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The Baltimore Colts were a professional
American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
team based in
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
, Maryland. The first team to bear the name, it was a member of the
All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a major professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many ...
(AAFC) from 1947 to 1949 and then joined the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL) for one season before folding. The Colts were one of the least successful teams in the AAFC and NFL both on and off the field, winning only 11 of their 54 games in their history. In 1953, Baltimore was granted an expansion team that revived the Colts name. That franchise moved in and became the
Indianapolis Colts 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) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...
. This Colts team's origin lies with the
Miami Seahawks The Miami Seahawks were a professional American football team based in Miami, Florida. They played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in the league's inaugural season, 1946, before the team was relocated to Baltimore. They are notable ...
, one of the charter franchises of the AAFC. After playing a single disastrous season, the Seahawks were seized by the league, and were purchased and reorganized by a group of businessmen as the Baltimore Colts. The new team struggled through the next three seasons, but managed to grow a sizable fan base in Baltimore. In 1949, the Colts were one of three AAFC teams, along with the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...
and the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
, to be brought into the NFL following the AAFC–NFL merger. They played only during the 1950 season before financial pressures forced them to fold.


History


Origins

The
All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a major professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many ...
had initially intended to place a team in Baltimore in its opening 1946 season, but this fell through as its prospective owner, retired boxer Gene Tunney, was unable to secure a stadium deal. Needing an eighth team to avoid byes, the AAFC granted a franchise to a group of
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
-based boosters, who formed the
Miami Seahawks The Miami Seahawks were a professional American football team based in Miami, Florida. They played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in the league's inaugural season, 1946, before the team was relocated to Baltimore. They are notable ...
. The Seahawks problems included being in the second-smallest market in the NFL or AAFC (ahead of only Green Bay), while Seahawks owner Harvey Hester was the only AAFC owner who was not a millionaire. The season saw them play seven of their first eight games on the road, and combined with a very poor team, the Seahawks drew a total of 49,151 fans to their seven home games. At the end of the season, the team was $350,000 in debt, including $80,000 in outstanding travel and payroll costs. This was well beyond Hester's ability to pay, and his boosters walked away upon realizing the extent of the debt. Hester was subsequently declared bankrupt, leaving AAFC Commissioner Jim Crowley to seize the franchise.Coenen, p. 126. Five businessmen, led by
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
attorney Robert D. Rodenburg, made a bid to purchase the Seahawks' assets and use them to start a new team in Baltimore. The AAFC quickly approved the deal, and the team was reorganized as the Baltimore Colts, a name chosen due to the city's long history of
horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
and breeding. Due to the club's inherited talent drought, the Colts were permitted to recruit a player from each of the AAFC's four strongest teams. Nevertheless, the Colts struggled financially through the 1947 season, leading the owners to walk away after the season. The team was little better on the field, winning only two games to finish in the Eastern Division basement. Sensing a crisis, the AAFC supplied its three weakest teams (the Colts, the Chicago Rockets and the
Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...
) with superior players. The team found new ownership group, which consisted of 18 area businessmen led by Baltimore Bullets president R. C. Embry, but its financial crisis was not resolved. Embry stepped down as president after the season and was succeeded by general manager Walter Driskill. Even with more talent the Colts were barely competitive on the field in 1948. However, the Eastern Division was rather poor that year; none of its four teams tallied a winning record. The Colts tied for first with the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
with a 7–7 record, and lost the division championship playoff to the Bills. The team then regressed in 1949, finishing dead last with a 1–11 record.


Merger

In 1948, both the AAFC and the NFL were struggling, and determined that the continued viability of professional football depended on a merger between the leagues. The leagues began negotiating a deal in which three AAFC teams would be brought into the NFL, and the owners of the others would be compensated for their interest. The
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
and
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...
, clearly the AAFC's strongest teams, were obvious choices. It initially appeared that the Bills would be the third team in the merger. However, the Colts' owners pressed to be included in the Bills' place, even though they were one of the weakest teams in the league.
George Preston Marshall George Preston Marshall (October 11, 1896 – August 9, 1969) was an American professional American football, football executive who founded the National Football League (NFL)'s Washington Commanders. The team began play as the Boston Braves in ...
, owner of the
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...
, initially refused to cooperate. He considered Baltimore to be part of his home territory, and believed the Colts would infringe on his rights. However, Marshall was convinced that the Colts would be a natural rival to his Redskins, and finally relented in exchange for the Colts paying him $150,000. With this obstacle overcome, the merger was finalized, and the Colts were brought into the NFL. In order to improve the team's financial picture, ownership decided to have a businessman run the team in 1950 and selected Abraham Watner, the president of a Baltimore cemetery firm, to serve as president. Driskill remained on as the team's general manager. Despite playing in the second-smallest market in pro football (ahead of only Green Bay) and Buffalo's notoriously harsh climate, the Bills were arguably a better choice for entry into the NFL. The Bills were in a more isolated market, had stronger attendance and performed better on the field. The newly merged league's owners scheduled a second vote to add the Bills in order to balance the schedule. However, in those days, adding a new team required a unanimous vote, and the
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
's
George Halas George Stanley Halas Sr. (February 2, 1895 – October 31, 1983), nicknamed "Papa Bear", was an American professional football end, coach, and executive. He was the founder and owner of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL), ...
and the
Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...
'
Dan Reeves Daniel Edward Reeves (January 19, 1944 – January 1, 2022) was an American professional football running back and coach in the National Football League (NFL). During his 38 years in the NFL, Reeves participated in nine Super Bowls, the third ...
persuaded two other clubs to vote with them in blocking the merger. (The Bills were not the same team as the modern
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
, a charter
American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...
franchise which joined the NFL in 1970 as part of the AFL-NFL merger.) The Colts were nominally part of the "National Conference" along with the other eastern teams in the merged league, but unlike the other twelve teams, Baltimore was scheduled as a "swing team" and played every team in the NFL over the course of the 1950 season; the other twelve teams played a double round robin schedule in their conference, plus one crossover game with the opposing conference and a game with Baltimore. Despite the addition of the Bills players, the Colts struggled through the 1950 season, ending with a record of 1–11–0.


Dissolution

Facing a financial crisis, Colts president Abraham Watner sold the team and its player contracts back to the NFL for $50,000, and the team officially folded. Despite this, fan support continued in many quarters: notably, the team's marching band and fan club remained intact. As of , this is the last time the NFL has outright contracted a franchise. The following year, the
New York Yanks The New York Yanks were an American football team that played in the National Football League under that name in the 1950 and 1951 seasons. Season-by-season overview 1949 The team began in 1944 as the Boston Yanks, owned by Kate Smith's m ...
folded, but their player contracts were acquired by the Dallas Texans, who were ostensibly a new franchise. After only one season, that team was also dissolved and its assets were purchased by another new franchise, the present-day Colts, ending Baltimore's absence from the NFL after only two seasons. Since their return to the league the Colts are considered to have begun play in 1953, and are not a continuation of the original Colts, Yanks, Texans or any other franchise.


Season-by-season

, - , colspan="6" style="text-align:center; ;" , Baltimore Colts , - ,
1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...
, , 2 , , 11 , , 1 , , 4th AAFC East , , – , - ,
1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...
, , 7 , , 7 , , 0 , , 2nd AAFC East , , Lost Eastern Division Championship Buffalo 28, Baltimore 17 , - ,
1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...
, , 1 , , 11 , , 0 , , 7th AAFC , , – , - , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;" , Merged into NFL , - ,
1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...
, , 1 , , 11 , , 0 , , 7th National , , – , - !Totals , , 11 , , 40 , , 1 , colspan="2",


First round draft picks


Pro Football Hall of Famers


Radio announcers


Notes


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baltimore Colts (1947-1950) 1947 establishments in Maryland 1950 disestablishments in Maryland