's now owner of the Carolina Panthers.

mike.klingaman@baltsun.com

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