The 'Indianapolis Colts' are a professional
American football team based in
Indianapolis, Indiana and are the reigning
National Football League (NFL) champions since winning
Super Bowl XLI on February 4, 2007.
The Colts initially struggled on the playing field after relocating from Baltimore in 1984, winning 90 of 228 games through the 1997 season, including 5 playoff games. Since Jim Irsay assumed control of the franchise in 1998 after the death of his father Bob Irsay the team has become only the second in league history to win 12 games or more in four consecutive seasons and will achieve an all-time winning percentage since moving to Indy of at least 50% if they win 12 or more games in 2007.
Franchise history
The AAFC Baltimore Colts
There have been two NFL teams named the "Baltimore Colts". The first Colts team started in the
All-America Football Conference in 1946 as the 'Miami Seahawks', and 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.
[1] In 1953, the NFL formed another Colts team out of the ashes of the failed
Dallas Texans - this is the franchise that exists today in Indianapolis.
The NFL Baltimore Colts
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 started as the
Boston Yanks in
1944 before moving to
New York as the Bulldogs in
1949. The team then became the
Yanks in
1950, and 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 considers the Texans and Colts to be separate teams.
The Colts were the first NFL team to have
cheerleaders, and the old Colts' fan club and marching band (now under the name Baltimore's Marching Ravens) were adopted by the new franchise.
[2]
The
1958 team, led by coach
Weeb Ewbank and quarterback
Johnny Unitas defeated the
New York Giants at
Yankee Stadium 23-17 in the
NFL championship game. The game, the first-ever utilizing the overtime rule, is generally considered to be among the greatest contests in professional football history.
The Colts repeated as NFL champions in
1959, defeating 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.
In
1968, after a 13-1 season, the Colts 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 surprising to many in the sports media as
Joe Namath and
Matt Snell led the
American Football League champion
Jets to a
World Championship over the NFL's Colts, 16-7. The Jets were coached by
Weeb Ewbank, the coach of the Colts' first two NFL titles.
Prior to the 1970 season, Rosenbloom,
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 AFL-NFL merger. The 1970 Colts immediately went on a rampage, as new head coach
Don McCafferty led the Colts to and 11-3 regular season record, winning he 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) defeating the NFC's
Dallas Cowboys 16-13, on a Jim O'Brien field goal with 5 seconds left to play. In
1971, the Colts made it back to the playoffs and 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 franchise to
Robert Irsay for the
Los Angeles Rams, but the players remained in their 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,and
1977. These consecutive championship teams featured 1976 NFL Most Valuable Player
Bert Jones at quarterback and an outstanding defensive line, nicknamed the "Sack Pack". Following the mid-70s success, the team endured nine consecutive losing seasons beginning in
1978. In
1981, the defense was the main problem: The Colts 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). The following year the offense collapsed: On
November 28,
1982, the Colts' offense did not cross mid-field in an entire game against the
Bills; this would not happen again in an NFL game until
2000. The Colts finished 0-8-1 in the strike-shortened 1982 season. The disastrous 1982 season earned the team the right to select Stanford's
John Elway, but Elway refused to play for Baltimore, and using leverage as a draftee of the New York Yankees baseball club, forced a trade to Denver.
Relocation to Indianapolis
By early 1984, after the Colts' lease on the dilapidated 64,124 seat
[3] Memorial Stadium had expired, Colts Owner Robert Irsay wanted the city of Baltimore to upgrade the stadium or build a new one. But with attendance dwindling and the team playing poorly, city officials were wary of such an investment and negotiations were slow and contentious. Relations between Owner Robert Irsay and the city of Baltimore deteriorated, and despite numerous public announcements that Irsay's ultimate desire was to remain in Baltimore, he nevertheless began discussions with several cities hungry for an NFL franchise, eventually narrowing the list of cities to two, Phoenix and Indianapolis.
[4] Under the administrations of mayor Richard Lugar and then William Hudnut, the city was making an ambitious effort to reinvent itself into a `Great American City.' The Hoosier Dome (later renamed the RCA Dome) had been built specifically for and was ready to host an NFL expansion team.
Meanwhile in Baltimore, the situation worsened. Eventually, the
Maryland legislature intervened and threatened to pass a law giving the city of Baltimore the right to seize ownership of the team by
eminent domain. As a result, Colts Owner Robert Irsay began serious negotiations with Indianapolis Mayor William Hudnut in order to move the team before the Maryland legislature could pass the bill. The city of Indianapolis was more than willing to receive the team and provided the Colts owner with a $12,500,000.00 loan, a $4,000,000.00 training complex, and the use of the brand new 57,980 seat
Hoosier Dome.
[5] After agreeing to the deal,
Mayflower Transit trucks were dispatched to the team's Maryland training complex at 2:00 AM on
March 29, where workers loaded all of the team's belongings and the trucks left for Indianapolis by 3:00 AM.
Baltimore moves on
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 were dismissed, and the Colts would endorse a new NFL team for Baltimore.
[6] Nonetheless, many of the prominent old-time Colts (many of whom had settled in the Baltimore area) were bitter and chose to cut all ties to the relocated Colts team. However, former Baltimore Colts DT Joe Ehrmann (1973-80), has remained close to the team. After football he became an ordained minister who speaks to several NFL teams a year. He is the co-founder of Baltimore's Ronald McDonald House and the founder of a Baltimore inner-city, community-based ministry called "The Door".
In a bit of irony, Baltimore did eventually land another NFL franchise in a manner similar to Indianapolis. Several years later on
November 6,
1995, Cleveland Browns owner
Art Modell announced his intention to move Cleveland's 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 Cleveland fans, refused to give up the city's NFL franchise name. 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. Modell would be allowed to take his players and organization to Baltimore, but it would be technically regarded as an expansion team. The Colts ownership did not grant the city of Baltimore the rights to the Colts' name or colors. Therefore, the new Baltimore team was named the
Ravens after a fan vote.
The Colts' final game in Baltimore was played on
December 18,
1983 against the then
Houston Oilers. The Colts would not return to Baltimore until
1998. Ironically, the new Baltimore team had a chance to stop the Indianapolis Colts on their way to the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance since moving. However, the Colts defeated the Baltimore Ravens 15-6 in the division playoff round on their way to winning Super Bowl XLI.
Early struggles in Indy
The newly minted Indianapolis Colts continued to struggle on the field, with 4-12, 5-11 and 3-13 records during the first three seasons. The latter, during the 1986 season, began 0-13, with the team in contention to be the second modern-day team to go winless for an entire season (the 1976
Tampa Bay Buccaneers went 0-14) when they dismissed
Rod Dowhower and replaced him with former
Patriots head coach
Ron Meyer. The Colts responded by winning the final three games under his watch.
1987 saw the Colts make the playoffs for the first time in a decade, winning the AFC East with a 9-6 record bolstered by the mid-season arrival of Pro Bowl running back
Eric Dickerson. The next few seasons saw Indianapolis wallow in mediocrity before collapsing to a 1-15 in 1991, that team scored the fewest points ever (143) of any NFL team since going to the standard 16-game schedule in 1978.
The Colts did not return to the playoffs until the 1995 season, with
Jim Harbaugh at quarterback and
Marshall Faulk at running back, clinching a wild card berth with a 9-7 record. They advanced to the AFC Championship Game before losing to the
Pittsburgh Steelers at
Three Rivers Stadium. Although they won nine games again the following year, and secured another wild card berth, a dismal 3-13 season soon followed in 1997, which earned them the first pick in the upcoming
draft and marked a crucial turning point for the franchise.
The beginning of the Peyton Manning era
Jim Irsay began to shape the Colts one year after assuming control from his father by firing Coach
Lindy Infante and hiring
Bill Polian to run the organization. Polian in turn hired
Jim E. Mora to coach the team and drafted
University of Tennessee Volunteers quarterback
Peyton Manning, the son of
New Orleans Saints legend
Archie Manning, with the first pick in the
1998 NFL Draft. After recording a 3-13 record in 1998, the team drafted
Edgerrin James with the 4th pick in the draft. The Colts finished 13-3 in 1999, but were eliminated in the divisional round by the
Tennessee Titans. The following year, they were defeated in overtime in a wild-card playoff game against the
Miami Dolphins in Miami, when a potential 49-yard game-winning field goal attempt by
Mike Vanderjagt sailed to the right of the goalposts. James tore his ACL in the sixth game of the 2001 season, and while backup
Dominic Rhodes proved a capable starter in becoming the first undrafted rookie to rush for over 1,000 yards, the loss of James and a defense that gave up the most points in a season of any NFL team since 1981 proved too much to overcome; the Colts would finish 6-10 in and missed the playoffs. Mora was fired after the season, reportedly due to a disagreement with general manager
Bill Polian over defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.
[2]
The firing led to the hiring of head coach
Tony Dungy, the former head coach of the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had led his former team to four playoff appearances in the previous six years. Dungy led the Colts to the playoffs in his first season with the Colts, but a blowout (41-0) playoff loss to the
New York Jets ended the season.
In the
2003 NFL season, Manning was named co-Most Valuable Player with
Tennessee Titans quarterback
Steve McNair. The Colts won the AFC South division title over the Titans via the head to head tiebreaker (both teams finished with 12-4 records). The Colts defeated the
Denver Broncos in the wild-card playoff (41-10), and advanced to play the
Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional playoffs, winning 38-31. In the AFC Championship game they were defeated 24-14 by the eventual Super Bowl champion
New England Patriots, with Manning throwing four interceptions in a game widely criticized for its minimal officiating (only seven penalties were called during the entire game, six of them were pre-snap fouls). Criticism of the game's officiating largely led to a reinterpretation of the "bump rule" beginning in the 2004 season. Commonly referred to as the "Colts Rule" or the "Pollard Rule" (for a non-call on the Patriots'
Roman Phifer against Colts' TE
Marcus Pollard on the Colts' final offensive drive), the change led to a large increase of defensive pass interference calls the following season.
2005 season
The Colts became the 4th team in league history to win their first 13 games, but the season ended with an opening playoff game loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Manning and
Marvin Harrison broke
Steve Young and
Jerry Rice's NFL record for most touchdowns by a quarterback-receiver tandem, notching their 86th in a Monday Night home game against
St. Louis Rams in week 6. Two weeks later Peyton Manning logged his first victory at New England against the
Patriots, ending a six game New England win streak. After defeating Jacksonville in week 14 they became only the fourth team in NFL history to reach a record of 13-0 and clinched home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The dream of a perfect record for the Colts ended the next week however as the
San Diego Chargers defeated the Colts 26-17.
In week 16, the Colts played without coach
Tony Dungy following the suicide of his son James earlier in the week. With the team resting most of their key players, the Colts lost their second straight to the eventual NFC Champion
Seattle Seahawks. Dungy returned to the sidelines for the last regular season game as the Colts beat the
Arizona Cardinals 17-13 while resting most of the team's usual starters. The team's final record of 14-2 marked the best 16-game season in the franchise's history.
On
January 15,
2006, the Colts were eliminated in the divisional round by the eventual Super Bowl champion
Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-18. Trailing 21-10 late in the game, the Colts regained possession and put 8 points on the board to make it 21-18. After a Pittsburgh fumble on the goal line the Colts drove down the field, only to have
Mike Vanderjagt miss a 46 yard field goal attempt wide right.
2006 season
After becoming the first team in NFL history to begin two consecutive seasons by winning nine games, the Colts proceeded to lose three of the next four, largely due to the league's worst run defense. However, they still captured their fourth consecutive
AFC South title by defeating the Cincinnati Bengals on
Monday Night Football in Week 15 of the season with, ironically, a strong showing from their defense. The Colts finished the season with a 12-4 record, giving them the number three seed in the playoffs. The record also marked their
fifth consecutive season with ten victories or more. In week 13 against the
Titans, the quarterback-wide receiver combination of Manning to Harrison became the all time leader in touchdowns in NFL History.
[7]
In the Colts' first-round playoff game, they defeated the
Kansas City Chiefs 23-8, despite three Manning interceptions. The Colts defense dominated the Chiefs, holding them to 44 yards on the ground (RB Larry Johnson had 32) and Chiefs' quarterback
Trent Green to 2 yards passing in the first half. The Chiefs did not earn a first down until 3:33 remained in the third quarter.
The Colts defeated the
Baltimore Ravens 15-6 in the division playoff round, thanks to kicker Adam Vinatieri's five field goals and another impressive defensive showing. They played the
New England Patriots at home in the AFC title game for the rights to the Super Bowl; it was the Colts' third conference championship game in the Indianapolis era. The game marked the first time that the AFC title game was played in a domed stadium. After trailing at one point 21-3, the Colts stormed back, defeating the arch-rival Patriots for the third consecutive time. With a final score of 38-34, the 18-point comeback was the largest ever in an NFL conference championship game, and tied the record for the fourth largest NFL postseason comeback.
[8]
Season-by-season records
Main articles: Indianapolis Colts seasons
Super Bowl XLI
Main articles: Super Bowl XLI
The Colts defeated the Chicago Bears 29-17 on February 4, 2007 in
Dolphin Stadium, after overcoming a rocky start that saw the Bears' Devin Hester return the opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown and the Colts' Peyton Manning throw an early interception. Rain fell throughout the game, for the first time in Super Bowl history, significantly contributing to the six turnovers committed by both teams in the first half.
Peyton Manning was awarded the
the MVP after completing 25 of 38 passes for 247 yards and a touchdown, caught by Reggie Wayne.
Colts' running backs
Dominic Rhodes and
Joseph Addai combined for 190 rushing yards and a touchdown, while kicker
Adam Vinatieri converted 3 of his 4
field goal attempts. Defensively, safety
Bob Sanders and cornerback
Kelvin Hayden each intercepted Bears' quarterback
Rex Grossman late in the game, with Hayden returning his for 56 yards and a touchdown, essentially sealing the Colts' victory.
Indianapolis became the first "
dome team" to win a Super Bowl in an outdoor stadium, the first to win in the rain, and the first to win after having the statistically worst rushing defense in the league during the regular season.
Tony Dungy became only the third man to have won the Super Bowl as both a head coach {XLI} and a player {
XIII} (along with
Tom Flores {
IV-player,
XV and
XVIII-coach} and
Mike Ditka {
VI-player,
XX-coach}).
New stadium
Main articles: Lucas Oil Stadium
After 20+ years of playing at the RCA Dome, the Colts will begin play in one of the NFL's finest stadiums starting in the fall of 2008. In December 2004, the City of Indianapolis and Colts owner Jim Irsay agreed to a new stadium deal that will benefit both the city and the team at an estimated cost of $675 million. In a deal estimated at $122 million, Lucas Oil Products won the naming rights to the stadium for 20 years.
It will be a seven-level stadium with a retractable roof seating 63,000 for football. It can be reconfigured to seat 70,000 or more for NCAA basketball and football and concerts. It will cover 1.8 million square feet. The stadium features a retractable roof allowing the Colts to play home games outdoors for the first time since arriving in Indianapolis. Using Fieldturf the playing surface will be roughly 25ft below ground level. The new stadium will be bigger and better than the RCA Dome in many ways. Housing 58 permanent concession stands, 90 portable concession stands, 13 escalators, 11 passenger elevators, 800 Restrooms, high definition scoreboards and replay monitors and 142 luxury suites. Other than being the home of the Colts, the stadium will host games in both the Men's and Women's NCAA Basketball Tournaments and will serve as the back up host for all NCAA Final Four Tournaments. The stadium will make Indianapolis eligible to bid to host a Super Bowl and has a potential economic impact estimated at $286,000,000.
Logo and uniforms
The Colts' logo and uniforms have basically remained the same since the team's 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.
From 1982 through 1986, the Colts wore gray pants with their blue jerseys. The gray pants featured a horseshoe on the top of the sides with the player's number inside the horseshoe. The Colts continued to wear white pants with their white jerseys throughout this period, and in 1987, the gray pants were retired.
The Colts wore blue pants with their white jerseys for the first three games of the
1995 season, but then returned to white pants with both the blue and white jerseys. The team made some minor uniform adjustments before the start of the
2004 season, including reverting from blue to the traditional gray face masks, darkening their blue colors from a light blue to speed blue, as well as adding two white stripes to the socks. In
2006, the stripes were removed from the socks.
Players of note
Current roster
===
Pro Football Hall of Famers
Baltimore Colts
Retired numbers
Other notable former players
All-time first-round draft picks
Coaches of note
Current staff
Trivia
★ The Colts'
Lombardi Trophy from Super Bowl V is reportedly in the possession of
Georgia Frontiere, owner of the
St. Louis Rams. Frontiere's late husband, former Colts' owner Carroll Rosenbloom, swapped franchises in 1972 with Rams' owner Robert Irsay but managed to keep possession of the Super Bowl trophy by "borrowing" it and simply neglecting to return it. NFL Commissioner
Pete Rozelle authorized a replacement trophy for the Colts, but the Colts lost possession of this trophy in 1986 when, as part of the legal settlement following the Colts' move to Indianapolis, the replacement trophy was awarded to the city of Baltimore.
[3]
★ The Colts are one of eight "
dome teams" in the NFL, and in 2007 became the first such team to win a Super Bowl since the
1999 St. Louis Rams, and the first ever to win one in an outdoor stadium.
★ The Colts are the only team in the
AFC South to have won a
Super Bowl.
★ All three of the Colts Super Bowl appearances have been in Miami.
★ No Colt has won the
NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award.
★ Before Colts home games between 2004 and 2006, the RCA Dome monitors displayed the warriors from the final battle in the film ''
Braveheart'' which features warriors with their faces painted blue with
woad screaming and shouting, while the Dome crowd joins in. In 2007 the footage was changed to a scene from the film ''
300'' with a similar motif.
★ At the start of the 2007 season the Indianapolis Colts franchise is 8 games under .500(including playoffs).
Radio and television
The Colts' flagship station from 1984-1998 and again starting in the
2007 season is
WIBC 1070AM; under the new contract, games will be simulcast on
WLHK 97.1 FM. From 1998 through 2006, the Colts' flagship station was
WFBQ 94.7FM (with additional programming on
WNDE 1260AM).
Bob Lamey is the team's
play-by-play announcer, holding that title from 1984 to 1991 and again since 1995. Former
Purdue and Colts
quarterback Mark Herrmann serves as color commentator. Former head coach
Ted Marchibroda of both Baltimore and Indianapolis Colts franchises is also a popular commentator on the broadcasts. Mike Jansen serves as the public address announcer at all Colts home games. Mike has been the public address announcer since the 1998 season.
Preseason games not shown on national television are seen locally on
WTTV-4, "Indiana's
CW."
Indiana Hoosiers announcer Don Fischer provides play-by-play.
Notes and references
1.
2. Baltimore's Colts: A Team for the Ages
3. http://www.stadiumsofnfl.com/past/MemorialStadium.htm Stadiums of the NFL - Memorial Stadium
4. Descendants of the Mayflower - A History of the Indianapolis Colts
5. Moving the Company
6. History of the Indianapolis Colts from indystar.com (Last Accessed June 10, 2006)
7. Official Bio on Colts.com
8. 2006 NFL Record and Fact Book, , , , , , ISBN 1-933405-32-5
See also
★
History of the Indianapolis Colts
★
Indianapolis Colts seasons
External links
★
Indianapolis Colts official web site
★
Sports E-Cyclopedia.com
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