Then and now: 1971 vs. 2024

It’s been a long time since this city has seen an AFC championship game played at home in Baltimore. Over five decades have passed since the Colts defeated the Raiders on Sunday, Jan. 3, 1971.

Since then, a new NFL football franchise has risen in Baltimore, along with home prices and hem lines. Here’s a look at some of the changes and what remains the same.

Sports

Then: The Oakland Raiders fall to the Baltimore Colts, 27-17, in the AFC championship game in Baltimore

Now: The Ravens take on the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Jan. 28, in the AFC championship game at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium.

News

Then: Apollo 14 lands on the moon with astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr., Stuart A. Roosa and Edgar D. Mitchell aboard. It was the third human landing.

Now: The Baltimore-based Space Telescope Science Institute’s James Webb Space Telescope continues to capture images from the N79 nebula star-forming region of the Milky Way galaxy.

Population

Then: 207,372,000, as of Sept. 1, 1971, according to U.S. Census estimates

Now: 335,893,238, as of Jan. 1, according to U.S. Census estimates

Income

Then: $10,290 was the median family income in 1971, marking the first year the amount went above $10,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. 

Now: $74,580, according to U.S. Census Bureau information based on 2022, the year with the most recent data

Food prices

Then: A&P Mart offered fresh whole chickens for 26 cents per pound

Now: Giant offers whole roasters chickens, drumsticks or thighs for $1.29 per pound, on sale

Gas prices

Then: Fill up for 36 cents per gallon, the national average retail gas price in 1971

Now: Fill up for $3.14 per gallon, the Maryland average retail gas price for regular gas as of Jan. 26, according to AAA

Car prices

Then: A new Ford Mustang hardtop was priced at $2,888, while a new Chevrolet Camaro cost $2,894, according to The New York Times. The Chevrolet Impala model started at $3,447.

Now: A new 2024 Ford Mustang starts at MSRP $30,920. 

Music

Then: “Joy to the World,” by Three Dog Night, was the top song of 1971, hitting no. 1. on the Hot 100 for six weeks in a row, according to Billboard Music

Now: “Yes, And?” by Ariana Grande, was the top song for the week ending Jan. 27, according to Billboard Music

Movies

Then: “Patton,” a World War II movie nominated for 10 Academy Awards. It won seven of those, including Best Picture in 1971

Now: “Oppenheimer,” a World War II movie nominated for 13 Academy Awards in 2024

Television

Then: “All in the Family,” starring Carroll O’Connor, was the highest rated TV show in 1971, followed by The Flip Wilson Show and Marcus Welby, M.D. 

Now: “Young Sheldon,” is the most-streamed TV title, while “NBC Sunday Night Football” leads traditional broadcast ratings, according to Nielsen’s most recent data

Business

Then: The first Starbucks coffee shop opens March 30, 1971, in Seattle’s historic Pikes Place Market.

Now: Starbucks plans for its U.S. store count to reach more than 16,300 in 2024, the company said in a news release last fall about its long-term growth strategy