Last year might have been an historic one for Ravens Roost No. 4, of Ellicott City -- 50-year anniversaries are worth celebrating -- but 2010 isn't off to a bad start.

Playoffs? Yes, we're talking playoffs, with the Ravens traveling to Foxborough, Mass., for a 1 p.m. game against the New England Patriots Sunday, Jan. 10. It's a new year and a new season.

So far, however, "we have no planned Roost trip," club president Jeff "Frosty" Volmer said. "We will all be gathering at our home bar, Jilly's, to watch the game."

Asked if he were hopeful, Volmer said, "Some people will say this means they are going all the way, but I say one game at a time."

For Ravens Roost No. 4, it has been one season at a time, starting in June 10, 1959, as Colts Corral No. 4. It is one of the oldest of the fan-based franchises and has an equally long history of charitable works in the community.

The club supported the Baltimore Colts over the years until the team left in Mayflower vans under the cover of darkness in 1984. Rather than disbanding, members stayed together and remained active even without a professional football team in town. Then they lent their support to the Baltimore Stars of the United States Football League and the Baltimore Stallions of the Canadian Football League.

When owner Art Modell left Cleveland and moved his team to Baltimore in 1996, the club became Ravens Roost No. 4. Today it is one of the largest Roosts with 98 active members, said Mitch Hooper, vice president of membership. Meetings are on the fourth Monday of the month, year-round, at Jilly's restaurant, in Ellicott City.

Volmer, an Ellicott City resident, has been a member since 1995.

"That was before the Ravens came here and we were supporting the Stallions," he said, noting that about 10 original members are still in the club today.

"I think that is one of the unique things about this club," he said. "I don't know how many Colt Corrals are still alive."

Regardless of the changes in the team on the field over the years, one thing has remained constant, Volmer said.

"It's a fan club supporting football in Baltimore. We were part of the team that was in town, whichever team that was during the years," he said. "Our club has just grown once football came back."

Keeping it together

Volmer credits longtime past president Jay Golibart with the group's longevity. It was Golibart, who Volmer refers to as "The Grand Poobah of No. 4," who kept the Corral going after the Colts left town.

Golibart has been a member for more than 30 years.

"I took over as president the year after the Colts left town," he said. It was a time when a lot of members were disgusted with the Colts and with football.

"They were just as soon ready to throw the whole thing away," Golibart said. "I didn't want to throw the whole thing away. I felt there was enough history there, enough passion that people felt for football. I didn't want to see that die."

The club took a vote to disband, but Golibart was able to convince about 15 people to stay on.

"I had five to 10 people show up to meetings," he said.

Old-timers had animosity toward the Colts for packing up and leaving for Indianapolis in the middle of the night and the experience left them turning their backs on football.

When the Ravens arrived, it paved the way for a fresh start and new members who didn't carry that bitterness.

"That got a lot more people involved in the club and got it to where it is now," Golibart said. "They appreciate the history that Baltimore has played in the NFL and they are very proud of it." Die-hard members still hate the Colts and it will always be that way, Volmer said.

"Now that they have been gone for over 25 years, we have a whole generation that has no ties to the Colts, and to that history," Volmer said. "Then you have some members who don't respect the history of what football was in this town because they never lived it. They are just Ravens fans and they don't want to hear about it."

Behind a club in Parkville, the club is the second-oldest Colts Corral still around.

"We take a lot of pride in that," he said.

Community service

The club's annual bull and oyster roast, held in late winter, raises money for the group's charity fund as does a golf tournament in the summer. The Roost prides itself on awarding two $1,500 scholarships a year to two county football players. The recipients are determined through a nomination process and input from their coaches.

Members also enjoy road trips to away games and, of course, tailgating when the Ravens are at home at M&T Bank Stadium.

For Amy and Geoff Lakis, the Roost has been a way of meeting people in a new community. The couple used to live in Anne Arundel County, then his job transferred the family to Iowa. When they moved to Ellicott City two years ago, they were looking for ways to fill the void of an empty nest and at the same time make new friends here.

"We thought, 'how are we going to meet new people in this new location?' " Amy said. Because they both like football and enjoy getting involved in community service efforts, they decided to join Ravens Roost No. 4.

"It has been very rewarding and we have met an excellent bunch of people," Amy said.

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