Art Modell, Late Jewish Owner of Ravens, Falls Short in Hall of Fame Vote

Art Modell Image by getty images
Art Modell, the late owner of the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens, was eliminated in the first round of voting for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The first round of voting took place on Saturday. It was the first time that Modell had qualified as one of the 125 names on the eligibility list and reached the final 15.
Modell, who was Jewish, died last Sept. 6.
He moved the Browns, which he purchased in 1961, to Baltimore in 1996, where they became the Ravens. Modell sold the team in 2003.
The Ravens are playing the 49ers on Sunday in the Super Bowl in New Orleans.
“Honestly, I’m kvelling over this game,” David Modell, one of the late owner’s two sons and a former president and CEO of the Ravens, told JTA last week. “I’m not praying for results, I’m praying for the strength and courage of this team, and the rest will take care of itself.”
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.

