During recent scouting assignments at Second Chance, Inc., the massive salvage emporium in South Baltimore, I came across reminders of the Ravens’ first Super Bowl victory 25 years ago — large items from the homes of the team’s owner and head coach.
On the last Sunday in January 2001, the Ravens defeated the New York Giants 34–7 in Super Bowl XXXV at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. The majority owner of the team at the time was the late Art Modell, the man who moved his Cleveland Browns to Baltimore to become the Ravens in the 1990s. The head coach, in just his second season, was Brian Billick.
At Second Chance, there are big references to both men.
A set of tall, Empire-style cabinets — or perhaps trophy cases — came from Modell’s Cockeysville mansion a few years ago. The custom-made cabinets were just recently sold.
The Billick doors at Second Chance
Still for sale are huge front doors from the six-bedroom mansion that Billick and his wife, Kim, built in Queenstown, on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
A color photograph of the doors appeared in an at-home-with feature published in 2010 by Baltimore magazine.
The Billicks had built their mansion on 15 acres of riverfront during Brian’s tenure as head coach. According to the magazine, the place was still under construction in 2007, when Steve Bisciotti, who had purchased majority ownership of the Ravens from Modell, fired Billick. The Ravens managed just five wins against 11 losses in 2007, and the head coach got the boot after the last game of the season.
“The good news is, I still have three years of my [$5 million per year] contract left, so I’m not going to run out of money,” Billick reportedly told the builder of his mansion.
According to records, the Billicks sold the house in 2020 for $6 million. Apparently, the people who bought the place had other ideas for an entranceway. The original doors, as big as those on most churches, are still for sale at Second Chance, priced at $22,000.
Dan Rodricks writes weekly for Baltimore Fishbowl. He can be reached at djrodricks@gmail.com
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