The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The team is part of the South Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). While in Baltimore, the Colts won four NFL Championships, including Super Bowl V. In Indianapolis, the Colts won Super Bowl XLI in 2006 against the Chicago Bears. The Colts moved from Baltimore in 1984, and began their stay in Indianapolis 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, Robert Irsay, the team has become the first in league history to win 12 games or more in five consecutive seasons - extending this record to six after the 2008 season. The Colts are also the first NFL team to beat all of the other 31 NFL teams [1]. The Baltimore Colts were the first NFL team to have cheerleaders, and a marching band. [2]

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Franchise history

The Colts franchise was officially created in 1953, but can trace its history much earlier than that, to before the NFL actually began: its earliest predecessor was the Dayton Triangles, a founding member of the NFL that was originally created in 1913. That team went through the following changes:

• Dayton Triangles relocated and renamed Brooklyn Dodgers in 1930.
• Changed name to Brooklyn Tigers in 1944. In the same year, the Boston Yanks are founded.
• Merged with Boston Yanks in 1945 as the wartime "The Yanks."
• Franchise canceled in 1945 by league and the team's temporary merger with the Boston Yanks is made permanent, as a parallel team (AAFC New York Yankees) is founded by the Tigers' former owner.
• Miami Seahawks of the AAFC are purchased and relocated to Baltimore and renamed the Colts (Originally wearing Green and Silver). This franchise was dissolved by the league on January 18, 1951.
• Boston Yanks move to New York in 1949 and become New York Yanks, absorbing much of the Yankees' roster the next year.
• New York Yanks move to Dallas in 1952 as Dallas Texans.
• Texans become a road team halfway through the 1952 season and are dissolved shortly thereafter.
• Dallas Texans franchise was moved to Baltimore on January 23, 1953 where, keeping the “Colts” nickname, they keep the Texans team colors of blue and white.

The AAFC Baltimore Colts

In December 28, 1946, 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 the green and silver uniforms, the Colts, under Head Coach Cecil Isbell, 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 by losing to the New York Yankees, 21-7. The Colts finished 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 mark in 1949. Y. A. Tittle was the Colts starting quarterback.

The AAFC and NFL merged in 1950, and the Colts joined 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. 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 and worked for the team's revival.

The NFL Dallas Texans

After two seasons without professional football, NFL Commissioner Bert Bell challenged Baltimore 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 four weeks and three days. On January 23, 1953, under the principal ownership of Carroll Rosenbloom, the NFL’s Dallas Texans franchise was moved to Baltimore where, keeping the “Colts” nickname, the Texans team colors of blue and white were inherited. This is the franchise that exists today in Indianapolis. ^[3]

The Texans had a long and winding history; they started as the Boston Yanks in 1944 and merged with the Brooklyn Tigers (previously known as the Dayton Triangles, an original NFL team established in the 1910s) for the 1945 season 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, but played their final two "home" games of the 1952 season at the Rubber Bowl in Akron, Ohio.

The NFL Baltimore Colts

1953–1970

The Colts began the 1953 season with a blockbuster trade, swapping five Baltimore players for 10 Cleveland Browns. Among the players who came to Baltimore were future coach Don Shula; Bert Rechichar, Carl Taseff and Art Spinney, among others. The 2nd incarnation of the Baltimore Colts first took the field at Memorial Stadium on September 27, with Coach Keith Molesworth. The Colts would stun the Bears that day 13-9 to get the new franchise off on the right foot. However, the Colts struggled to a 3-9 season in their inaugural year. ^[4]

On December 28, 1958, Baltimore faced the New York Giants in the NFL Championship game at Yankee Stadium. The Colts went to halftime with a 14-3 lead after scoring 2 touchdowns in the 2nd quarter. The 4th quarter would end tied a 17, meaning the NFL would have to use sudden death overtime for the first time ever. Johnny Unitas hit wide receiver Raymond Berry with a pass that gave the Colts a 1st down in Giants territory. Baltimore continued to drive down to the 1-yard line, with first and goal. Unitas handed off to Alan Ameche who dove across the goal line to give Baltimore a 23-17 win, in what many call the greatest game ever played. ^{[5] [6]} The game would serve as a launching point for the NFL's remarkable boom in popularity.

The next season, Baltimore had a Championship Game rematch with the New York Giants, with the game this time being played at Memorial Stadium. For the first three quarters the Colts fell behind 9-7. Unitas led the Colts back in the 4th quarter scoring 24 unanswered points, and Baltimore to claim their 2nd straight NFL Championship with a 31-16 victory.

In 1964, after losing the first game of the season to the Vikings, the Colts went on a 10-game winning streak on the way to winning the Western Division Championship with a 12-2 record. Unitas won the NFL MVP award after amassing 2,824 yards passing. The Colts faced the Cleveland Browns in the Championship Game. However, nothing would go right in Cleveland as the Colts were defeated 27-0.

Unitas won his second NFL MVP award in 1967 with 3,428 yards passing as the Colts went undefeated through the first 13 games of the season with a record of 11-0-2. However, the Colts still needed to beat the Rams in Los Angeles to claim the Coastal Division Championship. The Rams would win the game 34-10 to win the Division title and advance to the postseason, as the Colts went home despite an 11-1-2 record.

Unitas missed most of the 1968 season with an elbow injury. Backup quarterback Earl Morrall stepped in and won the NFL MVP award, while leading the Colts to a 13-1 season. While Morrall led the offense, the Colts defense shut out 3 opponents while allowing a record low 144 points. In the Divisional Playoff the Colts beat the Minnesota Vikings 24-14 before a sold out crowd at Memorial Stadium. Going into Super Bowl III the Colts were favored by 18 points over the New York Jets who were coached by their former Colts head coach Weeb Ewbank. The Jets came in confident as quarterback Joe Namath guaranteed a victory. The first half was a defensive struggle as the Jets had a 16-0 lead early in the 4th quarter. Desperate to make a comeback the Colts put Johnny Unitas into the game, and he would get the Colts on the board with a long touchdown drive. With less than 4 minutes to go, the Colts recovered an on-side kick to keep their hopes alive. However, the Jets completed one of the biggest upsets in NFL history 16-7.

Following the next season, coach Don Shula who fell out of favor with owner Carroll Rosenbloom was allowed to resign and he took the coaching job with Miami Dolphins. Assistant Coach Don McCafferty would replace Shula.

1970–1983

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 giving each conference an equal amount of teams, and divisions. The Colts win the Eastern Division while posting an 11-2-1 record. During the season the Colts would get revenge for Super Bowl III, by beating the New York Jets, who were now a division rival. In the Divisional Playoffs the Colts defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 17-0 at Memorial Stadium. The Colts then defeated the Raiders 27-17 to advance to the Super Bowl.

In Super Bowl V against the Dallas Cowboys, the Cowboys jumped out to a 6-0 lead on 2 field goals before the Colts tied it on a 75-yard pass form Unitas to John Mackey. However the Colts had the PAT blocked and the game remained tied. The Cowboys would jump out in front again and went into the 4th quarter holding a 13-6 lead into halftime. Earl Morrall relieved an injured Unitas in the 2nd half the game as the two teams kept fumbling the ball back-and-forth in a game that got the nickname blunder bowl as both teams combined had 11 turnovers. Baltimore would tie the game midway through the final period on a 2-yard plunge by running back Tom Nowatzke. With less then 2 minutes left Cowboys RB Dan Reeves fumbled the ball setting up the Colts in Dallas territory. Baltimore would win the game on a 32-yard field goal from Jim O'Brien with 5 seconds left.

Following a 1-4 start in 1972, McCafferty was fired. The Colts would go 4-5 in their final 9 games under John Sandusky to finish with a 5-9 record, their first losing mark in 16 years. Following the season Unitas was traded to the San Diego Chargers. However, Unitas would not leave without coming off the bench his final game at Memorial Stadium. Leading the Colts on a 55-yard Touchdown pass late in the 4th quarter to help beat the Buffalo Bills 35-7. Memorial Stadium gave the legend a standing ovation as a small plane flying overhead carried a banner reading "Unitas We Stand." After a 4-10 season in 1973 and a 0-3 start in 1974, head coach Howard Schnellenberger was fired and replaced by Joe Thomas. The Colts would not perform any better under Thomas compiling a miserable 2-12 season.

Under new coach Ted Marchibroda the Colts would get off to a 1-4 start in 1975. However, the Colts would start winning as quarterback Bert Jones, and runningback Lydell Mitchell came of age and led the Colts on a 7 game winning streak. The Colts would go on to win their last game of the season to claim the AFC East with a 10-4 record. However, in the Divisional Playoffs the young Colts were no match for the Steelers in Pittsburgh, suffering a season ending 28-10 loss. Marcibroda resigned as head coach but was re-hired for the 1976 season. The Colts would go on to have a stellar season led by Jones who won the NFL MVP by passing for 3,104 yards. The Colts put together a solid season and win the AFC East with an 11-3 record. However in the Divisional Playoffs the Colts were defeated again by the Pittsburgh Steelers, this time at Memorial Stadium, 40-14. In 1977, the Colts were again defeated in the Divisional Playoffs by the Oakland Raiders, 37-31. Following the 1979 season, Marchibroda was fired and replaced by Mike McCormick..

After two losing sasons, McCormick was fired and Bert Jones was traded to the Los Angeles Rams.. In 1982, attendance begins to dwindle at Memorial Stadium as the Colts struggle during a season interrupted by a 2-month strike. Actually the strike provided relief for the Colts, as they possibly avoided one of the worst seasons in NFL history. The Colts would go winless while tying 1 game in a 9-game season. With the first overall pick in the 1983 NFL Draft the Colts drafted quarterback John Elway. However, Elway refused to play for owner Robert Irsay and threatened to play minor league baseball or in the newly formed USFL. Fearful the Colts would get nothing for his rights the Colts traded Elway to the Denver Broncos.. On December 18, 1983, unbeknownst to the team or fans, the Colts played their final home game (against the then Houston Oilers) in the city of Baltimore. 27,934 fans showed up, 516 more fans than the crowd that had turned out for their first home game in 1947.

Ownership's discontent

As far back as November 1971, Carroll Rosenbloom announced that the Colts would not return to Memorial Stadium when their lease ran out following the 1972 season and that he was not interested in negotiating with the city anymore. ^[7] He wanted out of Baltimore for a few reasons — money, problems with Baltimore Orioles ownership, a running feud with the Baltimore press, and his new wife's desire to move to the West Coast. ^[8] Will Keland, a real estate investor was originally slated to buy the Colts from Rosenbloom. However, Keland could not generate enough funds necessary to purchase the team. His golfing buddy, Robert Irsay who was originally slated to own 1 percent of the team, did have the money available and he realized that he didn't need Keland. On July 13, 1972, Robert Irsay became the owner of the Colts. Under the terms of the arrangement, Irsay bought the Los Angeles Rams for $19 million, then traded them to Rosenbloom for the Colts and $3 million in cash. The players for each team remained in their respective cities.

In 1971, Baltimore mayor William Donald Schaefer and the state's governor, Marvin Mandel, created a stadium committee to examine the city's stadium needs. Their report was a blow to Memorial Stadium. Some of the problems mentioned: 10,000 stadium's seats had views that were "less than desirable"; 20,000 seats were out-dated bench seats that had no back support; 7,000 so called seats were actually poorly-constructed temporary bleachers that were installed for football games only. Also, there was not enough office space adequate enough for the front offices of either the Orioles or Colts, much less both teams combined. Both teams had to share locker rooms, the upper deck of Memorial Stadium did not circle the field, ending instead at the 50-yard line, thousands of potential seats (and added revenue) were missing. Any expansion plans for the stadium had usually mentioned less attractive (and less expensive) end-zone seats, not upper deck seating. And the number of bathroom facilities in Memorial Stadium was deemed inadequate.

Maryland's planners came up with an ambitious project. Nicknamed the "Baltodome", ^[9] the original plan was to create a facility near the city's Inner Harbor known as Camden Yards. The new stadium would host 70,000 fans for football games, 55,000 for baseball and 20,000 as an arena for hockey or basketball. For an estimated $78 million, the city would build a facility that would have kept all parties; Orioles owner Hoffberger, Colts owner Irsay, the Stadium Complex Authority, Baltimore Mayor Schaefer and the state's governor, Marvin Mandel happy.

But the proposal did not receive support to pass the Maryland legislature, in spite of the fact that assurances that contributions from taxpayers would be limited strictly to city and state loans. Stadium Complex Authority chairman Ed Rovner issued an important statement about the project, "A major consideration in Mr. Irsay's trading of franchises was the city's firm commitment to proceed with these plans." ^[10] But on February 27, 1974 Maryland's Governor Mandel pulled the plug on the idea. New Colts owner Robert Irsay was willing to wait. "I'm a patient man. I think the people of Baltimore are going to see those new stadiums in New Orleans and Seattle opening in a year or two around the country, and they are going to realize they need a stadium ... for conventions and other things besides football."

But Hyman Pressman, Baltimore's comptroller, was against the use of public funds to build a new complex. During the 1974 elections, Pressman had an amendment to the city's charter placed on the fall ballot. Known as Question P, the amendment called for declaring "the 33rd Street stadium as a memorial to war veterans and prohibiting use of city funds for construction of any other stadium." The measure passed 56 percent to 44 percent, and the same jingoistic ideas that had been used to upgrade the then Baltimore Stadium (Originally built in 1922) in the late 40s and rename it Memorial Stadium, effectively destroyed any chance of a new, modern sports complex being built in Baltimore. ^[11]

Although the Colts made the playoffs for three straight years from 1975-77, there had still been no progress made on a new park for the team. Robert Irsay first spoke with Phoenix, Arizona in 1976 and then Indianapolis, Indiana in 1977 about the possibility of relocating his team to one of those cities. In 1979 Irsay began shopping the Colts around in earnest, talking first to officials from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission, Memphis, Tennessee and Jacksonville, Florida ^[12] where he visited the Gator Bowl packed with 50,000 cheering fans trying to convince him that Jacksonville would be the best home for the Colts. That same year Irsay presented Maryland's Governor Harry Hughes with a request for $25 million in renovation to the dilapidated 64,124 seat Memorial Stadium ^[13]. Irsay's request for $25 million in improvements was decreased to $23 million by the Maryland legislature. The plan added more seats (but none of the revenue-generating skyboxes), improving the plumbing and would've given both teams better office space. The plans approval was contingent on both the Colts and Baltimore Orioles signing long term leases. The Orioles challenged the requested football improvements and refused to sign anything more than a one year lease. Irsay also refused to sign long term. As a result, the funds and improvements never came ^[14].

Relocation to Indianapolis

Under the administration of mayor Richard Lugar and then continuing with William Hudnut, Indianapolis was making a serious effort to reinvent itself into a 'Great American City'. In 1979, Indianapolis community leaders created the Indiana Sports Corp. in order to attract major sports events to central Indiana. The next year, Indianapolis Mayor William Hudnut appointed a committee to study the feasibility of building a new stadium that could serve primarily as a boon to the city's convention business and, secondarily, as a lure for an NFL team ^[15]. In 1982 construction on the Hoosier Dome (later renamed the RCA Dome) began. Deputy Mayor David Frick, who would later lead the negotiations with the Colts and then go on to become chairman of the Indiana state commission that would oversee construction of the RCA Dome's replacement, Lucas Oil Stadium, would say that the RCA Dome was a key to changing the city's image. "Sports was an element in our game plan to change the image of the city back in the late 1970s, early 1980s," ^[15]. In February 1983, after relations between Irsay and the city of Baltimore had deteriorated significantly, Baltimore Mayor Schaefer asked the Maryland General Assembly to approve $15 million for renovation to Memorial Stadium. The legislature did not approve the request until the following spring, after the Colts' lease had expired, ^[17] and only half of that $15 million would go towards improvements that the Colts were seeking (The other half for the Orioles'). However, Baltimore reportedly did offer Irsay a generous $15 million loan at 6.5%, a guarantee of at least 43,000 tickets sold per game for six years, and the purchase of the team's Owings Mills training facility for $4 million ^[18].

Despite numerous public reassurances that Irsay's ultimate desire was to remain in Baltimore, he nevertheless continued discussions with several cities hungry for an NFL franchise (New York, Phoenix, Indianapolis, Birmingham, Jacksonville and Memphis ^[19]) eventually narrowing the list of cities to two, Phoenix and Indianapolis. ^[20] A real estate group in Phoenix, Arizona along with Arizona Governor Bruce Babbitt and other top Arizona officials, had secretly met with Irsay early in January. Preliminary talks seemed promising and another meeting was scheduled. But when word of a second scheduled meeting leaked out and was reported by the Baltimore media on the Friday before the Super Bowl, Irsay canceled. Meanwhile, Indianapolis and local real estate developer Robert Welch, were lobbying the NFL to bring an expansion team to the city, with Welch as team owner. Welch had also had personal discussions with New Orleans Saints owner John Mecom about buying the team and moving it to Indianapolis. In January 1984, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle announced that expansion had been put on hold. As a result of that announcement, Indiana Pacers' owner Herb Simon contacted Colts officials in order to take negotiations between the club and Indianapolis to the next level. Mayor Hudnut then assigned deputy mayor David Frick to begin secret negotiations with Colts counsel Michael Chernoff. On February 13, Colts representatives came to town to look at the Hoosier Dome construction. ^[21] Colts owner Robert Irsay visited on February 23.

"He (Irsay) was visibly moved," former deputy mayor Dave Frick said commenting on Irsay's reaction to entering the brand new domed stadium. "Emotionally, he was making the move." ^[22] Meanwhile in Baltimore, the situation worsened. Eventually, the Maryland legislature intervened and on March 27, one of its chambers passed legislation giving the city of Baltimore the right to seize ownership of the team by eminent domain (An idea first floated in a memo written by Baltimore Mayoral Aide Mark Wasserman). Robert Irsay said that his move was "a direct result" of the eminent domain bill and ^[23] Colts counsel Michael Chernoff would say of the move by the Maryland legislature "They not only threw down the gauntlet, but they put a gun to his head and cocked it and asked, 'Want to see if it's loaded?' They forced him to make a decision that day" ^[24].

Phoenix businessmen withdrew their offer the morning of March 28 and Irsay called the Indianapolis Mayor that afternoon and began serious negotiations in order to move the team before the Maryland legislature's other chamber could pass similar legislation. The city of Indianapolis offered the Colts owner a $12,500,000 loan, a $4,000,000 training complex, and the use of the brand new $77.5 million, 57,980 seat Hoosier Dome. ^[25] After Irsay agreed to the deal, the Indianapolis Mayor called John B. Smith, his friend, neighbor and chief executive officer of Mayflower Transit, and 15 trucks were dispatched to the team's Owings Mills, Maryland training complex at 2:00 AM on March 29 because it was feared the franchise would be seized early the following morning. Workers loaded all of the team's belongings and the trucks left for Indianapolis. By 10:00 AM, the Colts were completely gone from Baltimore. ^[26] Each of the Mayflower trucks took a slightly different route on the way to Indianapolis. This was done to confuse the Maryland police, who could've been called on to put a stop to the move. Once each van was at the Indiana state line, it was met by Indiana state troopers, who escorted each van to the Colts new home in Indianapolis. Later John Moag, Jr., chairman of the Maryland Stadium Authority, stated in sworn testimony before the U.S. Senate subcommittee responsible for the Fan Freedom and Community Protection Act: "It was the failure of our local (Baltimore) and state elected officials in Maryland to provide the Colts with a firm proposal for a new stadium that led Mr. Irsay to accept an offer from Indianapolis to play in a new dome in that city." ^[27]

Baltimore's Mayor Schaefer, who claimed to have been promised a call by Irsay if the team was to move (but never received one), appeared on the front page of the Baltimore Sun in tears. After the Colts left, he placed the building of a new stadium at the top of his legislative agenda. ^[28]

Indianapolis Mayor Hudnut held a press conference March 29 to announce an agreement had been reached and the team was on its way to Indianapolis. The deal was sealed March 30 with approval by the Capital Improvement Board, which operated the Hoosier Dome. Two days later, 20,000 new Colts fans cheered as Mayor Hudnut Proclaimed March 29, 1984, "one of the greatest days in the history of this city." ^[15].

Baltimore moves on

Understandably, fans in Baltimore were heartbroken. In elections that year, city voters repealed Question P by a measure of 62 percent to 38 percent. However, the amendment's author Hyman Pressman remained as an elected City Comptroller for 28 years (7 terms in a row) until retiring in 1991 ^[30]. The team's move triggered a flurry of legal activity, which ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court and bills were filed in both the U.S. House and Senate seeking to block the move. In December 1985, a U.S. District Court judge threw out the lawsuit which sought to return the team to Maryland. Later, representatives of Baltimore and the Colts organization reached a settlement in March 1986 in which all lawsuits regarding the relocation were dismissed, and the Colts would endorse a new NFL team for Baltimore. ^[31] 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. Most notable and vocal among them was Johnny Unitas, who declared himself solely as a player for the Baltimore Colts until the day he died, with his estate defending that stance to this day. However, the NFL officially recognizes his achievements and records as the history of the Colts organization and as such are attributed to the current Colts organization and not any subsequent NFL team in Baltimore.

In a bit of irony, Baltimore did eventually land another NFL franchise in a manner similar to Indianapolis. Almost a decade later, on November 6, 1995, Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell announced his intention to move the Browns team to Baltimore after a stadium dispute. The decision, which involved secret discussions with the state of Maryland, also triggered a flurry of legal activity. Ironically, Modell had previously been staunchly against the relocation of sports teams, having heavily criticized Irsay's move in 1986.

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. This was in contrast to the Colts, whose ownership did not grant the city of Baltimore the rights to the Colts' name, history, or colors after they moved to Indianapolis. 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 Houston Oilers. The Colts won 20-10. The Oilers would thirteen years later, play their final game before moving to Tennessee against the Baltimore Ravens at Memorial Stadium. The Colts would not play a game in Baltimore until 1997. 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.

The Indianapolis Colts

1984–1995

In 1984, the Colts' first season in Indianapolis, Jim Irsay was named general manager of the team. Frank Kush was head coach - until the final game when he was replaced by Hal Hunter. Prior to the start of the season the team received 143,000 requests in two weeks for season tickets. The Colts had two first-round draft picks in 1984. They chose Leonard Coleman and Ron Solt. Coleman could not reach an agreement with the Colts until early in 1985, and spent 1984 playing in the U.S. Football League. Other notable picks that year included Kevin Call in the 5th round and Eugene Daniel in the 8th. The Colts finished the 1984 season with 4 wins and 12 losses. Rod Dowhower was named head coach in 1985, but after two losing seasons, Dowhower was replaced by Ron Meyer in December 1986.

Two weeks into the 1987 regular season the players went on a 24-day strike. One week of games was cancelled, and for three weeks the teams played with replacement players. On October 31, the Colts obtained running back Eric Dickerson from the Los Angeles Rams for six draft picks and two players. The deal also involved Buffalo, sending Cornelius Bennett from the Colts to the Bills while Chuck Banks came to Indianapolis from the Houston Oilers. The Colts finished the season 9-6 and clinched the AFC East title but lost to the Cleveland Browns in the divisional playoff game. Due to the Dickerson trade the Colts had no draft pick until the third round in the 1988 NFL Draft when they took quarterback Chris Chandler. In the Colts' first Monday Night Football appearance they defeated Denver 55-23 before a Halloween night crowd. Dickerson became the first Colt since Alan Ameche in 1955 to win the NFL rushing title. The Colts finished the season 9-7, and did not make the playoffs.

In 1990, the Colts traded Chris Hinton, 1989 first-round pick Andre Rison and draft picks to the Atlanta Falcons for the first pick of the 1990 draft so they could choose Indianapolis native and quarterback Jeff George. Eric Dickerson, after boycotting training camp and refusing to take physicals, was placed on the non-football injury list for six weeks. He was subsequently suspended four weeks for conduct detrimental to the team and forfeited $750,000 in wages and fines. The team finished the season 7-9. Rick Venturi succeeded Meyer as coach on October 1, 1991. The team finished the 1991 season an NFL-worst 1-15.

On January 28, 1992, Marchibroda was, once again, named head coach of the Colts. For the second time he led the Colts to an NFL-best eight-game, one-season turnaround. In April, the Colts traded Eric Dickerson to the Los Angeles Raiders, ending his sometimes rocky 4 1/2 years with the team. On May 3, 1992, second-year defensive end Shane Curry was shot to death outside a Cincinnati nightclub in a dispute over a car blocking the nightclub's driveway. The Colts finished the season 9-7.

Following a 4-12 season in 1994, running back Marshall Faulk was drafted second overall and linebacker Trev Alberts fifth overall in the 1995 NFL Draft. In March, Jeff George was traded to the Atlanta Falcons. Despite going undefeated in the preseason the Colts opened the regular season with an all-time low attendance of 47,372. The Colts finished 8-8 - out of the playoffs. Quarterback Jim Harbaugh became the starting quarterback in Week 3 of 1995 and ended the season as the NFL's top-rated passer. He led the "Cardiac Colts" to a 9-7 season and a trip to the playoffs. In the playoffs, the underdog Colts defeated the San Diego Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs. But, in the AFC Championship Game, they lost a heartbreaker to the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-16 when a last-second Hail-Mary pass was dropped in the end-zone by Aaron Bailey.

1996–2001

left Wide receiver Marvin Harrison was selected by the Colts with the 19th pick in the 1996 NFL Draft, a pick that was obtained in a trade that sent George to the Falcons. In February, in another unpopular move, and despite the success of the 1995 season, the Colts offered Marchibroda only a one-year contract deal which he turned down. Marchibroda, whose 73 career victories with the Colts tied Shula, was replaced by Lindy Infante. Also in February, Robert Irsay's wife, Nancy, and his son, Jim, filed petitions seeking guardianship of his estate while he remained incapacitated from a stroke he had suffered the previous November. The Colts finished 9-7, despite being plagued with injuries, and again made the playoffs. They lost, again to Pittsburgh, in a 42-14 thrashing.

Jim Irsay, at age 37, became the youngest team owner in the NFL after his father's death and following a legal fight with his stepmother. He began working for the Colts in 1982, at the ticket counter and in public relations. He was named general manager in 1984 one month after the Colts moved to Indianapolis. He has since made the Colts his career and his only significant business venture and has been described as "The best small-market owner in the NFL." ^[32] After his father died, Jim immediately began to put his own seal on the team. Other NFL team owners "credit his work as an owner and his personality as a significant reason for awarding Indianapolis the 2012 Super Bowl, a rare honor for a cold-weather city." Patriots Owner Robert Kraft: "I voted for Indianapolis because of Jim, because I like him and respect what he's done there."

On December 21, 1997, the Colts lost to the Vikings and finishing the season 3-13. The very next day, Bill Polian was hired as President to try and turn the team around. Polian was general manager of the Buffalo Bills from 1986-1993. "When Bill Polian was promoted to the GM position, the Bills were suffering from back to back 2-14 seasons and fan interest was at an all-time low. Polian had expertly put the pieces together that would make the Bills a "championship caliber team," appearing in an NFL record, 4 straight Super Bowls. Because of his accomplishments, Bill Polian won the NFL Executive of the Year Award twice, in 1988 and in 1991. Polian then became general manager of the Carolina Panthers from 1994-1996. He tried to create the quickest Super Bowl winner in history, and nearly did so, building a team that went to the NFC Championship game in only its second year of existence

The Peyton Manning Era

As the Colts GM and President, fired Infante and in turn hired Jim Mora to coach the team. Polian opted not to keep quartback Jim Harbaugh, who had led the team to the AFC Championship game following the 1995 season. Instead, he decided to build through the draft as the Colts would have the top overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft; with it, the Colts 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. thumb

The Colts' first-round draft pick in the 1999 NFL Draft was running back Edgerrin James, a surprise to many who thought they would take Ricky Williams, the Heisman Trophy winner. Two days before the draft, Faulk was traded to the St. Louis Rams. Third-round pick, Brandon Burlsworth, was killed in an automobile accident in Arkansas on April 28. James caught on quickly and Manning and Marvin Harrison clicked as a potent passing combination. The Colts finished the season 13-3 - in what was the greatest one-year turnaround in NFL history - and won the AFC East. They hosted Indianapolis' first ever playoff game but were defeated by the eventual AFC Champion Tennessee Titans 19-16. At 13-3 In winning the division title, Manning, James and Harrison earned Pro Bowl honors, while kicker Mike Vanderjagt won the NFL scoring title.

Both the team and their fans entered the 2000 season with high expectations after winning the AFC East with a 13-3 record in 1999. Eight games into the season the Colts were 6-2, though some of the wins had been heart-stoppers with last-minute heroics overcoming earlier mistakes. Then they lost four of the next five games, and suddenly even making it into playoffs was in doubt. With three games left in the season the Colts only chance was to win all three - and they did. The back-to-back 10-plus victory seasons were a first for the club since 1976-77. Manning (4,413) and James (1,709, 2,303) won the NFL passing, rushing and scrimmage yards titles. They earned a wildcard spot in the playoffs, but lost the game 23-17 to the Miami Dolphins. The organization entered the off-season knowing the area most in need of attention was the defense.

Wide receiver Reggie Wayne was selected with the 30th pick in the 2001 NFL Draft. The 2001 season was a major disappointment. However, Manning (4,131) and Harrison (109) had outstanding yardage and reception seasons. The team finished 6-10, managing only two wins in its last nine games. And, as in 2000, the defense took the brunt of the criticism. It ranked No. 30 in total yards allowed, tied for No. 26 in generating takeaways and No. 31 in points allowed. But the defense wasn't the only problem. The special teams' performance was often really bad and Peyton Manning was plagued by turnovers. The team was also hurt by injuries throughout the season, the most serious occurring on October 25, when running back Edgerrin 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 1000 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. Mora was fired with one year remaining on his contract, reportedly due to a disagreement with general manager Bill Polian over defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.

2002–present

thumb The firing of Mora led to the hiring of head coach Tony Dungy, the former head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Irsay was so committed to bringing Tony Dungy aboard that he, not Polian, initiated the contact. Late on January 19, 2002, Irsay phoned Dungy at his home in Tampa: "I just wanted him to know from the start that there was no other coach on the planet I wanted to coach my football team," Irsay said. "Not Steve Spurrier. Not Bill Parcells." ^[33]

Defensive end Dwight Freeney was selected by the Indianapolis Colts with the 11th overall selection in the 2002 NFL Draft. The Colts finished the season with a 10-6 record, earning a wild-card slot in the playoffs. In that game however, the Colts were humiliated with a 41-0 shutout at the hands of the New York Jets. Marvin Harrison had a stellar year, breaking several club and NFL records, but Edgerrin James was hampered by injuries most of the season. Manning threw 19 interceptions, most of them in games the Colts went on to lose. In a troubling pattern, the Colts repeatedly squandered the first half of a game, often falling so far behind that despite second half rallies, they could not overcome the deficit. Freeney set an NFL rookie record in 2002 with 9 forced fumbles, three of which occurred in a single game against former Syracuse football teammate, Donovan McNabb. thumb The Colts finished the 2003 season 14–5 - and won the AFC South with a regular season record of 12-4. Manning was named co-MVP of the NFL, along with Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair. In the playoffs, Manning and the Colts defeated the Denver Broncos 41–10, then defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, at Kansas City, 38–31. However, in the AFC title game at New England, the Patriots defense was all over the Colts. Manning threw only one touchdown pass and was intercepted four times. The Patriots won the game 24–14 putting an end to the hopes of the team and the fans that this was the season the Colts would go all the way.

Safety Bob Sanders was selected in the 2nd round (44th overall) of the 2004 NFL Draft. The 2004 season ended almost exactly the way the 2003 season had, with the New England Patriots pummeling the Colts, in the cold at Foxboro, and knocking them out of the playoffs. After a year in which the offense broke numerous team and league records, the Colts could manage to score only one field goal in their final game, losing 20-3. For the second year in a row, Manning was named the league's MVP and his 49 regular-season touchdowns broke a record that Dan Marino had held since 1984, which was broken by Tom Brady of the Patriots with 50 touchdown passes in 2007. The wide receiving trio of Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and Brandon Stokley each had at least 10 touchdowns and more than 1,000 yards for the season - also a league first. Edgerrin James ended the season ranked fourth in the NFL with 1,548 yards, an average of 4.6 yards per carry. And although questions continued to surround the defense, Freeney led the league with 16 sacks.

In 2005, Dungy led the Colts to a franchise-record 14 wins and a third consecutive divisional title, the fifth for the club in its 22-year Indianapolis era. 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 Jerome Bettis fumble on the goal line, Nick Harper picked up the fumble and almost ran it back, but was tackled at the 40 yard line by Ben Roethlisberger. The Colts then drove down the field, only to have Mike Vanderjagt miss a 46-yard field goal attempt wide right.

After becoming the first team in NFL history to begin two consecutive seasons by winning nine games to begin 2006, 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. ^[34] In the Colts' first-round playoff game, they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 23-8, despite Manning throwing three interceptions. The Colts defense managed to hold the Chiefs to 44 yards on the ground and 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 the end of the first half, 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. ^[35] 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 returned the opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown and Manning threw 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. Manning was awarded the Super Bowl MVP after completing 25 of 38 passes for 247 yards and a touchdown, caught by Wayne.

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}), as well as the first African-American Head Coach to win a Super Bowl (a distinction that would have occurred regardless of which team won, as the Bears were coached by another African-American coach, Lovie Smith). With the win the Colts became the only team to date to win a Super Bowl from the AFC South. Also the Colts have made it to the Super Bowl three times, all three in Miami.

In 2007, the Colts finished 13-3, winning a club-record fifth straight division title and becoming the first NFL team with five consecutive seasons with 12+ victories and became one of four NFL teams to open three consecutive seasons with 5-0 starts in topping Tampa Bay, 33-14. Indianapolis joined Green Bay (1929-31), Minnesota (1973-75) and St. Louis (1999-2001) with three straight 5-0 starts. And then becoming the first team in 76 years to start three consecutive seasons with 7-0 starts. Peyton Manning (288) broke the club record for career touchdown passes held by Johnny Unitas (287), while Tony Dungy notched his 74th win to break the franchise record he had shared with Don Shula (73) and Ted Marchibroda (73). The club fell in the Divisional Playoffs to the San Diego Chargers, 28-24. Dungy became the only coach in Colts history to post 10+ wins and earn playoff appearances in six straight seasons.

The 2008 season was the Colts' inaugural season playing at the newly-completed Lucas Oil Stadium. It was the first season that the Colts did not win the AFC South title since 2002. After a 3-4 start on the season, the Colts went on a nine-game winning streak and finished the season at 12-4 and earned a wild card berth in the playoffs. They extended their league mark with six consecutive 12+ victory seasons. The club became the first in NFL history to win at least seven consecutive games in five consecutive seasons. Manning won his third NFL MVP award, butIndianapolis fell in the Wild Card Playoffs in overtime at San Diego, 23-17.

Tony Dungy retired on January 12, 2009 and on January 13, Jim Caldwell who had been named his successor previously, was formally announced as the new head coach.

Season-by-season records

Lucas Oil Stadium

After 24 years of playing at the RCA Dome, the Colts moved to their new home Lucas Oil Stadium. The Colts began playing in Lucas Oil Stadium in the fall of 2008. In December 2004, the City of Indianapolis and Jim Irsay agreed to a new stadium deal that would 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 is 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 . 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 below ground level. The new stadium will be bigger and better than the RCA Dome in many ways, including: 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. It will also host numerous events and conventions. The stadium will host the Super Bowl for the 2012 season (Super Bowl XLVI) and has a potential economic impact estimated at $286,000,001.

In an ironic twist, a company based near Baltimore, "Controlled Demolition", oversaw the demolition of the RCA Dome. "It's a little ironic that a demolition company from Baltimore had the opportunity to take down the stadium to where the Colts fled when they left Baltimore," said Mark Loizeaux, president of Controlled Demolition and a Baltimore Ravens fan. ^[36]

Logos 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.

In the early 2000s, the Colts made a minor striping pattern change on their jerseys, having the stripes only on top of the shoulders then stop completely. Previously, the stripes used to go around to underneath the jersey sleeves. This was done because the Colts, like many other football teams, were beginning to manufacture the jerseys to be tighter to reduce holding calls and reduce the size of the sleeves, although the reduction of the sleeve length had no impact on the stripes of the Colts jerseys. Although the white jerseys of the Minnesota Vikings at the time also had a similar striping pattern and continued as such (as well as the throwbacks the New England Patriots wore in the Thanksgiving game against the Detroit Lions in 2002), the Colts and most college teams with this striping pattern (most notably the LSU Tigers football team) didn't make this adjustment. Replica jerseys sold for retail still have the original striping pattern, though authentic "game-day worn" jerseys do have the partial striping pattern of the current jerseys.

Notable players

Current roster

Quarterbacks 18 Peyton Manning 12 Jim Sorgi Running Backs 29 Joseph Addai 49 Najeh Davenport 38 Dominic Rhodes 35 Chad Simpson KR Wide Receivers 85 Pierre Garçon 11 Anthony Gonzalez 83 Roy Hall 88 Marvin Harrison 87 Reggie Wayne Tight Ends 44 Dallas Clark 47 Gijon Robinson FB 84 Jacob Tamme FB		Offensive Linemen 71 Ryan Diem T 76 Daniel Federkeil G/T 74 Charlie Johnson G/T 53 Steve Justice C 78 Mike Pollak G 61 Jamey Richard G/C 63 Jeff Saturday C 67 Tony Ugoh T Defensive Linemen 79 Raheem Brock DE 96 Keyunta Dawson DT 68 Eric Foster DT 93 Dwight Freeney DE 92 Marcus Howard DE 99 Antonio Johnson DT 94 Curtis Johnson DE 98 Robert Mathis DE 90 Daniel Muir DT 95 Darrell Reid DT 91 Josh Thomas DE		Linebackers 59 Rufus Alexander OLB 58 Gary Brackett ILB 52 Buster Davis ILB 56 Tyjuan Hagler OLB 54 Freddie Keiaho OLB 51 Jordan Senn OLB 55 Clint Session OLB 50 Philip Wheeler OLB Defensive Backs 41 Antoine Bethea FS 33 Melvin Bullitt FS 43 Matt Giordano SS 26 Kelvin Hayden CB 20 Dante Hughes CB 23 Tim Jennings CB 31 Keiwan Ratliff CB/PR 21 Bob Sanders SS 40 Jamie Silva SS Special Teams 17 Hunter Smith P 48 Justin Snow LS  4 Adam Vinatieri K		Reserve Lists 25 Michael Coe CB (IR) 30 Clifton Dawson RB (IR) 42 Nick Graham CB (IR) 32 Mike Hart RB (IR) 28 Marlin Jackson CB (IR) 65 Ryan Lilja G (PUP) 97 Quinn Pitcock DT (Did Not Report) 34 T. J. Rushing CB/KR/PR (IR) 86 Tom Santi TE/FB (IR) Practice Squad 27 Lance Ball RB 37 Brannon Condren SS 39 Brandon Foster CB 14 Samuel Giguère WR 72 Corey Hilliard OT 80 Jamie Petrowski TE  6 Taj Smith WR 36 Brandon Sumrall CB/S (Injured) 75 Michael Toudouze OT Rookies in italics updated 2008-12-16 • 53 Active, 9 Inactive, 9 PS ? More rosters

Pro Football Hall of Famers

Baltimore 11 Adam Ferguson 82 Raymond Berry 70 Art Donovan 83 Ted Hendricks 88 John Mackey 89 Gino Marchetti 24 Lenny Moore 77 Jim Parker 19 Johnny Unitas Weeb Ewbank Don Shula

Indianapolis 29 Eric Dickerson

Retired numbers

Baltimore 19 Johnny Unitas 22 Buddy Young 24 Lenny Moore 70 Art Donovan 77 Jim Parker 82 Raymond Berry 89 Gino Marchetti

Indianapolis (none) However, the Colts Ring of Honor includes: 4 Jim Harbaugh, QB 75 Chris Hinton, OT 80 Bill Brooks, WR Robert Irsay, owner Ted Marchibroda, Head Coach 12th Man, a tribute to the fans

All-time first-round draft picks

Notable coaches

Head coaches

Current staff

	Front Office Owner/CEO - Jim Irsay President - Bill Polian Senior Executive Vice President - Pete Ward Executive Vice President - Bob Terpening Vice President of Football Operations - Chris Polian Director of Football Administration - Steve Champlin Director of Player Personnel - Tom Telesco Consultant to Player Personnel - Dom Anile, Sr. Director of Pro Player Personnel - Clyde Powers Head Coaches Head Coach - Tony Dungy Associate Head Coach/Quarterbacks - Jim Caldwell Offensive Coaches Offensive Coordinator - Tom Moore Running Backs - Gene Huey Wide Receivers - Clyde Christensen Tight Ends - Ricky Thomas Offensive Line - Howard Mudd Offensive Quality Control - Pete Metzelaars			Defensive Coaches Defensive Coordinator - Ron Meeks Defensive Line - John Teerlinck Linebackers - Mike Murphy Defensive Backs - Alan Williams Special Assistant to the Defense - Rod Perry Defensive Quality Control - Carlos Woods Special Teams Coaches Special Teams - Russ Purnell Strength and Conditioning Strength and Conditioning - Jon Torine Assistant Strength and Conditioning - Richard Howell ? ? More NFL staffs

Radio and television

The Colts' flagship station from 1984-1998 and again starting in the 2007 season is WIBC 1070AM (renamed WFNI as of December 26, 2007); under the new contract, games are 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 Colts offensive lineman Will Wolford serves as color commentator. Former head coach Ted Marchibroda of both Baltimore and Indianapolis Colts franchises, who served as color commentator from 1999 to 2006, serves as an analyst on their pre-game show. 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 4." Indiana Hoosiers announcer Don Fischer provides play-by-play. Regular-season Monday Night and NFL Network games are simulcast on WNDY-23 and WTHR-13, respectively.

References

1. Colts clip Raiders for fifth straight AFC South title
2. Baltimore's Colts: A Team for the Ages
3. Title Unavailable
4. http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nfl/balticolts/baltcolts.html
5. The ‘Greatest Game’ in Collective Memory
6. No Kick, No Classic
7. http://members.tripod.com/~bonesaw/records6.htm
8. http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1065650/2/index.htm
9. GoogleBook: Glory For Sale
10. http://books.google.com/books?id=u5sKmJItUF4C&pg=PA112&lpg=PA112&dq=baltodome&source=bl&ots=fTv7Wkhh
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13. http://books.google.com/books?id=d6ySz8psnPMC&pg=PA105&lpg=PA108&ots=1s8HS-ZljZ&dq=phoenix+negotiati
14. http://books.google.com/books?id=d6ySz8psnPMC&pg=PA108&lpg=PA108&ots=1s8HS-ZljZ&dq=phoenix+negotiati
15. http://www.wthr.com/global/story.asp?s=7579254&ClientType=Printable
16. http://www.wthr.com/global/story.asp?s=7579254&ClientType=Printable
17. http://www.stadiumsofnfl.com/past/MemorialStadium.htm Stadiums of the NFL - Memorial Stadium
18. http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1065650/9/index.htm
19. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E5D61739F93BA15751C0A962948260
20. Descendants of the Mayflower - A History of the Indianapolis Colts
21. http://www2.indystar.com/library/factfiles/sports/football-pro/indpls_colts/history/colts.html
22. http://www.indystar.com/article/20080815/SPORTS03/808150305/1112/NEWS10
23. http://books.google.com/books?id=d6ySz8psnPMC&pg=PA111&lpg=PA108&ots=1s8HS-ZljZ&dq=phoenix+negotiati
24. http://www2.indystar.com/library/factfiles/people/i/irsay_jim/stories/1997_0115.html
25. Moving the Company
26. "The Greatest Game Ever Played" documentary on ESPN, 2008-12-13
27. http://www.heartland.org/publications/policy%20studies/article.html?articleid=9482
28. http://books.google.com/books?id=d6ySz8psnPMC&pg=PA119&lpg=PA108&ots=1s8HS-ZljZ&dq=phoenix+negotiati
29. http://www.wthr.com/global/story.asp?s=7579254&ClientType=Printable
30. http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=11822
31. History of the Indianapolis Colts from indystar.com (Last Accessed June 10, 2006)
32. Colts' Jim Irsay Profiled As One Of The NFL's Savviest Owners http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/123962
33. USA Today-Dungy inherits high-powered offense. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/nfl/colts/2002-01-22-dungy.htm
34. Official Bio on Colts.com
35. 2006 NFL Record and Fact Book
36. http://www.indystar.com/article/20081221/LOCAL18/812210370/1112/NEWS10