
| Baltimore Colts | |
| Wordmark: | Indianapolis Colts 2002-2020 wordmark.svg |
| Established: | 1953 |
| Ended: | 1983 |
| City: | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Colors: | Royal blue, white |
| Owner: | Carroll Rosenbloom (1953β1972) Robert Irsay (1972β1983) |
| Coach: | Keith Molesworth (1953) Weeb Ewbank (1954β1962) Don Shula (1963β1969) Don McCafferty (1970β1972) John Sandusky (1972) Howard Schnellenberger (1973β1974) Joe Thomas (1974) Ted Marchibroda (1975β1979) Mike McCormack (1980β1981) Frank Kush (1982β1983) |
| Hist Yr: | 1953 |
| Hist Misc2: |
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| Nfl Start Yr: | 1953 |
| Division Hist: |
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| No League Champs: | 3β |
| No Pre1970sb Champs: | 1 |
| No Sb Champs: | 1 |
| No Conf Champs: | 5 |
| No Div Champs: | 5 |
| League Champs: |
|
| Sb Champs: | 1970 (V)β β Does not include 1968 NFL championship won during the same season that the Super Bowl was contested |
| Conf Champs: | |
| Div Champs: | |
| Playoff Appearances: | |
| No Playoff Appearances: | 10 |
| Stadium Years: |
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The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team based in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when its owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It was the second incarnation of the Baltimore Colts, the first having played for three years in the All-America Football Conference and one in the National Football League (NFL). The Baltimore Colts played their home games at Memorial Stadium.
See main article: Baltimore Colts (1947β1950). As the result of a fan contest in Baltimore, won by Charles Evans of Middle River in suburban eastern Baltimore County, the team was renamed the "Baltimore Colts". On September 7, 1947, wearing the green and silver uniforms, the Colts, under Head Coach Cecil Isbell, won their initial All-America Football Conference game in the A.A.F.C.'s second season, 16β7, over the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Home site for the new AAFC games in "The Monumental City" was the old 1922 Municipal Stadium (also known as "Baltimore Stadium" or "Venable Stadium" - located in previous Venable Park) on the north side of 33rd Street boulevard in northeast Baltimore, later renovated and rebuilt with an upper tier added the following year for use also by the new American League of major league baseball's relocated franchise, the Baltimore Orioles). The football team concluded its inaugural season before a record Baltimore crowd of 51,583 by losing to the New York Yankees, 21β7. The Colts finished with a 2β11β1 record, good for a fourth-place finish in the Eastern Division of the A.A.F.C. The Colts completed the 1948 season with a 7β8 record, tying the Buffalo Bills for the division title. The Colts compiled a 1β11 mark in their third season of 1949. Y. A. Tittle, later to gain Hall of Fame status a decade later with the NFL's New York Giants, was the Colts starting quarterback.
After four years of inter-league rivalry, competition, and player contract raiding, the A.A.F.C. and N.F.L. merged in 1950, and the Colts joined the reorganized new NFL, along with the San Francisco 49ers and the Cleveland Browns. After posting a 1β11 record for the second consecutive year, the NFL franchise of just one season was dissolved by the League on January 18, 1951. But many Baltimore fans protested the loss of their team and continued to support the marching band (the second in professional football, after that of the Washington Redskins) and fan club, both of which remained in operation ("in exile" status) and worked for the team's revival.
After two seasons without professional football, NFL Commissioner Bert Bell challenged the City of Baltimore under Mayor Thomas L. J. D'Alesandro Jr., in December 1952 to sell 15,000 season tickets within six weeks in order to re-enter the NFL. That 15,000-ticket quota was reached in just four weeks and three days.
The 1953 iteration of the Baltimore Colts traces its original roots to the Dayton Triangles of the NFL, and eventually the New York Yanks who played in Yankee Stadium in 1950 and 1951. Owner Ted Collins then turned the money-losing franchise back to the league, which sold it to Texan oil millionaire Giles Miller.
Miller moved the team to Dallas, where it played the 1952 NFL season as the Dallas Texans, with team colors of blue and white. This marked the first expansion of the NFL into Texas and the southern part of the United States. Fans stayed away from the bad Texans team in droves and on November 14, 1952, the Texans owner returned ownership of the NFL during mid-season.
On January 23, 1953, with the encouragement of the city's civic and business leaders, under the principal ownership of Carroll Rosenbloom, the NFL sold the assets of the defunct Dallas Texans franchise to Baltimore where, keeping the "Colts" nickname, the Texans team colors of blue and white were used. This is the franchise that exists today in Indianapolis in the modern National Football League.[1]
In 1953, the second incarnation of the Baltimore Colts took the field for the first time at Memorial Stadium (also used temporarily by the old Baltimore Orioles minor league team in the International League since the burning in July 1944 of their Oriole Park home farther southeast at Greenmount Avenue and 29th Street in Waverly). The stadium was being rebuilt and adding a second upper tier to old Municipal Stadium for use by the following year of Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles franchise in the American League, which moved that November from St. Louis, Missouri, where it had been the St. Louis Browns. The 33rd Street field was sometimes called "Baltimore Stadium" or "Venable Stadium" for its location in the former Venable Park along the north side of the 33rd Street boulevard. It was built as a football-only bowl in 1922 in only seven months and later expanded to hold almost 100,000 fans for the frequent high school and local collegiate/university games there during the following three decades), on September 27 to face off against the Chicago Bears. The Colts would go on to win the game 13β9 and stun the Bears. The team's lack of experience showed as the team finished 3β9. In 1955, the Colts had 12 rookies make the team. In 1956, quarterback George Shaw went down with a serious injury in the fourth game of the season. The Colts' unproven backup, Johnny Unitas, would go on to win half the remaining eight games to give the Colts a record of 5β7 for the season.
The Colts won their first NFL Championship in 1958, in a game widely known as the "Greatest Game Ever Played" for its dramatic conclusion. Quarterback Johnny Unitas marched the Colts downfield in sudden death overtime and Alan Ameche scored the winning touchdown on a 1-yard run. Much of the credit for Baltimore's success went to Hall of Famers Johnny Unitas, halfback Lenny Moore, and wide receiver Raymond Berry.
After the Colts' first NFL championship, the team once again posted a 9β3 record during the 1959 season and once again defeated the Giants in the NFL Championship Game to claim their second title in back to back fashion.[2] After the two championships in 1958 and 1959, the Colts did not return to the NFL Championship for four seasons. In 1963, Don Shula succeeded Ewbank as head coach.[3] In Shula's second season, the Colts compiled a 12β2 record, but lost 27β0 to the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Championship. In 1965 the Colts played the Green Bay Packers in a playoff to determine who would go to the NFL Championship game. The Colts were leading 10β7 over the Green Bay Packers with two minutes left to play when the Packers' kicker, Don Chandler seemed to barely miss a field goal.[4] The referee called it good and the Packers went on to win the game in overtime. The error precipitated changes to the rules: the NFL decided two referees would judge future field goals, and that the uprights should be raised by ten feet. In 1968 the Colts returned with the continued leadership of Unitas and Shula and went on to win the Colts' third NFL Championship and made an appearance in Super Bowl III. In 1968, Unitas was injured and replaced by Earl Morrall who became the league's MVP.
Leading up to the Super Bowl and following the 34β0 trouncing of the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Championship, many were calling the 1968 Colts team one of the "greatest pro football teams of all time"[5] and were favored by 18 points against their counterparts from the American Football League, the New York Jets.[6] The Colts were stunned by the Jets, who won the game 16β7 in the first Super Bowl victory for the young AFL. The result of the game surprised many in the sports media[7] as Joe Namath and Matt Snell led the Jets to the Super Bowl victory under head coach Weeb Ewbank, who had previously won two NFL Championships with the Colts.
Rosenbloom of the Colts, Art Modell of the Browns, and Art Rooney of the Pittsburgh Steelers agreed to have their teams join the ten AFL teams in the AFC as part of the AFLβNFL merger in 1970.[2] Rosenbloom hired AFL expert and hugely successful General Manager Don Klosterman who was the architect of both the KC Chiefs' Super Bowl '60s victory teams, the Oilers turnaround from bottom dweller to division champion in '67, and the original Chargers' personnel man whose teams took 2nd the first two years in the new AFL and won the AFL in 1963. The Colts immediately went on a rampage in the new league, as new head coach Don McCafferty led the 1970 team to an 11β2β1 regular-season record, winning the AFC East title. In the first round of the NFL Playoffs, the Colts beat the Cincinnati Bengals 17β0; one week later in the first-ever AFC Championship Game, they beat the Oakland Raiders 27β17. Baltimore went on to win the first post-merger Super Bowl (Super Bowl V), defeating the NFC's Dallas Cowboys 16β13 on a Jim O'Brien field goal with five seconds left to play.[8] The victory gave the Colts their fourth NFL championship and first Super Bowl victory. Following the championship, the Colts returned to the playoffs in 1971, winning their opening playoff game against the Browns 20β3, but lost in the second AFC Championship Game in Miami 21β0.
Citing friction with the City of Baltimore and the local press, Rosenbloom traded the Colts franchise to Robert Irsay on July 13, 1972, and received the Los Angeles Rams in return.[9] Under the new ownership, the Colts did not reach the postseason for three consecutive seasons after 1971, and after the 1972 season, starting quarterback and legend Johnny Unitas was traded to the San Diego Chargers.[2] Following Unitas' departure, the Colts made the playoffs three consecutive seasons from 1975 to 1977, losing in the divisional round each time. The Colts' 1977 playoff loss in double overtime against the Oakland Raiders was famous in that it was the last playoff game for the Colts in Baltimore and is also known for the Ghost to the Post play. These consecutive playoff teams featured 1976 NFL Most Valuable Player Bert Jones at quarterback and an outstanding defensive line, nicknamed the "Sack Pack."
Following this middle 1970s success, the Colts suffered a string of disappointing seasons, often finishing in last place in their division. Attendances began to dwindle in the early 1970s and remained that way for the rest of the team's tenure in Baltimore.
The Colts endured nine consecutive losing seasons beginning in 1978. In 1981, the Colts defense allowed an NFL-record 533 points, set an all-time record for fewest sacks (13), and also set a modern record for fewest punt returns (12).[10] The following year, the offense collapsed, including a game against the Buffalo Bills where the Colts' offense did not cross mid-field the entire game.[11] The Colts finished 0β8β1 in the strike-shortened 1982 season, thereby earning the right to select Stanford quarterback John Elway with the first overall pick. Both Elway and Southern Methodist running back Eric Dickerson β who was expected to be and was the second pick in the draft β flatly refused to play for the Colts.[12] Using his leverage as a draftee of the New York Yankees, Elway forced a trade to the Denver Broncos.[13] Behind an improved defense the team finished 7β9 in 1983, but that would prove their last season in Baltimore.
See main article: Baltimore Colts relocation to Indianapolis. The city of Indianapolis, Indiana, made an offer for the Colts franchise to move there. Baltimore was unsuccessful at persuading them to stay, so the city government attempted to get the state legislature to condemn the Colts franchise and give ownership to another group that would promise to keep the Colts in Baltimore. Oakland, California, had just had some success in court trying the same tactic with the Oakland Raiders. Under the threat of eminent domain from the city of Baltimore, the franchise moved to Indianapolis in the middle of the night on March 29, 1984.
The city of Baltimore did not give up and sued to condemn the franchise anyway and seize ownership. Baltimore did not prevail in court,[14] but eventually acquired a new NFL team in 1996 with the establishment of the Baltimore Ravens following the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy.
Many former Colts players were infuriated by the move. Among the most notable was Johnny Unitas, who opted to cut all ties with his former team after the incident.[15] Unitas aligned himself with the Ravens when they moved to Baltimore, and a statue of him was placed outside of M&T Bank Stadium.[16] On the other hand, Colts owner Jim Irsay held a reunion for the 1975 AFC East champion Baltimore Colts in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium in 2009. 39 of the 53 members of that team attended the ceremony, including Bert Jones, Lydell Mitchell, and Mike Curtis.
The NFL treats the Baltimore Colts and the Indianapolis Colts (including logos, history, and records) as one continuous franchise since 1953. Despite this, many former Baltimore Colts players, led by Johnny Unitas, disowned the Colts franchise after the move to Indianapolis, instead choosing to remain loyal to the City of Baltimore. These former players embraced the new Baltimore Ravens franchise when it arrived in Baltimore in 1996.[16] [17] [18] The Ravens do claim the history of the Baltimore Colts as part of their own and have added the Baltimore Colt Hall of Famers to the Baltimore Ravens Ring of Honor. The Ravens officially have no retired numbers, but out of respect for Unitas, only quarterback Scott Mitchell has worn the number 19, which he did in his lone season in Baltimore in 1999. The Baltimore Colts Marching Band, which continued to operate after the Colts moved, became Baltimore's Marching Ravens.
On the other hand, there have been many former Baltimore Colts players who have embraced the franchise as continuous, from Baltimore to Indianapolis. In 2009, Jim Irsay held a reunion of his favorite Colts team ever, the 1975 AFC East champions. Thirty-nine of the 50 players on that roster attended the reunion at Lucas Oil Stadium, including quarterback Bert Jones and running back Lydell Mitchell. Also, on February 5, 2012, at Super Bowl XLVI, Hall-of-Fame Baltimore Colts wide receiver Raymond Berry carried the Vince Lombardi Trophy to midfield to present it to the New York Giants, who had just defeated the New England Patriots.[19] He was given the honor due to the game being played at Lucas Oil Stadium, where the Colts have played since 2008.
Although the retired numbers of the Indianapolis Colts officially includes Unitas and others dating back to the Baltimore days,[20] the Indianapolis Colts Ring of Honor currently only includes players who have played in Indianapolis, with the exception of Chris Hinton, who played for the Baltimore Colts in his rookie season in 1983.
| NFL champions (1920β1969) | Super Bowl champions (1970βpresent) | Conference champions | Division champions | Wild card berth | One-game playoff berth |
| Season | Team | League | Conference | Division | Regular season | Postseason results | Awards | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Won | Lost | Ties | |||||||
| Baltimore Colts | ||||||||||
| 1953 | NFL | Western | β | 5th | 3 | 9 | 0 | |||
| 1954 | NFL | Western | β | 6th | 3 | 9 | 0 | |||
| 1955 | NFL | Western | β | 4th | 5 | 6 | 1 | Alan Ameche (OROY)[21] | ||
| 1956 | NFL | Western | β | 4th | 5 | 7 | 0 | Lenny Moore (OROY)[22] | ||
| 1957 | NFL | Western | β | 3rd | 7 | 5 | 0 | |||
| 1958 | NFL | Western | β | 1st | 9 | 3 | 0 | Won NFL Championship (1) (Giants) 23β17 | Weeb Ewbank (COY) | |
| 1959 | NFL | Western | β | 1st | 9 | 3 | 0 | Won NFL Championship (2) (Giants) 31β16 | ||
| 1960 | NFL | Western | β | 4th | 6 | 6 | 0 | |||
| 1961 | NFL | Western | β | 3rd | 8 | 6 | 0 | |||
| 1962 | NFL | Western | β | 4th | 7 | 7 | 0 | |||
| 1963 | NFL | Western | β | 3rd | 8 | 6 | 0 | |||
| 1964 | NFL | Western | β | 1st | 12 | 2 | 0 | Lost NFL Championship (Browns) 27β0 | Johnny Unitas (MVP)[23] Don Shula (COY)[24] | |
| 1965 | NFL | Western | β | 2nd | 10 | 3 | 1 | Lost Conference Playoff Game (Packers) 13β10 | ||
| 1966 | NFL | Western | β | 2nd | 9 | 5 | 0 | |||
| 1967 | NFL | Western | Coastal | 2nd | 11 | 1 | 2 | Johnny Unitas (MVP) Don Shula (COY) | ||
| 1968 | NFL | Western | Coastal | 1st | 13 | 1 | 0 | Won Divisional Playoffs (Vikings) 24β14 Won NFL Championship (Browns) 34β0 Lost Super Bowl III (Jets) 16β7 | Earl Morrall (MVP)[25] Don Shula (COY) | |
| 1969 | NFL | Western | Coastal | 2nd | 8 | 5 | 1 | |||
| 1970 | NFL | AFC | East | 1st | 11 | 2 | 1 | Won Divisional Playoffs (Bengals) 17β0 Won Conference Championship (Raiders) 27β17 Won Super Bowl V (3) (Cowboys) 16β13 | Johnny Unitas (WP MOY)[26] | |
| 1971 | NFL | AFC | East | 2nd | 10 | 4 | 0 | Won Divisional Playoffs (Browns) 20β3 Lost Conference Championship (Dolphins) 21β0 | ||
| 1972 | NFL | AFC | East | 3rd | 5 | 9 | 0 | |||
| 1973 | NFL | AFC | East | 4th | 4 | 10 | 0 | |||
| 1974 | NFL | AFC | East | 5th | 2 | 12 | 0 | |||
| 1975 | NFL | AFC | East | 1st | 10 | 4 | 0 | Lost Divisional Playoffs (Steelers) 28β10 | Ted Marchibroda (COY)[27] | |
| 1976 | NFL | AFC | East | 1st | 11 | 3 | 0 | Lost Divisional Playoffs (Steelers) 40β14 | Bert Jones (MVP, OPOY)[28] | |
| 1977 | NFL | AFC | East | 1st | 10 | 4 | 0 | Lost Divisional Playoffs (Raiders) 37β31 (2OT) | ||
| 1978 | NFL | AFC | East | 5th | 5 | 11 | 0 | |||
| 1979 | NFL | AFC | East | 5th | 5 | 11 | 0 | |||
| 1980 | NFL | AFC | East | 4th | 7 | 9 | 0 | |||
| 1981 | NFL | AFC | East | 4th | 2 | 14 | 0 | |||
| 1982 | NFL | AFC | 14th | 0 | 8 | 1 | ||||
| 1983 | NFL | AFC | East | 4th | 7 | 9 | 0 | Vernon Leroy Maxwell (DROY)[29] | ||
| Statistic | Wins | Losses | Ties | Win% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Colts regular season record (1953β1983) | 222 | 194 | 7 | ||
| Baltimore Colts post-season record (1953β1983) | 8 | 7 | β | ||
| All-time regular and post-season record | 230 | 201 | 7 |
Includes players that only played in Baltimore
| Baltimore Colts retired numbers | |||||||
| width=40px style=";" | No. | width=150px style=";" | Player | width=40px style=";" | Position | width=100px style=";" | Years played |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | 1956β1972 | ||||||
| 22 | 1953β1955 | ||||||
| 24 | 1956β1967 | ||||||
| 70 | 1953β1961 | ||||||
| 77 | 1957β1967 | ||||||
| 82 | 1955β1967 | ||||||
| 89 | 1953β1966 | ||||||
| Baltimore Colts Hall of Famers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | |||||||||
| No. | Name | Positions | Seasons | Inducted | No. | Name | Positions | Seasons | Inducted |
| 82 | Raymond Berry | WR | 1955β1967 | 1973 | 24 | Lenny Moore | HB | 1956β1967 | 1975 |
| 70 | Art Donovan | DT | 1953β1961 | 1968 | 77 | Jim Parker | OL | 1957β1967 | 1973 |
| 83 | Ted Hendricks | LB | 1969β1973 | 1990 | 34 | Joe Perry | FB | 1961β1962 | 1969 |
| 88 | John Mackey | TE | 1963β1971 | 1992 | 19 | Johnny Unitas | QB | 1956β1972 | 1979 |
| 89 | Gino Marchetti | DE | 1953β1964 1966 | 1972 | |||||
| Coaches and executives | |||||||||
| Name | Positions | Tenure | Inducted | Notes | |||||
| Coach | 1954β1962 | 1978 | |||||||
| Coach | 1980β1981 | 1984 | Inducted for playing Offensive tackle | ||||||
| Coach | 1963β1969 | 1997 | Shula was also a defensive back for Baltimore (1953β1956) | ||||||