In 2010 the Indianapolis Colts played an impressive game and made it all the way to the Super Bowl. This, however, was only the most recent achievement of a rich and interesting history for one of the best franchises currently playing in the National Football League.

The Early Years

Many people do not know this, but the Colts were not always the “Indianapolis” Colts. The franchise actually has somewhat of a confusing history, and the NFL team we know today first got its “Colts” name when in Baltimore.

The Baltimore Colts was originally a franchise in the All-American Football Conference. They were formed in 1947, prior to the establishment of the NFL. They joined the NFL in 1950 when it was established, and after they lost eleven out of twelve games in 1951 the team was disbanded.

After much protest by the residents of Baltimore to have the Baltimore Colts reestablished, the NFL challenged the residents to show their sincerity purchase 15,000 season tickets in six weeks—they did it in four. The original team’s roster was not reestablished, but the Dallas Texans were moved to Baltimore in 1952 and took the original team’s name. The Dallas Texans in turn were originally founded as the Boston Yanks, so it can therefore be properly said that today’s Indianapolis Colts started as the Boston Yanks.

Super Bowl III
Super Bowl III was the showdown between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Jets. Because it was only the third Super Bowl ever held, it represented the first Super Bowl either team had played in.

In the 1968 regular season, the Colts’ quarterback Earl Morrall had the highest passer rating in the league at 93.2%. The Colts had a ten game winning streak and ended up with a 13-1 win-loss record by the end of the season, leading the entire NFL.

On the other hand, the Jets had an 11-3 win-loss record for the regular season, and their quarterback, Joe Namath, only had a 49.2% pass rate. The Jets were considered a clear underdog for Super Bowl III.

However, despite their underdog status, in the first half, the Jets ended up leading 7-0. In the second half, the Jets managed to take another nine points while the Colts were only able to get seven. The underdog Jets defeated the Colts, for a total of 16-9. The Jets had gotten one touchdown, a one point conversion, and three field goals, while the Colts had a single touchdown and a one point conversion.

Super Bowl V

Soon after their unexpected defeat in Super Bowl III, the Baltimore Colts got another shot at winning a Super Bowl in the 1970 season’s Super Bowl V. This time, they would play against the Dallas Cowboys. The Baltimore Colts had an 11-2-1 record for the regular season, while the Dallas Cowboys had a 10-4 record.

Going into the Super Bowl, the Colts had Earl Morrall once again as their quarterback, with a 97.6% pass rating for the season. The Cowboys, on the other hand, had Craig Morton with only 89.8%.

The first quarter was relatively uneventful. There were no touchdowns, and only one field goal, which had been taken by Dallas.

The second quarter was when things started to heat up. The Cowboys managed to get another field goal, but Baltimore got a break. The Colts’ John Mackey made an amazing 75 yard run to get a touchdown, tying the game. Unfortunately for the Colts, the Cowboys got another touchdown and one-point conversion, bringing the game up to 13-6 at the end of the first half.

The third quarter was uneventful, but in the fourth, the Colts managed to tie the game with a touchdown and a one point conversion. With five seconds left in the game, the Colts managed to get a field goal, making it 16-13, and won their first Super Bowl ever.

Move to Indianapolis

The move to Indianapolis by the Colts does not require much explanation. In 1984, after much dispute between the franchise ownership and the City of Baltimore over such things as the refusal by the city to build a new stadium and the lack of funding, the Colts accepted an offer by Indianapolis to relocate, and became the Indianapolis Colts.

Recent Super Bowls

After taking up their current location, the Indianapolis Colts did not make it to any Super Bowls until 2007, when they defeated the Chicago Bears 29-17 in Super Bowl XLI.

The Colts had another shot at Super Bowl XLIV in 2010 against the New Orleans Saints, and took an early lead, but were ultimately defeated 31-17.

Conclusion

The Indianapolis Colts have a long an interesting history. Though the club has taken a few different names in its history, it has now been in Indianapolis for 25 years. It does not appear that they have any intent to move again, and with their record of achievements, Indianapolis is arguably the luckiest NFL city.