Team History

Professional football came to Indianapolis March 28, 1984, when Colts owner Robert Irsay moved the historic NFL franchise from Baltimore to Indianapolis—the friendly heart of the Midwest.

The roots of the franchise go back to December 28, 1946, when the bankrupt Miami Seahawks of the All-America Football Conference were purchased and relocated in Baltimore by a group headed by Bob Rodenberg. As the result of a contest in Baltimore, won by Charles Evans of Middle River, Md., the team was renamed the “Colts.”

On September 7, 1947, wearing green and silver uniforms, the Colts under Head Coach Cecil Isbell (formerly an All-American player and coach at Purdue University) won their initial AAFC game, 16-7, over the Brooklyn Dodgers. The team concluded its inaugural season before a record Baltimore crowd of 51,583 losing to the New York Yankees, 21-7. The Colts finished the year with a 2-11-1 record good for a fourth-place finish in the Eastern Division.

The Colts completed the 1948 season with a 7-8 record, tying the Buffalo Bills for the division title. The Colts compiled a 1-11 slate in 1949. The All-American Football Conference and the National Football League merged in 1950 and the Colts became a member of the NFL. After posting a 1-11 record for the second consecutive year, the franchise was dissolved by the league on January 18, 1951, because of its failing financial condition.

After two full seasons without professional football, NFL Commissioner Bert Bell challenged the franchise in December of 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 four weeks and three days.

On January 23, 1953, under the principal ownership of Carroll Rosenbloom, the NFL’s Dallas Team franchise was moved to Baltimore where, keeping the “Colts” nickname, the Texas team colors of blue and white were inherited.

Before their first NFL season, the “new” Baltimore Colts engineered one of the biggest trades in sports history. In a deal with the Cleveland Browns involving 15 players, Baltimore received 10 Browns in exchange for five Colts. Among the players who came to Baltimore in the deal were Don Shula, Bert Rechichar, Carl Taseff and Art Spinney. These players helped the Colts open the 1953 NFL season with a 13-9 upset of the Chicago Bears in a game where Bert Rechichar set a then-NFL record with a 56-yard field goal.

In 1954, the Colts hired Weeb Ewbank as head coach. Ewbank would guide the Colts for the next nine seasons (the longest tenure of any Colts head coach) and lead the club to its first divisional and world championships.

On November 30, 1958, the Colts clinched their first Western Division title with a 35-27 win over San Francisco before a record home sellout crowd of 57,557. Four weeks later, Baltimore won its first World Championship, downing the New York Giants, 23-17, in the fabled “sudden-death” overtime contest at Yankee Stadium. The Colts repeated as champion in 1959, clinching their second Western Division crown and defeating the Giants, 31-16 in Baltimore for the World Title.

In January, 1963, Don Shula replaced Weeb Ewbank as the team’s third head coach since 1953. During the 1963 campaign, quarterback John Unitas led the Colts offense to eight team records and set a then-NFL individual passing mark of 237 completions. The Colts won a club record eleven consecutive games in 1964, enroute to clinching their third Western Conference title and first under Shula. During that campaign, Raymond Berry caught his 506th career pass and Lenny Moore scored 20 touchdowns, both NFL records at the time. The following year, Baltimore tied Green Bay for the Western Conference title. With halfback Tom Matte quarterbacking the club because of injuries to John Unitas and Gary Cuozzo, the Colts lost a controversial 13-10 “sudden-death” playoff contest to the Packers.

Under Shula, Baltimore made its first Super Bowl appearance in 1968. The club finished first in the Coastal Division with a 13-1 mark, then defeated Minnesota, 24-14, in the Western Conference Championship game and blanked Cleveland, 34-0, for the NFL Championship. The team went on to face the American Football League Champion New York Jets in Super Bowl III, losing a 16-7 upset.

In May of 1969, the NFL merged with the AFL and Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Cleveland joined the old AFL teams to form the American Football Conference of the NFL. For the 1970 season, the Colts were situated in the Eastern Division of the AFC and on September 20, the club won its first AFC game, 16-14, over San Diego. In mid-December, Baltimore clinched its first Eastern Division Championship with a 20-14 win at Buffalo, then defeated Cincinnati and Oakland in the playoffs to win the AFC Championship. On January 17, 1971, the Colts defeated the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V, 16-13, on Jim O’Brien’s 32-yard field goal with five seconds remaining in the game.

In 1974, two young Colt stars established NFL records as running back Lydell Mitchell carried the ball 40 times against the New York Jets at Shea Stadium and quarterback Bert Jones completed 17 consecutive passes against the same Jet club later in the season. Mitchell set another mark that season, winning the league pass receiving title with 72 receptions.

In 1975, Mitchell would continue his record-setting pace by becoming the first running back in Colt history to rush for 1,000 yards, gaining 1,193 yards on 289 carries.

After posting a 2-12 record in 1974, Baltimore’s fortunes began to change with the hiring of Ted Marchibroda as head coach in February, 1975. Marchibroda led the Colts to three consecutive Eastern Division titles before posting back-to-back 5-11 seasons in 1978-79.

The Colts named Mike McCormack to replace Marchibroda as head coach in January, 1980. The Colts improved to a 7-9 record in 1980 before recording the worst record in club history to date with a 2-14 slate in 1981.

On December 21, 1981, the Colts named Frank Kush to replace McCormack as head coach. In addition, club owner Robert Irsay announced the appointment of Ernie Accorsi as general manager on May 16, 1982.

Under Kush’s guidance, the Colts recorded their first winning preseason record (3-2) since 1970. After two weeks of regular season play, a players’ strike resulted in the loss of seven games per team from the 1982 schedule, and each team played a nine-game schedule. The Colts finished the season with a record of 0-8-1.

The Colts received the first selection in the April 26, 1983, NFL Draft and selected Stanford quarterback John Elway. Six days later on May 2, the Colts traded Elway to Denver in exchange for the Broncos’ 1983 first round choice, offensive tackle Chris Hinton, along with quarterback Mark Herrmann and Denver’s first round choice in the 1983 NFL Draft.

In 1983, the Colts forged the biggest turnaround in NFL history for a team that had gone winless the previous season. The 1983 Colts were 6-4 after week 10 and then went 7-9 on the season. The Chris Hinton acquisition proved successful as the rookie earned a starting berth at offensive guard for the AFC in the Pro Bowl. The Colts’ running game came together as Curtis Dickey and Randy McMillan combined for just shy of 2,000 yards rushing to rank first in the AFC and second in the NFL.

Following the 1984 season, President Robert Irsay and General Manager Jim Irsay appointed Rod Dowhower as head coach on January 28, 1985. Dowhower posted a 5-11 mark that season with a club that rushed for a conference-leading 2,439 yards, fifth-best in the NFL. The team averaged 5.0 yards per attempt to lead the NFL, while marking the first time in a decade that an AFC team achieved that feat.

On December 1, 1986, Ron Meyer succeeded Dowhower as head coach. Meyer earned a 36-35 regular season record with the club before being succeeded by Rick Venturi on October 1, 1991. Ted Marchibroda returned to the Colts as head coach on January 28, 1992. Marchibroda led the Colts to a 9-7 record in 1992, the second time he guided the team to an NFL-best eight-game one-season turnaround. The Colts posted a 4-12 record in 1993 and an

The 1995 Colts earned a 9-7 record, then posted playoff wins at San Diego and Kansas City. The team dropped a 20-16 decision at Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship Game. Marchibroda’s tenure with the club ended on February 9, 1996. His 73 career victories tied Don Shula for most by a Colts head coach. Lindy Infante succeeded Marchibroda on February 15, 1996. The Colts earned a 9-7 record in 1996, qualifying for the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1975-77. Bill Polian was named president on December 22, 1997, one day after the club finished a 3-13 season. Jim Mora succeeded Infante as head coach on January 12, 1998.

In more than 40 years of National Football League competition, the Colts have achieved a 322-339-7 record, including three World Championships and 10 Conference or Division titles.

The success of the Colts franchise is exemplified by the number of Colts who have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A total of 10 Colts have been selected for enshrinement including Raymond Berry, Art Donovan, Ted Hendricks, John Mackey, Gino Marchetti, Lenny Moore, Jim Parker, John Unitas and Head Coaches Weeb Ewbank and Don Shula. (www.colts.com)


	Colts' Horses \| home Team History \| Schedule and roster \| news \| Statistics \| Related Links \| Contact Me Team History Professional football came to Indianapolis March 28, 1984, when Colts owner Robert Irsay moved the historic NFL franchise from Baltimore to Indianapolis—the friendly heart of the Midwest. The roots of the franchise go back to December 28, 1946, when the bankrupt Miami Seahawks of the All-America Football Conference were purchased and relocated in Baltimore by a group headed by Bob Rodenberg. As the result of a contest in Baltimore, won by Charles Evans of Middle River, Md., the team was renamed the “Colts.” On September 7, 1947, wearing green and silver uniforms, the Colts under Head Coach Cecil Isbell (formerly an All-American player and coach at Purdue University) won their initial AAFC game, 16-7, over the Brooklyn Dodgers. The team concluded its inaugural season before a record Baltimore crowd of 51,583 losing to the New York Yankees, 21-7. The Colts finished the year with a 2-11-1 record good for a fourth-place finish in the Eastern Division. The Colts completed the 1948 season with a 7-8 record, tying the Buffalo Bills for the division title. The Colts compiled a 1-11 slate in 1949. The All-American Football Conference and the National Football League merged in 1950 and the Colts became a member of the NFL. After posting a 1-11 record for the second consecutive year, the franchise was dissolved by the league on January 18, 1951, because of its failing financial condition. After two full seasons without professional football, NFL Commissioner Bert Bell challenged the franchise in December of 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 four weeks and three days. On January 23, 1953, under the principal ownership of Carroll Rosenbloom, the NFL’s Dallas Team franchise was moved to Baltimore where, keeping the “Colts” nickname, the Texas team colors of blue and white were inherited. Before their first NFL season, the “new” Baltimore Colts engineered one of the biggest trades in sports history. In a deal with the Cleveland Browns involving 15 players, Baltimore received 10 Browns in exchange for five Colts. Among the players who came to Baltimore in the deal were Don Shula, Bert Rechichar, Carl Taseff and Art Spinney. These players helped the Colts open the 1953 NFL season with a 13-9 upset of the Chicago Bears in a game where Bert Rechichar set a then-NFL record with a 56-yard field goal. In 1954, the Colts hired Weeb Ewbank as head coach. Ewbank would guide the Colts for the next nine seasons (the longest tenure of any Colts head coach) and lead the club to its first divisional and world championships. On November 30, 1958, the Colts clinched their first Western Division title with a 35-27 win over San Francisco before a record home sellout crowd of 57,557. Four weeks later, Baltimore won its first World Championship, downing the New York Giants, 23-17, in the fabled “sudden-death” overtime contest at Yankee Stadium. The Colts repeated as champion in 1959, clinching their second Western Division crown and defeating the Giants, 31-16 in Baltimore for the World Title. In January, 1963, Don Shula replaced Weeb Ewbank as the team’s third head coach since 1953. During the 1963 campaign, quarterback John Unitas led the Colts offense to eight team records and set a then-NFL individual passing mark of 237 completions. The Colts won a club record eleven consecutive games in 1964, enroute to clinching their third Western Conference title and first under Shula. During that campaign, Raymond Berry caught his 506th career pass and Lenny Moore scored 20 touchdowns, both NFL records at the time. The following year, Baltimore tied Green Bay for the Western Conference title. With halfback Tom Matte quarterbacking the club because of injuries to John Unitas and Gary Cuozzo, the Colts lost a controversial 13-10 “sudden-death” playoff contest to the Packers. Under Shula, Baltimore made its first Super Bowl appearance in 1968. The club finished first in the Coastal Division with a 13-1 mark, then defeated Minnesota, 24-14, in the Western Conference Championship game and blanked Cleveland, 34-0, for the NFL Championship. The team went on to face the American Football League Champion New York Jets in Super Bowl III, losing a 16-7 upset. In May of 1969, the NFL merged with the AFL and Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Cleveland joined the old AFL teams to form the American Football Conference of the NFL. For the 1970 season, the Colts were situated in the Eastern Division of the AFC and on September 20, the club won its first AFC game, 16-14, over San Diego. In mid-December, Baltimore clinched its first Eastern Division Championship with a 20-14 win at Buffalo, then defeated Cincinnati and Oakland in the playoffs to win the AFC Championship. On January 17, 1971, the Colts defeated the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V, 16-13, on Jim O’Brien’s 32-yard field goal with five seconds remaining in the game. In July, 1972, the Colts came under new ownership as Robert Irsay acquired the club from Carroll Rosenbloom in exchange for the Los Angeles Rams. In 1974, two young Colt stars established NFL records as running back Lydell Mitchell carried the ball 40 times against the New York Jets at Shea Stadium and quarterback Bert Jones completed 17 consecutive passes against the same Jet club later in the season. Mitchell set another mark that season, winning the league pass receiving title with 72 receptions. In 1975, Mitchell would continue his record-setting pace by becoming the first running back in Colt history to rush for 1,000 yards, gaining 1,193 yards on 289 carries. After posting a 2-12 record in 1974, Baltimore’s fortunes began to change with the hiring of Ted Marchibroda as head coach in February, 1975. Marchibroda led the Colts to three consecutive Eastern Division titles before posting back-to-back 5-11 seasons in 1978-79. The Colts named Mike McCormack to replace Marchibroda as head coach in January, 1980. The Colts improved to a 7-9 record in 1980 before recording the worst record in club history to date with a 2-14 slate in 1981. On December 21, 1981, the Colts named Frank Kush to replace McCormack as head coach. In addition, club owner Robert Irsay announced the appointment of Ernie Accorsi as general manager on May 16, 1982. Under Kush’s guidance, the Colts recorded their first winning preseason record (3-2) since 1970. After two weeks of regular season play, a players’ strike resulted in the loss of seven games per team from the 1982 schedule, and each team played a nine-game schedule. The Colts finished the season with a record of 0-8-1. The Colts received the first selection in the April 26, 1983, NFL Draft and selected Stanford quarterback John Elway. Six days later on May 2, the Colts traded Elway to Denver in exchange for the Broncos’ 1983 first round choice, offensive tackle Chris Hinton, along with quarterback Mark Herrmann and Denver’s first round choice in the 1983 NFL Draft. In 1983, the Colts forged the biggest turnaround in NFL history for a team that had gone winless the previous season. The 1983 Colts were 6-4 after week 10 and then went 7-9 on the season. The Chris Hinton acquisition proved successful as the rookie earned a starting berth at offensive guard for the AFC in the Pro Bowl. The Colts’ running game came together as Curtis Dickey and Randy McMillan combined for just shy of 2,000 yards rushing to rank first in the AFC and second in the NFL. Following the 1984 season, President Robert Irsay and General Manager Jim Irsay appointed Rod Dowhower as head coach on January 28, 1985. Dowhower posted a 5-11 mark that season with a club that rushed for a conference-leading 2,439 yards, fifth-best in the NFL. The team averaged 5.0 yards per attempt to lead the NFL, while marking the first time in a decade that an AFC team achieved that feat. On December 1, 1986, Ron Meyer succeeded Dowhower as head coach. Meyer earned a 36-35 regular season record with the club before being succeeded by Rick Venturi on October 1, 1991. Ted Marchibroda returned to the Colts as head coach on January 28, 1992. Marchibroda led the Colts to a 9-7 record in 1992, the second time he guided the team to an NFL-best eight-game one-season turnaround. The Colts posted a 4-12 record in 1993 and an 8-8 mark in 1994. The 1995 Colts earned a 9-7 record, then posted playoff wins at San Diego and Kansas City. The team dropped a 20-16 decision at Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship Game. Marchibroda’s tenure with the club ended on February 9, 1996. His 73 career victories tied Don Shula for most by a Colts head coach. Lindy Infante succeeded Marchibroda on February 15, 1996. The Colts earned a 9-7 record in 1996, qualifying for the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1975-77. Bill Polian was named president on December 22, 1997, one day after the club finished a 3-13 season. Jim Mora succeeded Infante as head coach on January 12, 1998. In more than 40 years of National Football League competition, the Colts have achieved a 322-339-7 record, including three World Championships and 10 Conference or Division titles. The success of the Colts franchise is exemplified by the number of Colts who have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A total of 10 Colts have been selected for enshrinement including Raymond Berry, Art Donovan, Ted Hendricks, John Mackey, Gino Marchetti, Lenny Moore, Jim Parker, John Unitas and Head Coaches Weeb Ewbank and Don Shula. (www.colts.com)