Highlights
The Baltimore Colts were an NFL franchise from 1953-1983, winning three NFL titles and a Super Bowl. Quarterback John Unitas, the face of the franchise, took the field for injured starter George Shaw in 1956. He led the Colts to a .500 record the rest of that season and would go on to become a Hall of Famer and one of the city's most beloved athletes of all-time. In 1958, the Colts defeated the Giants at Yankee Stadium in what became known as "The Greatest Game Ever Played." The game boosted the NFL's popularity, due largely to the fact that it was broadcast to a national television audience. Running back Alan Ameche scored from 1 yard out to give the Colts a 23-17 win in the first overtime...
The Baltimore Colts were an NFL franchise from 1953-1983, winning three NFL titles and a Super Bowl. Quarterback John Unitas, the face of the franchise, took the field for injured starter George Shaw in 1956. He led the Colts to a .500 record the rest of that season and would go on to become a Hall of Famer and one of the city's most beloved athletes of all-time. In 1958, the Colts defeated the Giants at Yankee Stadium in what became known as "The Greatest Game Ever Played." The game boosted the NFL's popularity, due largely to the fact that it was broadcast to a national television audience. Running back Alan Ameche scored from 1 yard out to give the Colts a 23-17 win in the first overtime game ever and their first championship. The Colts found themselves in a familiar spot in 1959, facing the Giants again in the NFL championship game, which was played at Memorial Stadium this time. New York took a 9-7 lead, but Unitas led the Colts to 24 fourth-quarter points and a 31-16 victory for their second straight title. Weeb Ewbank coached the Colts from 1954-1962. The franchise's first owner was Carroll Rosenbloom. After the Colts finished 7-7 in 1962, Ewbank was fired and Don Shula was brought in. Shula helped the Colts to a 12-2 record in 1964, and Unitas was named the league's Most Valuable Player. But the Colts lost to the Cleveland Browns in the NFL championship game. The Colts played in Super Bowl III in 1968 behind quarterback Earl Morall, who won the MVP filling in for an injured Unitas. However, they were defeated by quarterback Joe Namath, former Colts coach Ewbank and the Jets in what some consider the biggest upset in NFL history. The Colts were shifted to the AFC in 1970 as part of the NFL-AFL merger. They advanced to the Super Bowl for the second time in three years and won this time, defeating the Dallas Cowboys for the championship. In 1972, the Colts had their first losing record since 1955, and Unitas was traded after the season. The Colts won three straight AFC East titles from 1975-1977 under Ted Marchibroda. The franchise selected future Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway with the first pick in the 1983 draft, but he refused to join the team. The Colts played their final game in Baltimore on Dec. 18, 1983. Owner Robert Irsay, who took over the team in 1972, began to think about moving the Colts to another city in the offseason because of poor attendance and an aging Memorial Stadium. The Maryland legislature tried to use eminent domain laws to keep the team in Baltimore, so Irsay used now infamous Mayflower vans to take the team to Indianapolis in the middle of the night. Colts fans woke up the next morning without a football team. The Indianapolis team kept the Colts' records, uniforms and logo, which angers Baltimore fans to this day. Baltimore was without a professional football team until 1996 when the Ravens arrived. The original Baltimore Colts played in Baltimore from 1947-1950 as part of the All-America Football Conference. The following players have had their numbers retired: Unitas, Buddy Young, Lenny Moore, Art Donovan, Jim Parker, Raymond Berry and Gino Marchetti.
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Top 175 athletes list left a few out
Congrats to Mike Klingaman and staff at The Sun for the job they did in compiling the top 175 greatest athletes in Maryland history. I noticed several glaring omissions, however. Y.A. Tittleplayed two years for the All-American Football Conference...Tags: Sports, Baltimore Orioles, Jim Palmer, American Football Conference, National Football League
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Jesse L. Thomas, Colts player
Jesse L. Thomas, a Baltimore Colts defensive back in the 1950s who then spent four decades at Morgan State University, serving for several years as its head football coach, died of dementia complications May 16 at his Columbia home. He was 83.
Born in...Tags: Health and Safety at School, College Sports, The Pennsylvania State University, Health, Morgan State University
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Matte deserved a spot on the 175 athletes list
Helen Delich Bentley is right on point in criticizing the omission of Tom Matte from The Sun's historical list of outstanding Maryland athletes ("Tom Matte deserves spot on greatest list," May 15). Anyone who's old enough to remember the Baltimore Colts'...Tags: Sports, Port of Baltimore, Football
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No. 2: Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas unflappable, unsurpassed, unforgettable
Last week, on what would have been his father's 79th birthday, Chad Unitas visited his grave at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens. There, on the edge of a pond filled with ducks and ringed by weeping willows, he knelt by the marble marker and spoke with the...
Tags: Sports, Butterfly Ballots, Yankee Stadium, Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens
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Jim Parker flattened opponents, paving way for Colts to win titles
Lenny Moore can hardly attend an NFL function without some gnarly old linebacker wagging his finger at the 78-year-old Baltimore Colts Hall of Fame running back and telling Moore something he already knows. "Lenny," the old-timer will say, "I had a...
Tags: Jim Parker, Doug Atkins, Johnny Unitas, National Football League, New York Giants
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Ravens announce plans for three open practices in response to move out of Westminster
The Ravens announced some of their summer training camp plans today, and they include three practices open to fans. After taking the regular summer workouts away from McDaniel College in Westminster, a decision that will prevent most fans from...
Tags: College Sports, John Harbaugh, Health, Schools, Jim Caldwell
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Art Callaham: Some suggestions for economic development
For the past few weeks, there has been a lot of news and editorial space given to our local Economic Development Commission, staff, leadership, County Commissioners, past County Commissioners, old dogs, children and watermelon wine. OK, not the last...Tags: Sports, Economic Policy, Privatization, Company Privatization, Conservation
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NFL Draft: S.D. players getting shot at big time
A University of South Dakota lineman may get to block for a Heisman Trophy winner, while a South Dakota State receiver could catches passes from a Super Bowl winning quarterback. University of South Dakota offensive lineman Tom Compton was selected by...
Tags: Tom Compton, Super Bowl, Jacksonville Jaguars, St. Louis Rams, Washington Redskins
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Shula's takes a hike
The Baltimore SunThe Shula's Steak House in the Sheraton Baltimore City Center Hotel is closed. It actually closed a couple of months ago, quietly. It had operated at the hotel, since 1998, in a licensing agreement with the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based chain presided...Tags: Don Shula, Steaks, Lifestyle and Leisure, Fort Lauderdale, Foods and Beverages
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Ex-Towson State linebacker Vitt named interim Saints coach
Joe Vitt went directly from the football field at Towson State to his first job in the NFL as the strength coach of the Baltimore Colts in 1979. A little more than 30 years later, Vitt finds himself in the middle of one of the biggest stories in the...
Tags: Bill Parcells, San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams, Sean Payton, National Football League
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Marion Snyder Goldstein, nurse
Marion Snyder Goldstein, a nurse who supervised operating rooms for decades at the now-closed Children's Hospital on Greenspring Avenue, died Tuesday at Stella Maris assisted living in Timonium. The longtime Baldwin resident was 92.
The family was not...Tags: Healthcare Provider, Health, Nursing, Scranton, Hamilton
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Scoreboard -- April 24, 2012
TV SPORTS Soccer--UEFA Champions League, Bayern Munich at Real Madrid, 1 p.m. (FX) Major League Baseball--St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs, 1:10 p.m. (WGN); Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Tampa Bay Rays, 6 p.m. (ESPN2); Boston Red Sox at...Tags: College Sports, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, American League
May 24, 2012
|Story| Baltimore Sun
May 22, 2012
|Story| Baltimore Sun
May 23, 2012
|Story| Baltimore Sun
May 15, 2012
|Story| Baltimore Sun
May 8, 2012
|Story| Baltimore Sun
May 4, 2012
|Story| Baltimore Sun
May 6, 2012
|Story| Herald Mail
Apr 29, 2012
|Story| Aberdeen News
May 1, 2012
|Story| Baltimore Sun
Apr 12, 2012
|Story| Baltimore Sun
Apr 15, 2012
|Story| Baltimore Sun
Apr 25, 2012
|Story| Aberdeen News
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