Indianapolis Colts

There have been two unrelated NFL teams called the Baltimore Colts. The first Colts team started in the All-America Football Conference in 1946 as the Miami Seahawks. They moved to Baltimore in 1947. In 1950, they joined the National Football League and finished the season with a record of 1-11. They folded after the 1950 season; however, supporting groups such as a fan club and the NFL's second marching band remained in operation and worked for the team's revival.

The NFL Baltimore Colts

The team that is currently the Indianapolis Colts has taken a long trip to get to where they are today.

In 1953, a Baltimore-based group led by Carroll Rosenbloom won the rights to a new Baltimore franchise. Rosenbloom was awarded the remains of the Dallas Texans. The Texans themselves started as the Boston Yanks in 1944 before moving to New York as the Bulldogs in 1949. They then became the Yanks in 1950. Many of the players from the New York Yankees of the All-America Football Conference were added to the team. The Yanks moved to Dallas after the 1951 season. However, the NFL regards the Colts as a 1953 expansion team.

The Colts were the first NFL team to have cheerleaders, and the old Colts' fan club and marching band became part of the new franchise.

In 1958, coached by Hall of Famer Weeb Ewbank and led by Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas, the Colts defeated the New York Giants at Yankee Stadium 23-17 in the NFL championship game, an overtime contest sometimes called "The Greatest Game Ever Played". The Colts repeated as NFL champions in 1959, beating the Giants again, 31-16. In the early 1960s, the Colts continued as an elite NFL team although they lost the NFL championship game in 1964 to the Cleveland Browns, 27-0.

The 1967 Colts entered the final week of the regular season undefeated, but then a 34-10 loss to the Rams at Los Angeles kept them out of the playoffs as the result gave both teams a final record of 11-1-2, with the Rams being awarded first place in the Western Conference's Coastal Division because they won the head-to-head series (the first meeting between the two teams, at Baltimore, ended in a 24-24 tie).

In 1968, after a 13-1 season, they gained a measure of revenge against the Browns, defeating them 34-0 in the NFL championship game. The 13-1 regular season and the trouncing of the Browns led NFL-based media to call the Colts "the greatest pro football team of all time". The Colts went into Super Bowl III (the first in the series to officially be called the Super Bowl) against the American Football League's New York Jets as 17-point favorites, with NFL icons like Pro Bowlers Bobby Boyd (db), Mike Curtis (lb), John Mackey (te), Tom Matte (rb), Fred Miller (dl), Earl Morrall (qb), Willie Richardson (wr), and Bob Vogel (ol).

The result of the game was one of the greatest upsets in sports history as Joe Namath and Matt Snell led the American Football League champion Jets to a World Championship over the NFL's Colts, 16-7. Ironically, the Jets were coached by Weeb Ewbank, who had previously led the Colts to two NFL titles.

The Super Bowl letdown had an effect on the Colts as they only won 8 games in the 1969 season and missed the playoffs.

Rosenbloom, Art Modell of the Browns, and Art Rooney of the Pittsburgh Steelers facilitated the NFL merger with the American Football League, by joining the ten AFL teams in the AFC. After the NFL merged with the AFL in 1970, the Colts went on a rampage, as new head coach Don Mccafferty and a new, improved defense led by Mike Curtis, the Colts won 11 games, took the AFC East Title, in the first round of the NFL Playoffs, they beat the Cincinnati Bengals 21-0, one week later in the AFC Championship, they beat the Oakland Raiders 27-17. Baltimore went on to win the first post-merger Super Bowl (Super Bowl V) against the NFC's Dallas Cowboys 16-13, on a Jim O'Brien field goal, with 5 seconds left to play. Since there was only one league after 1969, the Colts' 1970 Super Bowl win was the NFL championship, as were all Super Bowls thereafter. In 1971, the Colts made it back to the NFL Playoffs, they defeated the Cleveland Browns in the first round, but lost to the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Championship on January 2 1972 21-0.

On July 13, 1972, Rosenbloom traded the Colts to Robert Irsay for the Los Angeles Rams, but the players remained in their same respective cities. The Colts made the playoffs four more times in the 1970s - a wild card in 1971 and three consecutive AFC East titles in 1975 through 1977 (led in these latter years by the NFL's best defensive line, known colloquially as the "Sack Pack"), but then endured nine consecutive losing seasons beginning in 1978. In 1981, the defense was the main problem: The Colts allowed an NFL-record 533 points, and also set an all-time record for fewest sacks (13) and a modern record for fewest punt returns (12). The following year the offense collapsed: On November 28, 1982, the Colts' offense did not cross mid-field in an entire game, played at Buffalo against the Bills; this would not happen again in an NFL game until 2000. The Colts also finished 0-8-1 in 1982, only nine games having been played that year due to a 57-day players' strike.

Relocation to Indianapolis

By early 1984, Irsay threatened to move the team unless Baltimore city officials helped pay for a new stadium and other concessions. Despite numerous public announcements that he would not move the Colts out of Baltimore, and the Maryland legislature threatening to give the city of Baltimore the right to seize the team by eminent domain, Irsay secretly negotiated with Indianapolis to move the team. The Indiana capital agreed to give the team a $12.5 million loan, a $4 million training complex, and the use of the Hoosier Dome . After signing the agreement, Mayflower Transit trucks rolled into the team's training complex in the wee hours of March 28. Workers then packed and shipped the team's offices and equipment to Indianapolis.

The move triggered a flurry of legal activity that ended when representatives of Baltimore and the Colts organization reached a settlement on March 1986 in which all lawsuits regarding the relocation would be dismissed, and the Colts would endorse a new NFL team for Baltimore. Nonetheless, most of the prominent old-time Colts (many of whom had settled in the Baltimore area) were so outraged at how Baltimore had been treated that they cut all ties to the relocated team. Unitas, for instance, asked the Hall of Fame on numerous occasions to remove his display unless it was listed as belonging to the Baltimore Colts. Many former Colts players actively worked to bring the NFL back to Baltimore.

Several years later on November 6, 1995, Browns owner Art Modell announced his intention to move his Browns team to Baltimore. The decision also triggered a flurry of legal activity. Modell originally intended to take the Browns name with him to Baltimore. However, many Baltimore fans sympathized with the hostility Modell faced in Cleveland. They felt that Irsay stole Baltimore's football history when he moved the Colts a decade before. In their view, Modell would be doing the same thing to Cleveland if he called his team the "Baltimore Browns," and it would be grossly hypocritical for Baltimore to steal one city's football history after having its own history stolen. Finally, representatives of both cities and the NFL reached a settlement on February 9, 1996. It stipulated that the Browns' name, colors, and history of the franchise were to remain in Cleveland. A reactivated Cleveland Browns team would then begin play in 1999. Modell would be allowed to take his players and organization to Baltimore, but it would be technically regarded as an expansion team. However, the Irsay family did not grant the city of Baltimore the rights to the Colts' name or colors. Therefore, the new team was named the Ravens after a fan vote.

The NFL regards the pre-1984 Baltimore Colts organization and the current Indianapolis Colts as one franchise dating to 1953, and the Ravens as a 1996 expansion team. However, most of the Colts' former players and many Baltimore fans still unhappy at Irsay, regard the pre-1984 Colts and the current Ravens as one franchise. Former Colts players frequently attend Ravens games and often receive standing ovations when their pictures are shown on the JumboTron at M&T Bank Stadium. Unitas, for example, was frequently seen on the Ravens' sidelines prior to his death in 2002. In fact, the old Colts marching band and fan club became part of the Ravens organization after waiting 13 years for the NFL's return to Baltimore. And shortly after Unitas' death, he and seven other Hall of Fame Colts players were inducted into the Ravens' Ring of Honor. [1]

When Unitas died, the NFL did not allow the Colts to honor him with a patch on their helmets and uniforms, reserving that privilege to the Ravens. [2] It is believed that this gesture was a partial acknowledgment of the still-lingering antipathy toward Irsay in the Baltimore area. However, when a similar situation arose in 1999 after the death of former Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton, the league only allowed the Bears to honor Payton with a patch on their helmets and uniforms. [3]

The Colts would not return to Baltimore until they played the Ravens at their new stadium on November 29, 1998.

The Colts' final game in Baltimore was played on December 18, 1983 against the Houston Oilers. The Oilers would, thirteen years later from this day, play their final game before moving to Tennessee against the Baltimore Ravens at Memorial Stadium.

The years in Indianapolis

Since 1984, the Colts have had mixed success. They have appeared in the playoffs seven seasons since then, with their best advance to the AFC championship game in 1995, when they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-16, and in 2003, when they won the AFC South Division title, defeated the Denver Broncos in the wild-card playoff (41-10), and advanced to play the Kansas City Chiefs in a divisional playoff, winning 38-31. In the AFC Championship game, they were decisively defeated 24-14 by the eventual Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots, with quarterback Peyton Manning throwing four interceptions, in a game which was widely criticized for its minimal officiating (only seven penalties were called during the entire game, six of them were pre-snap fouls).

2004 season

In the 2004 season, the Colts hoped to make another trip to the postseason. After losing in Week 1 to the defending champion New England Patriots 27-24 in Foxboro, they won four straight games before their week 6 bye. During that streak, they beat the Tennessee Titans in Nashville 31-17, won in the week 3 home opener against the Green Bay Packers 45-31, and then tied for the AFC South with a victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars at Alltel Stadium 24-17. They won at home against the Oakland Raiders 35-14 but coming off of their bye week, the Colts lost the next 2 games. They lost the rematch against the Jaguars at home, 27-24, and lost to the revenge-hungry Kansas City Chiefs, 45-35. Following these back-to-back defeats, the Colts began an 8-game winning streak. They won their next 2 home games, beating the Minnesota Vikings 31-28 & the Houston Texans 49-14. Then, they won their next 2 road games, beating the Chicago Bears 41-10 & the Detroit Lions 41-9. They returned home and got a series sweep over the Titans 51-24, which also marked the 4th game in a row in which the Colts won with 40+ points. It also marked the 5th game in a row in which they won with 30+ points. On a trip to Houston with a win, they achieved another series sweep, this time over the Texans 23-14. With that victory, the Colts locked up the AFC South title for the second year in a row.

In their week 16 home game against the playoff-bound San Diego Chargers, Peyton Manning was only a few touchdown passes away from breaking Dan Marino's record of 48 TD passes in a single season. Trailing 31-16, Dominic Rhodes returned a kickoff 88 yards for a TD. With 4:47 left in regulation, Peyton Manning waived the punting team off, despite the fact that it was 4th & 4 on the Colts 25 yard-line. His gamble worked with a complete pass to Reggie Wayne for a first down. He then completed two more passes to tight end Dallas Clark & an 18-yard throw to Marvin Harrison. He finally broke Marino's record with TD Pass #49 to wide receiver Brandon Stokley. He completed a 2-point conversion to tie the game up at 31-31 and send it into overtime. Eventually, the Colts won 34-31 with a Mike Vanderjagt field goal and secured the #3 AFC seed in the playoffs.

Despite losing their last regular season game on the road to the Broncos, 33-14, the Colts managed to get payback in the AFC Wildcard round with their 49-24 victory at home. During that game, Manning threw 27 completed passes out of 33 tries for an astounding 457 yards, with 4 TDs and only 1 interception. Edgerrin James ran 18 times for 63 yards and a single touchdown (with his longest run being 11 yards).

Despite their big victory, the Colts lost to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Patriots for the second year in a row the next week in the divisional round, 20-3. This was the worst loss of the Colts' season, as one of the most prolific offenses during the season was consistently stopped by New England's defense. It was the first time all season that the Colts were unable to score a touchdown. In addition, the Colts defense struggled to stop the Patriots offense from executing 3 time-consuming drives that each lasted over 7 minutes and lead to 17 total points.

2005 season

Despite going 0-5 in the preseason (including their American Bowl loss to the Falcons), the Colts began the 2005 Season with a 13-0 start. They were only the fourth team to do so, in the process became the season's last-remaining undefeated team in the NFL. Though their opponents had worked out how to defend against a Peyton Manning pass offense, which had been responsible for consistently high scores in 2004 and prior years, the Colts offense proved its versatility, more heavily emphasizing rushing. Though this has resulted in much lower scores in 2005, their improved defense has allowed the team to keep winning: It performed the remarkable feat of holding each of their first three opponents (the Ravens, the Jaguars, and the Browns) to under 10 points (24-7 on the road, 10-3 at home, and 13-6 at home), and after their 31-10 road victory over their division rival, the Tennessee Titans, their October 9 game against the San Francisco 49ers showed their defensive rise, as the Colts made up for a sub-par offensive performance with four interceptions, including one that resulted in a defensive touchdown, as the Colts won 28-3. On a Week 6 Monday Night home game against the St. Louis Rams, not only did the Colts win 45-28, but QB Peyton Manning and WR Marvin Harrison broke the record for the most touchdowns between a QB and a WR. They broke Steve Young and Jerry Rice's tandem with 86 touchdowns. After their record setting victory, they traveled to Houston and won against the Texans 38-20 before heading into their Bye Week in Week 8.

Another factor that has contributed to the Colts' success is their use of the no-huddle offense. Instead of calling plays in a conventional huddle, quarterback Manning calls them at the line of scrimmage. The offense moves at a much quicker pace as a result and does not allow the opposing defense to substitute in fresh defenders. On November 7, the Colts got their eighth-straight victory, beating the two-time defending champion New England Patriots 40-21 on Monday Night Football. This marked the end of the Patriots' six-game win streak against the Colts, and Peyton Manning's first victory at New England against the Tom Brady-led Patriots. It was also the second time this year the Colts offense scored 40 or more points.

On November 20, one week after easily sweeping the Texans at home 31-17, the Colts faced their first real challenge against the Carson Palmer-led Cincinnati Bengals, in which the Colts won 45-37 and became the first team to go 10-0 since the 1998 Denver Broncos. It also marked the third time this year they won with 40-plus points. The Colts then defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, 26-7, on a Monday Night Football game on November 28, spoiling Ben Roethlisberger's return from knee surgery and giving him his first road loss.

On Sunday, December 3, the Colts swept division rival Tennessee Titans at home 35-3 to remain undefeated, becoming the first team to qualify for the playoffs. The next week they swept the Jacksonville Jaguars, another division rival, by winning 26-18, along with clinching the division and the No. 1 playoff seed in the AFC, which ensured the Colts' home-field advantage. This also marked the first time since the 1998 Denver Broncos and the fourth time in NFL history that a team went 13-0.

On Sunday, December 18, the San Diego Chargers defeated the Colts 26-17, ending their bid to join the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only teams in NFL history to have a perfect (no losses or ties, including playoffs) season.

In week 16, the Colts were forced to play without their coach, Tony Dungy, who took the week off to mourn the death of his son James, presumed to have committed suicide earlier in the week. With the team resting most of their key and injured players, the Colts lost their second-straight game 28-13 to the eventual NFC Champion Seattle Seahawks.

In their last regular season home game of the year, the Colts again played mostly with their back-ups and won against the Arizona Cardinals 17-13. More importantly, this game marked the return of Coach Dungy. The team's final record of 14-2 marks the best 16-game season in the franchise's history.

On January 15, 2006, the Colts were eliminated from the playoffs in a divisional playoff matchup against the eventual Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers. Aided by a questionable instant replay reversal of an interception by Steeler Troy Polamalu, since which NFL Offices have stated was an incorrect call, the Colts made a run. They were down 21-3 and staged a comeback, but came up short 21-18, as Mike Vanderjagt's 46-yard field goal attempt sailed wide-right. With that loss, it marked the first time since the NFL expanded to a 12-team playoff tournament format in 1990 that a #1 seed lost to a #6 seed.

2006 season

The offseason marked the dissolution of the trio of Edgerrin James, Peyton Manning, and Marvin Harrison, affectionately nicknamed the "Triplets" by Colts fans. While the latter two are signed long-term, James's contract ended, and he went to the Arizona Cardinals after the 2005-06 season. Other losses include Larry Tripplett to the Buffalo Bills and David Thornton to division rival Tennessee Titans. The Colts opted not to re-sign kicker Mike Vanderjagt, instead signing ex-New England Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri to a lucrative deal. Shaun King, the former quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during their trip to the 1999 NFC Championship, was signed to compete with Jim Sorgi for the back-up quarterback position.

In the 2006 NFL Draft, the Colts used their first pick on Louisiana St. RB Joseph Addai in order to lessen the hole left by departing RB Edgerrin James. The rest of their picks included Georgia CB Tim Jennings, San Diego St. LB Freddie Keiaho, Texas-Christian Guard Michael Toudouze, Oklahoma St. OT Charlie Johnson, Howard DB Antoine Bethea, and Stanford CB T.J. Rushing.

Logo and uniforms

The Colts' logo and uniforms have basically remained the same since the team's official debut in 1953. The helmet is white with a speed blue horseshoe logo. The blue jerseys have white shoulder stripes while the white jerseys have blue stripes. The team also wears white pants with blue stripes along the sides.

The Colts wore blue pants with their white jerseys for the first three games of the 1995 season, but the britches were quickly discarded and returned to white pants with both the blue and white jerseys.

Season-by-season records