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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Famous Baltimore sports villains
The Baltimore SunHines Ward may be on his way out of Pittsburgh, but he won't soon be forgotten by Ravens fans. The Pittsburgh Steelers haven't made a decision yet on whether or not the wide receiver and his maddening, ever-present smile will be back in 2012, but here's a...Tags: Indianapolis Colts, San Diego Chargers, Hines Ward, Baseball, New York Yankees
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Former Annapolis Mayor Dennis Callahan dies at 70
Dennis M. Callahan, Anne Arundel County's chief administrative officer and a former Annapolis mayor who was known for his hard-nosed political style, died Wednesday morning after suffering a heart attack at his Severna Park home. He was 70.
Mr....Tags: Elections, High School Sports, Annapolis, Maryland General Assembly, Heart Attack
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Raymond Berry's 'Super' Walk
As he carried the Lombardi Trophy to midfield after the Super Bowl Sunday, past a double row of giddy and groping New York Giants, Raymond Berry felt their glee.
"They (players) were in another world," said Berry, 78. "As I watched them touch the trophy,...Tags: Raymond Berry, Super Bowl, Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots, Kraft Foods, Inc.
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Colts' 1953 NFL membership certificate up for auction
Et cetera Colts' membership certificate up for bid A rare piece of Baltimore Colts memorabilia — the team's 1953 NFL Certificate of Membership — is being auctioned off this weekend by Hunt Auctions of Exton, Pa. Online bidding for the Colts'...Tags: Indianapolis Colts, Philadelphia Flyers, Cody Eakin, Colorado Avalanche, Brooks Robinson
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Former Colts great Raymond Berry has ties to Baltimore and New England
Raymond Berrycan't fathom the odds. Who'd have thought that, the same year he was asked to present the Vince Lombardi Trophy, the two locales most dear to his heart would be playing on Sunday for a Super Bowl berth?
That's Baltimore, the town Berry...Tags: Super Bowl, Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Bears, Ed Reed, New England Patriots
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Baltimore football championship seasons have always started in Westminster … so should we be worried?
Many Carroll County residents are getting a case of nostalgic Super Bowl fever as they look forward to Sunday's AFC championship contest between the Baltimore Ravens and the New England Patriots. For more than 120 years — since football debuted...Tags: Super Bowl, Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots, Art Donovan, Baltimore Ravens
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Ravens' Dickson, Pitta out to prove they can be as effective as Patriots' tight ends
The comparisons are inevitable.
In the 2010 NFL draft, the Ravens selected a pair of tight ends in Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta. The New England Patriots also claimed a pair of tight ends in Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.
That's where the...Tags: Rob Gronkowski, Cam Cameron, Eric DeCosta, Bill Belichick, Chicago Bears
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Offensive lines: county executive, top aide spar over AFC championship
To some, he might seem a rebel in a Ravens town. But ironically, David Nitkin is a Patriot — a fan of the New England football team, albeit one who works for a county government whose executive, Ken Ulman, bleeds the purple and black of the...Tags: Super Bowl, Bill Belichick, Haloti Ngata, National Basketball Association, New England Patriots
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With purple pride, Howard County preps for Ravens playoff run
For the Baltimore Ravens, a bye week meant time to rest up. For fans, it meant more time to get purpled up. It also meant an extra week of anticipation for those who want to see the Ravens continue their journey to Super Bowl XLVI.
"I almost didn't...Tags: Super Bowl, Denver Broncos, Ed Reed, Torrey Smith, Baltimore Ravens
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Lloyd Pearson, Sun photographer
Lloyd Pearson, a veteran Baltimore Sun photographer whose iconic image of yellow and green Mayflower moving vans rolling the Baltimore Colts out of town during a midnight snowstorm earned him lasting fame, died New Year's Day from complications of...Tags: Boeing Co., New Year's Day, Walt Disney, Johnny Unitas, Cancer
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Ravens give Baltimore reason to cheer
Carl Sagan observed: "If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe." And if you wish to comprehend the palpable dynamic that operates between Baltimore fans and their professional football team, you first have to...Tags: Super Bowl, Indianapolis Colts, Baseball, Art Donovan, Barry Levinson
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Is anybody listening?
Nobody asked me, but ...
Now that University of Maryland researchers have found a threefold jump in deaths and injuries among pedestrians who don't hear trains and cars because they're using headphones and earplugs, I'll make a prediction: Eighty percent...Tags: Denver Broncos, The Wizard of Oz (movie, 1939), Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans
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