Historical clue formulations

• N.F.L. player in a purple uniform — 2026-02-04
• Literary bird with a one-word vocabulary, apparently — 2025-05-02
• Jet black, as hair — 2023-09-21
• Black bird — 2023-09-11
• Poem that begins "Once upon a midnight dreary," with "The" — 2022-10-04
• "Nevermore" speaker, in poetry — 2022-06-07
• Bird that "quoth" in a Poe poem — 2021-08-17
• Baltimore N.F.L.'er — 2020-02-19
• Shade of black — 2019-07-13
• Poe poem that starts "Once upon a midnight dreary," with "The" — 2017-12-04
• Baltimore footballer — 2015-07-13
• Lustrous black — 2014-09-28
• Trickster of American Indian mythology — 2014-07-20
• Poe bird that quoth "Nevermore" — 2014-05-19
• N.F.L. player with a black helmet — 2013-10-01
• Baltimore footballer — 2013-09-03
• Poe bird — 2012-11-12
• Black scavenger — 2012-03-24
• Baseball : Oriole :: football : ___ — 2011-05-15
• In a poem, it "perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door" — 2008-10-02
• Croaking flier — 2008-04-26
• Lustrous black — 2007-11-08
• Poe bird — 2006-06-19
• Baltimore athlete — 2006-06-06
• Poe bird — 2005-12-19
• See 109-Across, with "The" — 2005-11-13
• "Nevermore" speaker — 2005-09-28
• Mystery writer's award — 2004-01-24
• Talking bird of poetry — 2002-10-16
• Poe bird — 2002-05-12
• Shade of black — 2002-02-04
• Poe bird — 2001-06-25
• Poe called it "grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt and ominous" — 1999-12-28
• Poe visitor — 1999-02-23
• Ark's first disembarker — 1998-11-15
• Deep black — 1998-11-07
• Shade of black — 1995-12-30
• "Rapper" of verse — 1994-11-17
• "Nevermore" quoter — 1994-05-31
• Bird "perched upon a bust of Pallas" — 1994-01-11