Anyone remember the 1977 season?

[Boulderraven]

In my youth, I went to 7 or 8 Colts games from 80-83.... Every game I went to they frickin loss except for last one... The Houston Oiler game. Little did I know then, it would be the last Colt game for everyone.

The only time in my Colts experience that they actually had a glimmer of hope was in 83 when they were 6-4. My dad scored some tickets to the Steelers game at home so it was the only time I was truly excited for a possible playoff season. Of course, Cliff Stoudt & the Steelers broke my heart (hated the Squealers back then too) and the rest of the season went into the tank.

Whenever I start getting pissed off that the Ravens are struggling at 9-5, I take a timeout, and remember how hopeless the Colts were in my youth. We should all thank our lucky stars that #1 WE AMAZINGLY HAVE A TEAM which is miracle, and #2 THEY WIN A LOT. It just really pisses me off when Ravens fans get so angry when everything doesnt go to their likening during a game, even when the team F----ING WINS THE GAME. Sure the Ravens have a lot of issues, but for Christ Sake, enjoy it a little that we have a Baltimore football team, and they win a lot.

Oliver Luck was Houston's QB in the final game for the Colts in Baltimore. Weird.

[Loco Ravens Fan]

Oliver Luck was Houston's QB in the final game for the Colts in Baltimore. Weird.

And if the Ravens win the AFC North, there is a chance that the Indy Colts quarterbacked by Andrew Luck could be coming to town! Weird part 2!

[AirFlacco]

I was at the last game yelling IRSAY SUCKS, IRSAY SUCKS. It was like an old Orioles game in the 60s with only a few thousand in the stadium-lol. Everyone knew the team was moving at the end of the season and it did.

I felt like killing John Elway Sunday. They kept showing his face at the end standing on the side lines. How dare he come back here. He started the beginning of the end.

The Colts had the rights to him as the worse team in the draft but he refused to come here because his dad hated the coach - Frank Kush.

Seems Kush cheated him out of some wins or stole some recruits from Jack Elway or something but Jack hated Kush. He swore John wouldn't play for him and he didn't.

So Elway used baseball as a leverage. He was a slap hitter at best with a strong arm in the out field. The Yankees hurt us once again by offering him a contract to their minor leagues. There was no way in hell he was going to play in the bushes.


Ernie Accorsi our GM who later gave Parcells all that talent including Lawrence Taylor for their SBs swore Elway was going to sign but Irsay traded him for a stupid OG name Hinton I think.

Irsay traded one of the greatest QBs in history for a guard and said at least I got that surfer boy 500 miles from the beach.

Elway instantly signed and almost beat us as a rookie. Steadman wrote, you can just tell there's something special about John Elway. He'll be a great one.

We almost had Unitas, Bert and Elway.

Elway would have put a lot of fans in the seats and maybe, just maybe they would have stayed but I doubt it.

Irsay took so much heat from the local media for blowing the deal especially from Steadman and Phil Jackman two of the greatest sports writers to pick up a type writer. Irsay even blamed them for his departure and when Steadman was covering the first Colts game in Indy Irsay saw him and ran over and said how does if feel now. HuH? You lost your team.

The rest of the press room was shocked at such behavior but John just laughed.


But I hate seeing Elway's face on TV especially in our stadium, so much so I almost kicked
my flat screen in half.

[pslholder96]

Oliver Luck was Houston's QB in the final game for the Colts in Baltimore. Weird.

Weird indeed. Even weirder is the possibility of a ravens-colts wildcard matchup with none other than Andrew Luck as the starting QB with his father Oliver in attendance.

[PalladinInNC]

Speaking of that phony FG in GB, Baltimore complained about it so much the NFL raised the goal posts the following year and called it the Baltimore Extension.

That was an inside joke in re to all the bitching we did about the FG. They're still the same height today.

Shula beleived the game was fixed and NFL didn't want a backup RB as the premier QB in its showcase game.

So Colts went to Miami to play in the PO Bowl vs Dallas. Shula shocked the team during the week and said he was going to let Matte open it up. Everyone was shocked.

Before the game Shula watched Matte's warmups standing next to Tex Schram who kept laughing at all his high misses. Matte over-threw everything in practice just like Dilfer did before SB 35.

But in the end Matte beat Dallas by 30 points and tore apart Landry's famous flex defense.

Shula laughed on the plane ride home saying Matte didn't even know what a flex defense was.

The press and NFL were pissed at Shula for running up the score but he didn't give a damn.

He had a point to prove.

He would have won that Championship game with a backup RB to Lenny Moore as the premeir QB.

I remember that 65 game like it was yesterday and am still pissed over it to this day! What a lot of people might have forgotten was that Green Bay shouldn't have even been close enough to kick a FG to tie the game. When the Packers were driving Billy Ray Smith sacked the QB with a straight arm across his neck (legal then, illegal today) which would have kept them out of FG range. The refs threw a penalty flag and the call was "Grabbing the Face Mask" on Smith (he never came close to touching the QB's face mask). The Pack got a automatic 1st down and kicked the FG. I think that game was fixed big time and I think those Refs were a big part of it. The spread on the game was some insane point amount (15? 20? 25? Whatever?).

ABC had a prime time documentary special on the game months afterward which was unheard of for its time (no ESPN back then) questioning the FG (but not mentioning the penalty on Billy Ray Smith).

Pete Roselle hated Rossie for years and had no love lost for the Colts so it wasn't surprising that the NFL quietly raised the goal posts but didn't really make any mention why (although everyone knew why)!

[AirFlacco]

Damn, you remember more than me. I forgot about the Billy Ray Smith penalty. Man, we had some great lines back then just as the Ravens have had with Goose and the guys.

Yea, we were always getting screwed by the NFL. Rozelle loved Bmore though and the last thing he said as Comish was, you gotta put a team in Baltimore. Yea, sure but I remember the first draft after the Colts moved and Pete had trouble saying Indiannapolis
Colts and didn't. He kept said the Colts. Irsay slipped a note up that he better say the city's name or else and he finally did as difficult as it was. I clearly remember that one.

Tags succeeded him. His claim to fame was being the lead atty for the NFL when the USFL sued them to get in. Bmore was one of the 3 teams that sued. Me thinks that why Tags has always hated Bmore so much because of that law suit.

After he won Rozelle appointed him as his assistant and he took over when Pete retired and was bent on about keeping us out. He rigged the expansion derby against us teaming up with Jack Kent Cooke who claimed the territory.

Many don't know that the Skins tried to keep the Colts out by claiming Bmore. When the Colts came the city had to pay Marshall an infringement fee of $150,000. Doesn't sound like much now but that was like a million bucks back then.

So we always hated DC and had to blast our way back in. Art was the only owner powerful enough to run over Tags and Cooke. He called in a lot of favors. He scored all those big network deals back in the 60s and 70s that made the NFL rich and pass baseball as America's game.

As for that 65 year, here's a funny. During the game when both QBs went down, Shula put Matte in knowing he had played some QB at
Ohio State. Afterwards he called Woody to see if he could last the entire season.

Woody said he's a very polite kid and you won't have a min's trouble with him. Shula said cut the shit Woody, I'm trying to prepare for the Packers on Sunday. Can he play QB in the NFL and Woody said absolutely.

Matte said the only time he was afraid to play football was when he became QB. LOL.

BTW, Shula never beat Lombardi and never had a defense here lower than 4th.

[AirFlacco]

Here's some trivia from Berry Levinson's movie DINER when the guy locked his girl in the closest and gave her a Colts quiz. One wrong answer and they weren't getting married. LOL. That was a true story too.

The question for any old timers w/o looking it up:

What were the original colors of the Colts uniforms?

One of the guys in the movie said I don't know that one but the chick got em all right.

The Colts merged with the NFL in the late 40's
and Ab Watner was the original owner. He owned a string of cemetries around Bmore.

Arty said in his book that he was counting his money in his office on Baltimore Street one day with the window open and a strong wind came in and blew it all out - about $10,000 fell down on Baltimore street as everyone grabbed it up.

No wonder he was in a financial crises and had to drop the team later on.

[ed from Bel Air]

I remember that 65 game like it was yesterday and am still pissed over it to this day! What a lot of people might have forgotten was that Green Bay shouldn't have even been close enough to kick a FG to tie the game. When the Packers were driving Billy Ray Smith sacked the QB with a straight arm across his neck (legal then, illegal today) which would have kept them out of FG range. The refs threw a penalty flag and the call was "Grabbing the Face Mask" on Smith (he never came close to touching the QB's face mask). The Pack got a automatic 1st down and kicked the FG. I think that game was fixed big time and I think those Refs were a big part of it. The spread on the game was some insane point amount (15? 20? 25? Whatever?).

ABC had a prime time documentary special on the game months afterward which was unheard of for its time (no ESPN back then) questioning the FG (but not mentioning the penalty on Billy Ray Smith).

Pete Roselle hated Rossie for years and had no love lost for the Colts so it wasn't surprising that the NFL quietly raised the goal posts but didn't really make any mention why (although everyone knew why)!

I remember that 65 game vividly. We just moved down from NJ that summer. Even though Dad went to Fordham (Lombardi's alma mater) and grew up in the Bronx he was rooting for the Colts, not Lombardi's Packers. Mom was rooting for the Packers since she had gone to the same high school in NJ with Marie Lombardi. Since Dad had a fairly large tv, black and white of course, all the neigborhood was watching that game, We were all screaming at the tv that the kick was no good, but to no avail.

As for Elway, I was at the game . Did not notice him on the field or on the scoreboard. If I had I would have boo'd as loudly as I did back in 83(?). I hate the son of a bitch. My son in law brought a friend who was a Denver fan to our tailgate. I told him if he wore an Elway jersey we would all beat the crap out of him.

On my "hierarchy of hate" Elway is number 2, only behind Robert Irsay. He is ahead of Jack Kent Cooke and Paul Tagliabue. The order never changes, except sometime I switch JKC and Tags.

[Loco Ravens Fan]

Great memories I remember the ghost to the post game. It was Christmas Eve, which led to a lousy Christmas. I remember most of all the 1975 Dolphin and Pats games at the end of the year. Colts had to win both to get into the playoffs. The Dolphins game featured the overtime kick in the fog to win the game. From the upper deck at Memorial stadium, you could not see the ball go through the uprights. But the Pats '75 game was the most fun. Back then the end zone where the outfield bleachers were was open to the field. They would put rope as a barrier, but it obviously did not stop anyone. In the third quarter there were hundreds of people lined around the endzone watching the game like you might see at a Rec league football game. By the 4th quarter thousands had surrounded the entire field and was watching the game from the sidelines. I actually stood on the Pats bench to watch the end of it. I actually talked to a Pats lineman during the game. Surprisingly no one went on the field during the game, but at the end everyone stormed the field and tore down the goal posts. I believe parts of the goalposts ended up at the Stadium Lounge.

How about the playoff game against the Steelers and the airplane that was buzzing around Memorial stadium and at the end of the game crashed in the upper deck around section 40! We had seats in that section for most of the game but Pittsburgh had a huge lead and most fans had already left. We had gone down to the lower concourse to sit with family at halftime and could hear the plane circling the stadium.

[ed from Bel Air]

Here's some trivia from Berry Levinson's movie DINER when the guy locked his girl in the closest and gave her a Colts quiz. One wrong answer and they weren't getting married. LOL. That was a true story too.

The question for any old timers w/o looking it up:

What were the original colors of the Colts uniforms? Green and Silver

One of the guys in the movie said I don't know that one but the chick got em all right.

The Colts merged with the NFL in the late 40's
and Ab Watner was the original owner. He owned a string of cemetries around Bmore.

Arty said in his book that he was counting his money in his office on Baltimore Street one day with the window open and a strong wind came in and blew it all out - about $10,000 fell down on Baltimore street as everyone grabbed it up.

No wonder he was in a financial crises and had to drop the team later on.

Green and Silver?

[Loco Ravens Fan]

I remember that 65 game vividly. We just moved down from NJ that summer. Even though Dad went to Fordham (Lombardi's alma mater) and grew up in the Bronx he was rooting for the Colts, not Lombardi's Packers. Mom was rooting for the Packers since she had gone to the same high school in NJ with Marie Lombardi. Since Dad had a fairly large tv, black and white of course, all the neigborhood was watching that game, We were all screaming at the tv that the kick was no good, but to no avail.

As for Elway, I was at the game . Did not notice him on the field or on the scoreboard. If I had I would have boo'd as loudly as I did back in 83(?). I hate the son of a bitch. My son in law brought a friend who was a Denver fan to our tailgate. I told him if he wore an Elway jersey we would all beat the crap out of him.

On my "hierarchy of hate" Elway is number 2, only behind Robert Irsay. He is ahead of Jack Kent Cooke and Paul Tagliabue. The order never changes, except sometime I switch JKC and Tags.

The crowd booed long and loud during that game. My voice was gone for a week. I thought Kubiak came in to relieve Elway and Denver won that game. Did I remember correctly?

[ed from Bel Air]

How about the playoff game against the Steelers and the airplane that was buzzing around Memorial stadium and at the end of the game crashed in the upper deck around section 40! We had seats in that section for most of the game but Pittsburgh had a huge lead and most fans had already left. We had gone down to the lower concourse to sit with family at halftime and could hear the plane circling the stadium.

We were there. Luckily that game was a blow out. Because every one left early no one was left in the seats when the plane crashed. Otherwise people might have gotten killed. Even the pilot survived. I know the plane took off from a small airport near Churchville.

[AirFlacco]

Green and Silver?

Exactly right and you win a seat next to CAM CAMERON wherever
he is-lol.

And the horse shoes were in the back of the helmets with one on
each side of the line going down the middle.

[AirFlacco]

Here's a pic of the crash. Old Donald Kroner was trying to land the plane on the field and he almost made it-lol. But get this, he had been a flight instructor and worked in the air traffic control tower.

Good thing we got killed in the game 40-14 (I mean that was brutal) and people left early or some real people would have been killed and a lot of them.

Old Donald ended up in a mental institution.

http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/N6276J-Kroner.htm

[ed from Bel Air]

The crowd booed long and loud during that game. My voice was gone for a week. I thought Kubiak came in to relieve Elway and Denver won that game. Did I remember correctly?

I think so . We were winning most of that game. Elway was awful. His Father could not believe all the booing. Elway remembered that game on TV years later saying he could not believe how pissed off Baltimore was at him. Tried to say he had nothing against BMore, just did not want to play for Irsay (or Kush). I do remember and old geyser back up QB pulling it out at the end. I do think it was either Kubiak (or maybe Craig Morton).

[AirFlacco]

Elway has said ever since it had nothing to do with Bmore but that's BS. He wasnt coming here- period and used baseball to get out.

And Bert Jones went out there to talk to him. He didnt' have to do that becuase he wasn't coming anyway. He told him all the horror stories like Irsay's slobbering press conference at the air port when he was drunk as a skunk and said he wasn't moving and how he crashed a radio interview Bert did after a game and they had to take it off the air. I remember that one. Irsay was a nut.

So Bert went out there but Elway wasn't coming anyway.

Kush played a hand in the final move. As soon as he got here he learned that Irsay was selling the team so he got the movers and shakers in Phoenix to make an offer to he could go home as head coach. He was run out of town after slapping a punter in the face for shanking a kick.

So Irsay went to Phoenix but then Indy heard about it and came in with an offer. Indy already had a new stadium an empty one.

Irsay still hadn't made up his mind to move until Schaeffer passed that stupid domain law where the state would take the team.

That's when Irsay skipped town in the middle of the night and he had a place to go to but Kush got the ball moving.

Then he had the nerve to say the move was the most bizzare thing he ever witnessed the way the movers came in and trashed the place.

[Beau Petard]

Boulder-
"This year is very familiar."

I respectfully disagree. Bisciotti owns the the Ravens.

Name me any owner in the NFL who was/is a bigger piece of shit than the infamous Robert Irsay! (and credit only given for rationale! )

[Loco Ravens Fan]

Here's a pic of the crash. Old Donald Kroner was trying to land the plane on the field and he almost made it-lol. But get this, he had been a flight instructor and worked in the air traffic control tower.

Good thing we got killed in the game 40-14 (I mean that was brutal) and people left early or some real people would have been killed and a lot of them.

Old Donald ended up in a mental institution.

http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/N6276J-Kroner.htm

Great link! Memorial Stadium has so many great Colts' and Orioles' memories for me. Another special game was the one when Mike Curtis tackled the drunk fan who ran onto the field to take the football. Mad Dog slammed that guy to the ground!

[Mista T]

people left early or some real people would have been killed and a lot of them.

http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/N6276J-Kroner.htm

We were drunk as skunks late in the 4th Q when Kroner's plane buzzed the stadium a couple times at lowering altitude. One of our group said to get out of the stadium because the plane was coming back. That season, we had seats in Section 38, and IIRC Kroner crashed into Section 41.

By the time we made it down the upper deck escalator, everone got excited and the buzz was about the plane crash in the upper deck (yes - that dumpy old stadium had escalators while the cheapskates who built M&T couldn'tfigure out how to provide them for us!). I missed seeing the crash itself - probably wouldn't have known it if I had seen it happen. I have never touched Sloe Gin again since that day.

[AirFlacco]

LOL T - great story and keep em coming.

Speaking of those escalators they were installed at the Orioles home game and they crashed. A lot of kids got hurt, a girl was killed.
The irony was, it was safety day and a lot of safeties were there.

My parents were upset seeing it on the news because my brother and I were there but we already got off.

I called home as soon as I heard about it and saw it so they wouldn't be upset.

Here's the link.


http://news.google.com/newspapers?ni...g=7430,1161924