The Orioles were a perennial powerhouse in the 70's, going to three World Series'. In 1970, the Birds dominated the Big Red Machine and avenged their loss to the Miracle Mets of 1969. However, in 1971 and 1979 the Pirates were able to turn Series deficits into Championships.

The O's posted three 20-game winners in 1970 with Dave McNally (24-9) and Mike Cuellar (24-8) leading the way, followed by Jim Palmer, whose 20-10 record included five shutouts. Sweeping the Twins in the ALCS for the second straight year put the O's back in the Series against the NL champion Cincinnati Reds. However, the Big Red Machine proved to be no match for an Orioles team set on avenging '69's loss to the Mets. The Birds took the Series 4-1 for their second title behind the MVP play of Brooks Robinson who made several plays for the ages at third and batted .429.

Not satisfied with their pitching brilliance in 1970, the O's outdid themselves by posting four 20-game winners in '71. Pat Dobson joined McNally, Cuellar, and Palmer as the Birds went on to win 101 games. Again an ALCS sweep, over Oakland this time, put the Orioles into the World Series for the 3rd straight year where they would meet up with Roberto Clemente and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Clemente hit .414 and was the catalyst for a Pirates victory in a hard-fought seven game series.

Orioles Magic came to town for the 1979 season as the Birds always seemed to find a way. If it wasn't a home run from someone you least expected, it was a late-inning rally that willed the O's to victory. Mike Flanagan (above) took over as the ace of the staff going 23-9 with 16 complete games, five shutouts, and a 3.08 ERA on his way to the Cy Young Award. The team finished 102-57 and faced the Pirates in the World Series where history repeated itself as the "We Are Family" Bucs overcame a 3-1 series deficit to win the Championship on an RBI single by Willie Stargell in the 8th inning of the decisive seventh game.

The Orioles won 100 games behind the brilliant pitching of Scott McGregor (20-8) and Steve Stone (25-7, pictured above), who went on to win the Cy Young, but finished 3 games behind the Yankees in the division. On the other side of the ball, Al Bumbry had 205 hits for the season and batted .318.

Rookie Cal Ripken Jr. (above) made his presence known early on, going 3-5 with a homer on Opening Day. Eddie Murray made a bid for the MVP award hitting .316 with 32 HR and 110 RBI. Earl Weaver announced that this would be his final season at the helm of the O's. The Orioles had an up and down season but made a heroic final charge down the stretch that put them into a tie with Milwaukee Brewers on the final day of the regular season and it was a head-to-head matchup. Unfortunately, league MVP Robin Yount and the rest of the "Wallbangers" proved to be too much and the Birds finished one game back at 94-68.

Joe Altobelli became the new manager and took over an Orioles team on a mission. The mission looked to be derailed by several key injuries to players such as Jim Palmer, Mike Flanagan, Dan Ford, and Tippy Martinez, but the O's stayed the path and charged all the way to the World Series to face Pete Rose and the Philadelphia Phillies. It was MVP Rick Dempsey (above) who led the Birds to the Championship, batting .385 and throwing out the speedy Joe Morgan twice, as the Orioles claimed their third title and avenged the heartbreaks of the previous four seasons.