The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 season, the Colts have played their games in Lucas Oil Stadium. Previously, the team had played for over two decades (1984–2007) at the RCA Dome. Since 1987, the Colts have served as the host team for the NFL Scouting Combine.
The Colts have competed as a member club of the NFL since their founding in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1953, after then-owner Carroll Rosenbloom purchased the assets of the NFL's last founding Ohio League member Dayton Triangles–Dallas Texans franchise. They were one of three NFL teams to join those of the American Football League (AFL) to form the AFC after the 1970 merger. While in Baltimore, the team advanced to the playoffs ten times and won three NFL Championship games in 1958, 1959, and 1968. The Baltimore Colts played in two Super Bowl games, losing to the New York Jets in Super Bowl III and defeating the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V. The Colts moved to Indianapolis in 1984 and have since appeared in the playoffs eighteen times, won two conference championships, and played in two Super Bowl games; they defeated the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI, and lost to the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV.
The All America Football Conference began play in the 1946 season. In its second year, the franchise assigned to the Miami Seahawks was moved to Maryland's major commercial and manufacturing city of Baltimore. After a fan contest, the team was renamed the Baltimore Colts after the city's history of horse breeding and racing. The team used silver and green as its colors. The Colts played for the next three seasons in the old AAFC until they agreed to merge with the old National Football League (of 1920–1922 to 1950) when the NFL was reorganized. The Baltimore Colts were one of the three former AAFC powerhouse teams to merge with the NFL at that time, the others being the San Francisco 49ers and the Cleveland Browns. This Colts team, now in the "big league" of professional American football for the first time, although with shaky financing and ownership, played only in the 1950 season of the NFL, and was later disbanded.
Carroll Rosenbloom era (1953–1971)
In 1953, a new Baltimore-based group, heavily supported by the city's municipal government and with a large subscription-base of fan-purchased season tickets, led by local owner Carroll Rosenbloom won the rights to a new Baltimore NFL franchise.
Rosenbloom was awarded the remains of the former Dallas Texans team, who themselves had a long and winding history, with a small part of the franchise starting as the Boston Yanks in 1944, merging later with the Brooklyn Tigers, a franchise that had a far more deep and rich history, being previously known as the Dayton Triangles, one of the original old NFL teams established even before the League itself, in 1913. That team later became the New York Yanks in 1950, and many of the players from the New York Yankees of the former competing All-America Football Conference (1946–49) were added to the team to begin playing in the newly merged League for the 1950 season. The Yanks then moved to Dallas in Texas after the 1951 season having competed for two seasons, but played their final two "home" games of the 1952 season as a so-called "road team" at the Rubber Bowl football stadium in Akron, Ohio.
The NFL considers the Texans and Colts to be separate teams, although many of the earlier teams shared the same colors of blue and white. Thus, the Indianapolis Colts are legally considered to be a 1953 expansion team.
The current version of the Colts football team played their first season in Baltimore in 1953, where the team compiled a 3–9 record under first-year head coach Keith Molesworth. The franchise struggled during the first few years in Baltimore, with the team not achieving their first winning record until the 1957 season.
However, under head coach Weeb Ewbank and the leadership of quarterback Johnny Unitas, the Colts went on to a 9–3 record during the 1958 season and reached the NFL Championship Game for the first time by winning the NFL Western Conference. The Colts faced the New York Giants in the 1958 NFL Championship Game, which is considered to be among the greatest contests in professional football history. The Colts defeated the Giants 23–17 in the first game to use the overtime rule, a game seen by 45 million persons.
During the 1959 season, the team posted a 9–3 record and once again defeated the Giants in the NFL Championship Game to claim their second title.
The Colts did not return to the NFL Championship for four seasons. In 1963, head coach Ewbank was replaced with the young Don Shula . In Shula's second season, the Colts compiled a 12–2 record, but lost to the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Championship 27–0.
In 1968, the Colts, under Unitas and Shula, won their third NFL Championship but lost in Super Bowl III.
After the Colts trounced the Cleveland Browns 34–0 in the NFL Championship, many judged them among the "greatest pro football teams of all time" In Super Bowl III, they were favored by 18 points against the New York Jets, their counterparts from the American Football League. Instead, the Colts were stunned by the Jets, led by Joe Namath and Matt Snell under head coach Weeb Ewbank, who had previously won two NFL Championships with the Colts. Many in the sports media were surprised by the Jets' 16–7 victory, in the first Super Bowl win for the young AFL.
Don McCafferty years (1970–1972)
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 American Football Conference as part of the AFL–NFL merger in 1970.
The Colts immediately went on a rampage in the new league, as new head coach Don McCafferty led the 1970 team to an 11–2–1 regular-season record, winning the AFC East title. In the first round of the NFL Playoffs, the Colts beat the Cincinnati Bengals 17–0; one week later in the first-ever AFC Championship Game, they beat the Oakland Raiders 27–17. Baltimore went on to win the first post-merger Super Bowl (Super Bowl V), defeating the National Football Conference's Dallas Cowboys 16–13 on a Jim O'Brien field goal with five seconds left to play. The victory gave the Colts their fourth NFL championship and first Super Bowl victory. After the championship, the Colts returned to the playoffs in 1971 and defeated the Cleveland Browns in the first round, but lost to the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Championship.
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. 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. After Unitas left, 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 the last playoff game for the team in Baltimore; it is known for the Ghost to the Post play. These consecutive championship teams featured 1976 NFL Most Valuable Player Bert Jones at quarterback and an outstanding defensive line, nicknamed the "Sack Pack".
The team 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). 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. The Colts finished 0–8–1 in the strike-shortened 1982 season, thereby earning the right to select Stanford quarterback John Elway with the first overall pick. Elway, however, refused to play for Baltimore, and using leverage as a draftee of the New York Yankees baseball club, forced a trade to Denver. Behind an improved defense the team finished 7–9 in 1983, their last season in Baltimore.