The Indianapolis Colts — One of the NFL’s Storied Franchises
Having scored three touchdowns in California Polytechnic State University’s NCAA Division II companionship, Robbie Martin went on to play for six seasons in the 1980s for the National Football League. Selected in the fourth round of the NFL draft, Robbie Martin set a Detroit Lions record for the most punt returns in a season. Traded to the Indianapolis Colts, he accumulated the most punt return yardage for that team in a single season, a team record that still stands.
In their 69-year history, the Colts have been one of the NFL’s most successful franchises, with a record of 543 wins and 481 losses. The team has made the playoffs in 26 seasons and won the Super Bowl twice in four appearances. They won the Lombardi Trophy in 2006 under the leadership of legendary quarterback Peyton Manning.
The team, originally based in Baltimore, joined the NFL in 1953. With Weeb Eubank as its head coach, the club achieved fame behind the arm of its star quarterback Johnny Unitas. The team won its first NFL title in 1958 in a televised match against Chicago that brought many new fans to the pro game.
Success continued into the 1960s under coach Don Shula. When the Super Bowl premiered in 1965 as a matchup of the NFL and American Football League champions, the Colts nearly reached the big game. They made it to Super Bowl III in 1968, only to lose to the underdog New York Jets. Baltimore redeemed themselves in 1970 in Super Bowl V, defeating the Dallas Cowboys with a last-minute field goal. Thirty-six years would pass before the Colts again took the final game.
The rest of the decade was less than stellar. Unitas departed in 1973, and Baltimore won no more postseason games until 1995. In a decision that stunned fans, longtime owner Jim Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis in 1984.
Things began to look up in 1998 with the arrival of Peyton Manning from the University of Tennessee. He led the Colts to a 13–3 record in 1999, bettering the previous year’s standing by 10 wins — a then-record league turnaround. Although the ensuing years had many highlights, it was an open question whether Manning could go all the way.
That moment arrived in 2006 under head coach Tony Dungy. For the seventh time, Manning passed for more than 4,000 yards in a season. In Super Bowl LXI, he completed 25 passes for 247 yards, propelling Indianapolis to a 29–17 win over the Chicago Bears.
Although the Colts lost to San Diego in the 2007 playoffs, it continued to rack up 10+ win seasons, going on several seven-game winning streaks. Under rookie coach Jim Caldwell in 2009, Manning won his fourth NFL most valuable player award from the Associated Press on his way to a record five such honors. His season would have been complete with another Super Bowl ring, but the Colts lost that game to the New Orleans Saints, 31–17.
Since then, the Colts have not made it to the league finale, although they have had some impressive seasons, including three straight division titles. One remarkable year was 2018 when they became only the third NFL team to begin a season 1–5 and then reach the playoffs.
One factor in the Colts’ mixed fortunes has been the retirement of two strong quarterbacks: Andrew Luck in 2019 and Philip Rivers after the 2020 season. The team finished the 2021 schedule with a solid 11–5 record but lost its first playoff game in a shocker against the Jacksonville Jaguars at 2–1.
