Today we come to the story of a team that is the only team in its division to have already won the title. A team that had numerous legendary quarterbacks. It also has a curious negative record back in 1967 and sort of an allergy to the Pittsburgh Steelers

Here’s the history of the Indianapolis Colts!

The history of the Colts begins in Baltimore. On January 23, 1953, a group of investors led by Carroll Rosenbloom acquired the rights to an NFL franchise. Rosenbloom, who would later also own the Rams, received support from the city. Interestingly, the Baltimore Colts weren’t the first Baltimore Colts. Such a team had already existed from 1947 to 1950, but it was not particularly successful and was dissolved. And so the NFL seemed a bit skeptical at first and made it a condition that the new team had to sell 15,000 tickets within six weeks. However, this was already fulfilled following four weeks.

1. HC was Keith Molesworth. However, he only stayed a year. The new head coach became Weeb Ewbank. He would stay until 1962. In 1955 FB Alan Ameche became OROY. He would make the Pro Bowl four times in his career, despite only playing for six years. A year later, that award went to HB Lenny Moore. Both players would go on to be named to the NFL team of the ’50s, and Lenny Moore even made it to the Pro Bowl seven times. The new team won the first title in 1958 once morest the New York Giants with 23 to 17. A year later they managed to defend their title and defeated the New York Giants once more. QB was the legendary Johnny Unitas. He would be a three-time MVP in his career, ten Pro Bowl nominations, NFL Team of the Century, four passing touchdown leaders and an absolute legend.

However, you might not qualify for the playoffs for four years following the second title. In 1963 Don Shula became the new head coach and in his second season in 1964 he was named Coach of the Year. Unitas became MVP. However, in the playoffs it continued a clear defeat once morest the Browns. In 1967 the Colts just had unbelievable bad luck. In a season where you won 11 games and lost only one, where you had Coach of the Year and MVP, you mightn’t qualify for the playoffs. Because at that time only the winner of a division qualified for the playoffs and the Rams had won the direct duel. To date, the 1967 Baltimore Colts’ win rate is the highest for a team that hasn’t qualified.

In 1968 they made it into the playoffs and only lost one game once more. Don Shula became COY and Earl Morrall MVP. In the playoffs you might then win games once morest Minnesota and Cleveland and it felt like you were already the SB champion. Because the NFL teams were considered to be clearly superior to the AFL teams at the time. What were these New York Jets supposed to do in the finals? What followed was one of the biggest sensations in NFL history and a bitter defeat for the then Baltimore Colts. Don Shula resigned a year later and Don McCafferty took over. In his first season, he clinched the title by beating the Cowboys 16-13. The year following, it went back to the AFC Championship Game, but where the Miami Dolphins were clearly too strong.

The 1970s were anything but successful. Unitas left the team and McCafferty was fired. Ted Marchibroda’s tenure was unfortunate. He became a coach in his freshman year, but he lost the first playoff game to the Steelers. When Bert Jones became MVP and Offensive Player of the Year the following year, the fate was the same. And the year following that they lost once more in the first playoff game, this time following double overtime once morest the Raiders.

For 10 years nothing worked for the team in terms of playoffs. The Colts were particularly unsuccessful in the early 1980s. They managed just two wins in 1981, and in 1982 a draw with the Packers saved the team from an all-losing season.

It’s night around 1983, the Colts moved to Indianapolis relatively unexpectedly. Initially, success was not a comma – the first three years ended with clearly negative balance sheets. HC Ron Meyer led the team into the playoffs once more in 1987, but that was when it was almost over. After that, the team did not qualify for the playoffs through 1994, and in 1991 only managed a single win. Ted Marchiborda hardness back and in 1993 Marshall Faulk became OROY. In 1995, the team celebrated their first playoff win in 24 years once morest the Chargers. It even reached the AFC Championship game, but once once more the Pittsburgh Steelers were spoilsports. And in 1996, too, the team found its champion in the team from Stahlstadt.

Jim E. Mora took over the team in 1999 and led it to the playoffs twice without winning a game. With Edgerrin Jones, Indianapolis presented the OROY in 1999. The running back made four Pro Bowl and NFL team appearances in the 2000s. In 2002 Tony Dungy became coach. In the first year he was able to lead the team to the playoffs, but there it put up a nasty 0 to 41 smack once morest the Jets. Quarterback Peyton Manning was named MVP for the first time in 2003. And he led his team all the way to the AFC Championship, where he lost to the Patriots with the very young Tom Brady. The same happened in 2004, this time Manning even became MVP and offensive player of the year. In 2005, Indianapolis lost once more to the Pittsburgh Steelers. But in 2006 the time had come. After defeating Kansas City, the Ravens and the Patriots, you might beat the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl. Peyton Manning became Super Bowl MVP. Overall, the quarterback made it to the MVP 5 times in his great career and made an incredible 14 times in the Pro Bowl. No doubt there would also be arguments to see him as the greatest of all time, although I still think Tom Brady should be taken there. Of course, the sheriff was also voted into the NFL Team of the Century.

Indianapolis lost to the Chargers in the playoffs in 2007 and 2008. Manning became MVP once more. In 2009, Jim Caldwell took over and Pete Manning became MVP once more. It even went into the Superbowl once more, but here the team lost out once morest the New Orleans Saints. After a very poor season in 2011 with only two wins, when Peyton Manning had to sit out due to injury, things changed. The quarterback moved to Denver, where he would later win another ring and Chuck Pagano became the new head coach. However, since he had to end the season prematurely following suffering from leukemia, Bruce Arians was actually voted Coach of the Year. They lost to the Ravens in the playoffs.

In 2013 Chuck Pagano finally became head coach. And he also led his team to the playoffs, where the Colts caught up 28 points behind Kansas City and went even further. The next round, however, they lost to the Patriots. That also happened in 2014, where they lost to the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. This game is not without controversy, because it was the game with the balls that were too easily inflated.

After three years without a playoff, Pagano had to go and was replaced by Frank Reich. In the first year things looked really good and the team went straight to the playoffs, but that was the end of the playoffs once morest the Chiefs. Shaquille Leonard became DROY and Andrew Luck CPOY. But following that you only reached the playoffs once. The attempt with Matt Ryan went pretty badly wrong and so Frank Reich was fired. During the 2022 season, they set another curious negative record, leading 33-0 in the game once morest the Minnesota Vikings and still messing it up.

Legendary Players

HB Lenny Moore

QB Johnny Unitas

QB Peyton Manning

DT Art Donovan

BY Gino Marchetti