(cid:48)(cid:72)(cid:72)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:38)(cid:82)(cid:79)(cid:87)(cid:86) W hen a football team needs to win an important game it usually turns to its quarterback for leadership The better the quarterback the better a team’s chances The Indianapolis Colts have lived by this rule since the 1950s They have been lucky to call some of football’s most talented passers their own Of course the Colts have not relied solely on quarterbacks to build their winning tradition They look for players at every position who have great skills and big personalities That makes the team fun to watch and hard to beat This book tells the story of the Colts It is a story that begins in one city ends in another and covers six decades During that time two things have always been true The Colts put players on the field who make their fans stand up and cheer And no fans in football have shown more love or loyalty than fans of the Colts Indianapolis fans love to cheer for players with passion for the game (cid:24)
(cid:42)(cid:79)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:92)(cid:3)(cid:39)(cid:68)(cid:92)(cid:86) I n the early days of the National Football League NFL some teams had lots of fans and other teams struggled In 1950 the Baltimore Colts lost 11 of 12 games The team soon went out of business Football fans in Baltimore Maryland hoped the day would come when they could support another club In 1953 a local businessman named Carroll Rosenbloom brought a new team to Baltimore He chose a familiar name the Colts This time the fans came out in huge numbers In the years that followed they would become famous for their loyalty to the team Baltimore’s early stars included defensive standouts Art Donovan and Gino Marchetti and a record-setting kicker named Bert Rechichar Later in the 1950s the Colts added talented players to their offense (cid:25)
including Jim Parker Alan Ameche Lenny Moore and Raymond Berry Their leader was Johnny Unitas a skinny quarterback who was one of football’s greatest passers In 1958 the Colts played the New York Giants for the NFL championship It was a thrilling game that Baltimore won in overtime An NFL game had never ended this way before Millions watched it to the very end on television They became instant NFL fans The Colts won the NFL championship in 1959 and again in 1968 In January of 1969 Baltimore played in its first Super Bowl The Colts made it back to the Super Bowl two years later thanks to a strong defense led by Mike Curtis and Ted Hendricks They beat the Dallas Cowboys with a field goal in the final seconds The Colts were very good during the 1970s Their stars included Bert Jones Lydell Mitchell and John Dutton However LEFT Johnny Unitas ABOVE Alan Ameche scores the winning touchdown in the 1958 NFL title game (cid:26)
