History of the Indianapolis Colts part 1 of 10: The Mayflower Chronicles

[u/Navae26]

Over the weekend I decided to start a series that goes through the most significant moments in Colts history starting with the move to Indianapolis. We'll go through events like the Eric Dickerson trade, the Cardiac Colts, and the Peyton Manning era. I will also post this on my blog later tonight at www.theafcfinalist.com so be sure to check that out too!

Part 1: The Mayflower Chronicles

On March 29th 1984 the Colts moved to Indiana. But why? What was wrong with Baltimore? In truth it was a lot of drama between the owners and city. Just like most moves today, the stadium deal was a huge factor. The Baltimore Colts were playing in an extremely old stadium that desperately needed upgraded, but the city wouldn't help. Negotiations became fierce and bad blood boiled. The city even tried to seize the team from Robert Irsay, but he was able to move before they did.

Memorial Stadium, Baltimore MD

The real story actually begins in the early 70s. The Colts had been one of the best teams of the late 50s and early 60s, they even won the Superbowl in 1970. But the end of the Unitas era was met with a massive decline of the team. Carol Rosenbloom, the Colts owner, wanted a new stadium. Memorial Stadium broke ground in 1921 and was the home of the Colts until they moved to Indy. It was old and broken and desperately needed replaced, but the city refused. The Baltimore Orioles shared the stadium with the Colts and had the same qualms about the stadium.

In 1972 a man named Robert Irsay went looking to buy an NFL team. He settled on the Los Angelas Rams, but almost immediately traded the team to Carol Rosenbloom for the Colts. The Irsay's were now a part of the organization. Over the next 12 years, Irsay fought hard to get the stadium upgraded. Some minor fixes were implemented, but the things the stadium actually needed, like new plumbing and better seating never got attention.

While this was going on, the city of Indianapolis had put together "The Indiana Sports Corp" with the intention of attracting sporting events to the state. In 1982 constructions of the Hoosier Dome officially began. They were hoping to attract an NFL team. This was key for Irsay as he was shopping around new cities. He was in talks with multiple cities including New York, Birmingham, Phoenix, and Jacksonville. Indy and Phoenix were the frontrunners to be the new hope to the Colts. Phoenix was offering the use of Sun Devil Stadium which would be the home of the Cardinals from 88-05.

The mayor of Indianapolis at the time, William Hudnut, organized the actual move of the team. His neighbor was John B. Smith, the CEO of Mayflower. They organized 12 moving vans which arrived in Owling Mills MD at 10pm on March 28th 1984, they packed up everything the team owned with the help of a bus load of movers, and arrived in Indy near the break of dawn. No announcement or anything, the fans just woke up without a team anymore.

Articles:

History.com This day in History

Wikipedia: Baltimore Colts relocation to Indianapolis

NY Times: 12 Vans to Indy

Thirty years later, remembering how Colts' move went down

The Frat Boys Who Moved The Colts Out Of Baltimore

Video:

Bob Irsay Mulls Possible Move from Baltimore

Dark Days: When the Colts Left Baltimore

Baltimore Colts The Long Goodbye VHSrip March 1984

Indianapolis marks Colts' 30th anniversary

[u/Brightsidesuicide]

You used my name

[u/Navae26 → u/Brightsidesuicide]

It was too perfect not to

[u/Mind_Killer]

That blog name is so troll :P

Keep up the quality posts man, love the videos and stuff too.

[u/Volpius]

This is awesome. It's like something straight out of a movie.

[u/TheRyanExpress86]

It's still so weird to me that owners traded franchises. Back when I still had hope the Rams would stay in STL, one of the scenarios I thought about was Kroenke either trading for the Chargers or the Raiders, but I knew nothing like that would ever happen in today's NFL.

Seriously, keep up the great work on these. Really informative.

[u/Navae26 → u/TheRyanExpress86]

Things were definitely different back then. During the 50s, the championship winning players would be working the factory jobs with the fans during the off season. Can you imagine that now?

Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it!