57 Fun Facts About Indianapolis Colts

In which city did the Colts play before moving to Indianapolis in 1984?

Baltimore lost the Colts in March 1984 after owner Robert Irsay failed to win public money for a new stadium; the team's marching band played on in the city until the Ravens arrived in 1996.

Which moving company's vans famously carried the Colts out of town overnight in March 1984?

Mayflower Transit's vans were loaded overnight because Maryland lawmakers were about to pass a law letting the city seize the team by eminent domain; Indianapolis held a welcome rally days later.

Which quarterback, once cut by the Steelers and playing semi-pro for $6 a game, led the Colts to 1958 and 1959 titles?

Johnny Unitas got his chance in 1956 when starter George Shaw broke his leg, then threw a touchdown pass in 47 straight games, a record that stood for more than 50 years.

The 1958 NFL Championship, 'the Greatest Game Ever Played', was the first decided how?

In sudden-death overtime, with the score tied 17-17, Alan Ameche's one-yard run won it 23-17 for the Colts; the televised finish is credited with popularising pro football.

Which coach led the Colts to their 1958 and 1959 titles and then beat them with the Jets in Super Bowl III?

Weeb Ewbank was replaced by Don Shula after the 1962 season, then beat Shula's heavily favoured Colts with the Jets; he is the only coach to win both NFL and AFL titles.

The Colts won Super Bowl V 16–13 on a last-second field goal by which kicker?

Jim O'Brien, a rookie, kicked the 32-yard winner with seconds left, giving the Colts their only lead in a game so error-strewn it was dubbed the 'Blunder Bowl'.

As of 2026, Super Bowl V remains the only Super Bowl with what distinction?

Its MVP played for the losing team: linebacker Chuck Howley intercepted two passes and forced a fumble in the 16-13 defeat, becoming the first non-quarterback to win the award.

In 1972 Robert Irsay acquired the Colts by swapping franchises with Carroll Rosenbloom, who took over which team?

The Los Angeles Rams were bought by Robert Irsay in 1972 and traded straight to Rosenbloom for the Colts, the team Irsay moved to Indianapolis twelve years later.

Which Stanford quarterback refused to play for the Colts after going first overall in 1983 and forced a trade to Denver?

John Elway, drafted first overall by the Colts in April 1983, threatened to play baseball for the Yankees instead and was traded to Denver within a week for Chris Hinton, Mark Herrmann and a 1984 first-round pick.

Which future Hall of Fame running back did the Colts acquire by trade in 1987?

Eric Dickerson arrived mid-season in a blockbuster three-team trade and ran for 1,011 yards in nine games as the Colts won the AFC East, their first playoff trip since 1977.

Which quarterback, the first overall pick of the 1990 draft, led the Colts through their 1–15 season in 1991?

Jeff George cost the Colts two starters and a first-round pick in a trade up with Atlanta; four years later they traded him back to the same club for a pick that became a Hall of Fame receiver.

The 1995 Colts came within a Hail Mary of Super Bowl XXX, losing the AFC Championship Game to which team?

The Pittsburgh Steelers won 20-16 on 14 January 1996 when Jim Harbaugh's last-play heave bounced off Aaron Bailey in the end zone; the Colts had just won their first playoff games since moving to Indianapolis.

Which executive drafted Peyton Manning first overall in 1998 and built the Colts' Super Bowl XLI team?

Bill Polian had earlier built the Buffalo team that reached four straight Super Bowls; the Colts fired him and his son Chris after the 2-14 season of 2011.

Peyton Manning played his college football at which school?

Tennessee had Peyton Manning as its starter for four years: projected as the top pick in the draft a year early, he stayed for his senior season and finished second in the Heisman vote.

Which Colts receiver set the single-season record with 143 catches in 2002?

Marvin Harrison, drafted with a pick the Colts got by trading away a former first overall quarterback, caught 143 passes in 2002, 20 more than the previous record.

Which running back did the Colts draft fourth overall in 1999 to complete their offensive triplets?

Edgerrin James, taken from Miami ahead of Ricky Williams, led the NFL in rushing in 1999 and 2000, the first two seasons after the Colts traded away their previous star back.

Tony Dungy took over the Colts in 2002 after being fired as head coach of which team?

Tony Dungy was fired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in January 2002 after six seasons and four playoff trips; the Bucs won the Super Bowl the next season under Jon Gruden, and Dungy coached the Colts until 2008.

Who coached the opposing team against Tony Dungy's Colts in Super Bowl XLI?

Lovie Smith, once an assistant on Dungy's staff, reached the Super Bowl hours before his mentor did, so Dungy's win made him the first African American head coach to lift the trophy.

Which team did the Colts beat 29–17 in Super Bowl XLI, the franchise's first title in Indianapolis?

The Chicago Bears took the lead when Devin Hester returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, but in the first rain-soaked Super Bowl the Colts won 29-17 and Peyton Manning was named MVP.

Whose final-minute touchdown capped the Colts' comeback from 21–3 down to beat the Patriots 38–34 in January 2007?

Joseph Addai, a rookie, ran in from three yards with a minute left; Marlin Jackson then intercepted Tom Brady to seal the biggest comeback an AFC Championship Game had seen.

The 2005 Colts started 13–0, but whose missed 46-yard field goal sealed their 21–18 home playoff loss?

Mike Vanderjagt, who would retire as the most accurate kicker in NFL history, pushed the tying kick wide right in the final seconds; the Colts did not re-sign him.

The Colts lost Super Bowl XLIV 31–17 to which team after a 14–0 regular season start?

The New Orleans Saints won 31-17 in Miami on 7 February 2010 after Sean Payton's surprise onside kick opened the second half; Tracy Porter's 74-yard interception return sealed it.

Which first-year head coach led the 2009 Colts to a 14–0 start?

Jim Caldwell, promoted when Tony Dungy retired, won his first 14 games; with the top seed secured the Colts rested their starters and lost the last two.

Who made eight starts at quarterback for the 2-14 Colts in 2011 while Manning was out?

Curtis Painter, a 2009 sixth-round pick from Purdue, went 0-8 as the starter before Dan Orlovsky took over; the 2-14 finish brought the first overall pick and, in March 2012, Manning's release.

Which Stanford quarterback did the Colts take first overall in 2012 to replace Peyton Manning?

Andrew Luck, taken first overall in April 2012, led the Colts from 2-14 to 11-5 and the playoffs as a rookie, then beat Peyton Manning's unbeaten Broncos 39-33 in October 2013.

In the 2013 wild-card round the Colts erased a 28-point deficit to beat which team 45–44?

The Kansas City Chiefs led 38-10 early in the third quarter; the Colts' quarterback even scooped up a teammate's fumble and scored in the second-biggest comeback in NFL playoff history.

The Colts' loss to New England in the 2014 AFC Championship Game became infamous under what name?

Deflategate began when Colts staff flagged an intercepted ball as soft during New England's 45-7 win on 18 January 2015; the NFL later suspended Tom Brady four games and fined the Patriots $1 million.

What reason did the Colts' franchise quarterback give for retiring in August 2019 at 29?

The endless cycle of injury and rehab included a lacerated kidney in 2015 and shoulder surgery that cost him all of 2017; he said it had taken the joy out of the game.

Which head coach withdrew from the Colts job in 2018 hours after being announced, returning to the Patriots?

The Colts announced Josh McDaniels as head coach on 6 February 2018 and he backed out that evening to stay as Patriots offensive coordinator; Eagles coordinator Frank Reich was hired on 11 February.

Which two Colts rookies were both named first-team All-Pro in 2018?

Quenton Nelson and Shaquille Leonard both made it at the first attempt; Leonard, then known as Darius, led the NFL in tackles yet was left out of that season's Pro Bowl.

Which quarterback left his team of 16 seasons to sign a one-year, $25 million deal with the Colts in 2020?

Philip Rivers led the Colts to 11-5 and a wild-card exit, then retired; five years later, at 44, he came back to start for them again after an injury to their quarterback.

Which former Colts player, an ESPN analyst who had never coached above high school, became interim head coach in November 2022?

Jeff Saturday, a centre who made five Pro Bowls with the Colts, won his first game and then lost seven straight; he was believed to be the first NFL head coach without college or pro coaching experience since 1961.

Which Florida quarterback did the Colts select fourth overall in 2023?

Anthony Richardson, the fourth pick in 2023 from Florida, started four games before a shoulder injury ended his rookie season; Gardner Minshew took over and the Colts finished 9-8.

Who became the Colts' principal owner and CEO in June 2025 after her father's death?

Carlie Irsay-Gordon, the eldest of Jim Irsay's three daughters, shares leadership with her sisters and has spent games on the sideline in a headset, following the play calls.

The Colts' late owner paid $2.43 million in 2001 for the original manuscript of which book?

On the Road's original manuscript is a 120-foot scroll that Jack Kerouac typed in 1951, by his own account in three weeks; the Colts' owner bought it for $2.43 million fifty years later.

Which stadium was the Colts' home from 1984 to 2007?

The RCA Dome opened in 1984 as the Hoosier Dome, built to lure an NFL team before the Colts had agreed to come; renamed in 1994, it hosted its last game in January 2008, a playoff loss to San Diego.

Which annual NFL event did Indianapolis begin hosting in 1987?

The Scouting Combine took shape in 1985, when three separate scouting camps merged to share costs; after two years in other cities it settled in Indianapolis in 1987.

Which Colt caught a then-record 12 passes in the 1958 title game known as the 'Greatest Game Ever Played'?

Raymond Berry was a 20th-round pick and a long shot to make the team; he practised his routes until they were exact and retired with more catches than any player before him.

Which kicker won Super Bowls with the Patriots and Colts and retired as the NFL's all-time leading scorer?

Adam Vinatieri went undrafted in 1996, then scored more points than anyone in NFL history: 2,673 across 10 seasons with New England and 14 with the Colts.

Which Colts pass rusher from Syracuse made the spin move his Hall of Fame trademark?

Dwight Freeney's spin move brought 13 sacks in a rookie year when he started only eight games; his 107.5 for the Colts stood as a club record until a teammate passed him a year after he left.

Which AFC West champion did the Colts beat 27–17 in the first AFC Championship Game in January 1971?

The Oakland Raiders lost 27-17 as George Blanda threw three interceptions; the Colts, one of three old NFL clubs moved into the new AFC, went on to win Super Bowl V.

Which Colts quarterback, the NFL's MVP for 1976, led the team to three straight AFC East titles?

Bert Jones's Colts lost their first playoff game after each of those three titles, the last in the double-overtime 'Ghost to the Post' game in 1977.

Which running back did the Colts take second overall in 1994, sparking their mid-90s revival?

Marshall Faulk was Offensive Rookie of the Year and Pro Bowl MVP in his first season; traded to St. Louis in 1999 for two draft picks, he won a Super Bowl there that season and the league MVP award the next.

Which head coach's fight with leukaemia rallied the 2012 Colts to an unexpected 11–5 playoff season?

Chuck Pagano was diagnosed with leukaemia in September 2012, three games into his first season; Bruce Arians went 9-3 as interim coach before Pagano returned for the finale and a wild-card trip.

Which defunct team's assets did Carroll Rosenbloom's group purchase in 1953 to create the Colts?

The Dallas Texans folded after one 1-11 season in 1952; the NFL awarded their assets to a group led by Carroll Rosenbloom and treats the Colts as a 1953 expansion team, not a continuation.

Which Hall of Fame tight end spent nine seasons with the Colts and served as president of the players' union?

John Mackey had the speed to turn short catches into long touchdowns at a time when tight ends were treated as extra blockers, and he missed only one game in ten years.

Which team shut out Don Shula's 12-2 Colts 27-0 in the 1964 NFL Championship Game?

The Cleveland Browns were seven-point underdogs at home, yet after a scoreless first half Frank Ryan threw three touchdown passes to Gary Collins.

Which two NFL owners moved their teams to the new AFC alongside the Colts in 1970?

Art Modell and Art Rooney agreed in May 1969 to take the Browns and Steelers across with the Colts, so that each new conference would have thirteen teams.

Peyton Manning's 49 touchdown passes in 2004 broke a single-season record of 48 held by which quarterback?

Dan Marino's mark fell on a late touchdown pass to Brandon Stokley in a game the Colts went on to win in overtime; Manning was voted the league's MVP outright that season.

Roughly how many season-ticket requests did the Colts receive in 1984 after arriving in Indianapolis?

Some 143,000 season-ticket requests poured in after the March 1984 move, more than twice what the new stadium could hold.

Which coach took over the Colts in 1998, Peyton Manning's rookie season?

Jim Mora went 3-13 in his first season with the rookie Manning, then 13-3 the next; his incredulous 'Playoffs?' rant came after a five-turnover loss in 2001, his last season.

Surgery on what kept Peyton Manning out for all of 2011, ending his 208-start Colts streak?

Neck surgery before the season sidelined him; without Manning the Colts fell to 2-14, earned the first pick in the draft and released him the following March.

Which Texas team ended the Colts' 9–0 start to the 2006 season?

The Dallas Cowboys won 21-14 at Texas Stadium on 19 November 2006, handing the Colts their first loss after nine straight wins; the Colts finished 12-4 and went on to win Super Bowl XLI.

Which Colts tight end caught 100 passes in 2009?

Dallas Clark caught 100 passes for 1,106 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2009; he had started his Iowa career as a linebacker before the coaches moved him to tight end.

For which quarterback did the Colts trade a third-round and a conditional second-round pick in March 2021?

Carson Wentz arrived from Philadelphia, and the conditional pick ended up a first-rounder; the 9-8 Colts then lost at two-win Jacksonville in Week 18 to miss the playoffs and traded him to Washington after one season.

In 2023 the Colts unveiled an alternate uniform that included the franchise's first helmet in which colour?

Black arrived with the 'Indiana Nights' alternate uniform; the club said it answered years of fan requests and echoed the black and blue of an Indiana night sky.

Which of these teams have the Colts been playing longest, in a series that dates to the 1970 season?

The Tennessee Titans franchise first met the Colts in October 1970, the year the merger moved the Colts into the AFC; the two became division rivals when the AFC South was formed in 2002.