1977 Baltimore Colts season

23rd season in franchise history; final playoff appearance in Baltimore August 2023 March 2026 Baltimore Colts 1977 10–4 T-1st AFC East Ted Marchibroda Dick Szymanski Robert Irsay Memorial Stadium Lost Divisional Playoffs(vs. Raiders) 31–37 (2OT Double overtime) T George KunzRB Lydell MitchellDT Mike BarnesDE John DuttonK Toni Linhart Colts seasons The 1977 Baltimore Colts season was the 25th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL). Led by third-year head coach Ted Marchibroda, the Colts finished with 10 wins and 4 losses, tied for first in the AFC East division with the Miami Dolphins. The Colts had the tiebreaker over Miami based on better conference record (9–3 to 8–4), and the Dolphins missed the playoffs.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=x61VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=L-ADAAAAIBAJ&pg=6424%2C6501744 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Associated Press Colts win a berth in playoffs December 19, 1977 1Bhttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=x61VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=L-ADAAAAIBAJ&pg=5328%2C6504520 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon UPI Dolphins irate over blown call December 19, 1977 2B This was the final playoff appearance for the Colts as a Baltimore-based franchise. They would not make the playoffs again, or have a winning season, until ten years later in 1987, by which time the team moved to Indianapolis. As well, it would be the franchise's last playoff appearance in a non-strike year until 1995, and the team's last 10-win season until 1999, Peyton Manning's 2nd season. A Baltimore-based NFL team would not make the playoffs until the Ravens in 2000, winners of Super Bowl XXXV. Offseason Colts' owner Robert Irsay fired general manager Joe Thomas in January 1977, due to a power struggle he was having with head coach Ted Marchibroda.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Qn4qAAAAIBAJ&sjid=A1cEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5342%2C2105120 Pittsburgh Press UPI Colt GM Thomas fired January 21, 1977 C1https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0n9IAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Um0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=7102%2C2187264 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Internal problems get Thomas fired January 22, 1977 7https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YfBLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=s-0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6501%2C2505383 Spokesman-Review Spokane, Washington Associated Press Colts dumping Joe Thomas January 22, 1977 13 The new general manager was former Colts center Dick Szymanski, who was the personnel director and a former scout.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RX4qAAAAIBAJ&sjid=A1cEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2602%2C3197489 Pittsburgh Press UPI Colts realign front office January 24, 1977 C6https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1H9IAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Um0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5254%2C2405919 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Shakeup underway in Baltimore January 25, 1977 12https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_nVfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=di8MAAAAIBAJ&pg=3532%2C6308058 Lewiston Morning Tribune Idaho Associated Press Baltimore shakeup continues January 25, 1977 2B NFL draft 1977 NFL draft 1977 Baltimore Colts 1 26 Randy Burke Wide receiver Kentucky yes 2 53 Mike Ozdowski Defensive end Virginia yes 6 168 Calvin O'Neal Linebacker Michigan Would play for the Colts in 1978. no 7 193 Blanchard Carter Offensive tackle UNLV Would play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers no 8 220 Ken Helms Offensive tackle Georgia no 9 247 Glen Capriola Running back Boston College no 10 277 Ron Baker Guard Oklahoma State yes 11 304 Brian Ruff Linebacker The Citadel no 12 331 Bill Deutsch Running back North Dakota no no no Undrafted free agents + 1977 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeBrian SikorskiQuarterbackVillanova Personnel Staff 1977 Baltimore Colts President and Treasurer – Robert Irsay General Manager – Dick Szymanski Assistant General Manager – Ernie Accorsi Head Coach – Ted Marchibroda Receivers – Dick Bielski Offensive Line – Whitey Dovell Defensive Coordinator – Maxie Baughan Defensive Line – Ed Khayat Defensive Backfield – Frank Lauterbur Special Teams – George Boutselis Roster 1977 Baltimore Colts  7 Bert Jones 15 Mike Kirkland American football 12 Bill Troup 48 Roosevelt Leaks 34 Ron Lee American football 23 Don McCauley 26 Lydell Mitchell 35 Glenn Doughty 80 Marshall Johnson 28 Howard Satterwhite 86 Freddie Scott American football, born 1952 88 Ricky Thompson 83 Mack Alston 87 Raymond Chester 85 Jimmie Kennedy 50 Forrest Blue C 69 Wade Griffin y T 62 Ken Huff G 75 George Kunz T 57 Ken Mendenhall C 61 Robert Pratt American football G 64 David Taylor American football T 67 Bob Van Duyne G 63 Mike Barnes American football DT 72 Fred Cook American football DE 78 John Dutton defensive lineman DE 76 Joe Ehrmann DT 73 Ron Fernandes DE/DT 74 Ken Novak DT 55 Dan Dickel MLB 58 Derrel Luce OLB 52 Tom MacLeod OLB 54 Sanders Shiver OLB 56 Ed Simonini MLB 53 Stan White linebacker OLB 47 Tim Baylor FS 44 Lyle Blackwood FS 40 Bruce Laird American football SS 31 Nelson Munsey CB 30 Doug Nettles CB 25 Ray Oldham SS 43 Norm Thompson American football CB 49 David Lee punter P  2 Toni Linhart K 60 Ron Baker American football y G IR 84 Randy Burke y WR IR 81 Roger Carr WR IR 66 Elmer Collett G IR 28 Perry Griggs y WR IR 42 Lloyd Mumphord CB IR 51 Calvin O'Neal y LB IR 71 Mike Ozdowski y DE IR 27 Howard Stevens RB IR Source:https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/clt/1977_roster.htm 1977 Baltimore Colts starters and roster Pro-Football-Reference.com November 20, 2014 Regular season 1977 NFL season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 18 at Seattle Seahawks W 29–14 1–0 Kingdome 58,991 2 September 25 at New York Jets W 20–12 2–0 Giants Stadium 43,439 3 October 2 Buffalo Bills W 17–14 3–0 Memorial Stadium 49,247 4 October 9 Miami Dolphins W 45–28 4–0 Memorial Stadium 57,829 5 October 16 at Kansas City Chiefs W 17–6 5–0 Arrowhead Stadium 63,076 6 October 23 at New England Patriots L 3–17 5–1 Schaefer Stadium 60,958 7 October 30 Pittsburgh Steelers W 31–21 6–1 Memorial Stadium 60,225 8 November 7, 1977 Washington Redskins W 10–3 7–1 Memorial Stadium 57,740 9 November 13 at Buffalo Bills W 31–13 8–1 Rich Stadium 39,444 10 November 20 New York Jets W 33–12 9–1 Memorial Stadium 50,957 11 November 27 at Denver Broncos L 13–27 9–2 Mile High Stadium 74,939 12 December 5, 1977 at Miami Dolphins L 6–17 9–3 Miami Orange Bowl 68,977 13 December 11 Detroit Lions L 10–13 9–4 Memorial Stadium 45,124 14 December 18 New England Patriots W 30–24 10–4 Memorial Stadium 42,250 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Week 1: at Seattle Seahawks Baltimore Colts 1977 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week One: Seattle Seahawks vs. Baltimore Colts – Game summary September 18 4:03 pm local/1:03 pm local Colts 7 7 5 10 Seahawks 0 7 0 7 Kingdome, Seattle 58,991 indoors Jim Tunney NBC Stu Nahan and Floyd Little Gamebook First quarter BAL – Don McCauley 6-yard run (Toni Linhart kick), 6:00 (BAL 7–0) Second quarter SEA – Don Testerman 1-yard pass from Jim Zorn (John Leypoldt kick), 8:46 (Tied 7–7) BAL – Roosevelt Leaks 10-yard rush (Toni Linhart kick), 3:21 (BAL 14–7) Third quarter BAL – Safety, Doug Nettles blocked punt out of end zone, 13:37 (BAL 16–7) BAL – Toni Linhart 38-yard field goal, 7:37 (BAL 19–7) Fourth quarter BAL – Toni Linhart 42-yard field goal, 14:53 (BAL 22–7) SEA – Autry Beamon 17-yard blocked punt return (John Leypoldt kick), 9:32 (BAL 22–14) BAL – Roger Carr 21-yard pass from Bert Jones (Toni Linhart kick), 5:50 (BAL 29–14) Top passers BAL – Bert Jones: 17 completions/26 attempts, 220 yds, 1 TD touchdowns SEA – Jim Zorn: 14/34, 164 yds, 1 TD, 4 INT interceptions Top rushers BAL – Lydell Mitchell: 32 car carries, 114 yds SEA – Sherman Smith: 15 car, 58 yds Top receivers BAL – Roger Carr: 2 rec receptions, 66 yds, 1 TD SEA – Steve Largent: 4 rec, 73 yds Team – pass passing yards – rush rushing yards – total total yards – to turnovers BAL – 220 – 206 – 426 – 1 SEA – 151 – 104 – 255 – 4 Week 2 at Jets 1977 New York Jets season Indianapolis Colts 1977 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Two: Baltimore Colts (1–0) at New York Jets (0–1) September 25 1:00 p.m. EST Colts 7 7 6 0 Jets 0 3 0 9 Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey 43,439 55 °F °C 1 or https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197709250nyj.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com Baltimore Colts at New York Jets — September 25th, 1977 First quarter BAL – Roosevelt Leaks 6-yard run (Toni Linhart kick). Colts 7–0. Drive: Second quarter BAL – Don McCauley 2-yard run (Toni Linhart kick). Colts 14–0. Drive: NYJ – Pat Leahy 25-yard field goal. Colts 14–3. Drive: Third quarter BAL – Don McCauley 1-yard run (Toni Linhart kick). Colts 21–3. Drive: Fourth quarter NYJ – Safety, David Lee ran out of end zone. Colts 21–5. NYJ – Charlie White 1-yard run (Pat Leahy kick). Colts 21–12. Drive: Top passers BAL – Bert Jones – 9/15, 78 yards, INT NYJ – Richard Todd – 13/22, 140 yards, 2 INT Top rushers BAL – Lydell Mitchell – 26 rushes, 68 yards NYJ – Charlie White – 12 rushes, 36 yards, TD Top receivers BAL – Don McCauley – 5 receptions, 40 yards NYJ – Clark Gaines – 6 receptions, 47 yards Week 3 Bills 0 7 0 7 Colts 0 10 0 7 October 2 Memorial Stadium 72 °F °C 1 or, relative humidity 73%, wind 14 mph km/h knots Week 4 Dolphins 14 14 0 0 Colts 10 14 14 7 October 9 Memorial Stadium 63 °F °C 1 or, relative humidity 82%, wind 13 mph km/h knots Don Wedge Week 5 Colts 14 0 3 0 Chiefs 0 6 0 0 October 16 Arrowhead Stadium 46 °F °C 1 or, relative humidity 72%, wind 8 mph km/h knots Week 6 Colts 0 0 3 0 Patriots 7 0 10 0 October 23 Sullivan Stadium 51 °F °C 1 or, relative humidity 45%, wind 15 mph km/h knots Week 7 Steelers 0 0 7 14 Colts 3 14 7 7 October 30 Memorial Stadium 53 °F °C 1 or, relative humidity 54%, wind 8 mph km/h knots Red Cashion Week 8 Redskins 0 3 0 0 Colts 3 0 0 7 November 7 Monday Memorial Stadium 61 °F °C 1 or, relative humidity 93%, wind 16 mph km/h knots ABC Week 9 Colts 10 14 7 0 Bills 7 3 3 0 November 13 Rich Stadium 29 °F °C 1 or, relative humidity 82%, wind 13 mph km/h knots, wind chill 18 °F °C 1 or Gordon McCarter Week 10 Jets 3 0 3 6 Colts 6 13 7 7 November 20 Memorial Stadium 1:00 p.m. EST 43 °F °C 1 or • Wind 6 mph km/h knots 0 on yes 1 NYJ Pat Leahy 24-yard field goal Jets 3–0 1 BAL Raymond Chester 53-yard pass from Bert Jones (kick failed) Colts 6–3 2 BAL Toni Linhart 30-yard field goal Colts 9–3 2 BAL Toni Linhart 31-yard field goal Colts 12–3 2 BAL Glenn Doughty 33-yard pass from Bert Jones (Toni Linhart kick) Colts 19–3 3 NYJ Pat Leahy 22-yard field goal Colts 19–6 3 BAL Lydell Mitchell 28-yard pass from Bert Jones (Toni Linhart kick) Colts 26–6 4 NYJ Jerome Barkum 18-yard pass from Matt Robinson (Pat Leahy kick) Colts 26–12 4 BAL Robert Pratt 21-yard fumble return (Toni Linhart kick) Colts 33–12 yes https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197711200clt.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com New York Jets at Baltimore Colts — November 20th, 1977 Week 11 Colts 0 3 10 0 Broncos 7 7 0 13 November 27 Mile High Stadium 40 °F °C 1 or, relative humidity 48%, wind 15 mph km/h knots Jim Tunney Week 12 Colts 6 0 0 0 Dolphins 3 7 0 7 December 5 Orange Bowl 79 °F °C 1 or, relative humidity 78%, wind 10 mph km/h knots ABC Week 13 Lions 0 3 0 10 Colts 0 0 3 7 December 11 Memorial Stadium 22 °F °C 1 or, relative humidity 45%, wind 11 mph km/h knots, wind chill 11 °F °C 1 or Pat Haggerty Tim Ryan, Johnny Unitas CBS Week 14 Patriots 0 14 10 0 Colts 0 3 13 14 December 18 Memorial Stadium 41 °F °C or, relative humidity 81%, wind 15 mph km/h knots Fred Silva Standings Playoffs 1977–78 NFL playoffs Baltimore made it to the AFC playoffs as a No. 2 seed and hosted the defending Super Bowl champion Oakland Raiders in the divisional round. The Colts held a 31–28 lead with time running out, when the famous “Ghost to the Post” play to tight end Dave Casper advanced the Raiders to the Baltimore 14-yard line, where Errol Mann kicked the tying field goal to send the contest into overtime.https://www.si.com/vault/1978/01/02/822275/the-ghost-to-the-post-heading-for-new-orleans-and-super-bowl-xii-oakland-took-a-long-winding-road-denver-shot-ahead-via-the-passing-lane-dallas-roared-through-some-shortcuts-and-minnesota-wheels-churning-jounced-through-the-mud Sports Illustrated Reid Ron The Ghost to the Post January 2, 1978 12 November 23, 2019 November 23, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20191123004445/https://www.si.com/vault/1978/01/02/822275/the-ghost-to-the-post-heading-for-new-orleans-and-super-bowl-xii-oakland-took-a-long-winding-road-denver-shot-ahead-via-the-passing-lane-dallas-roared-through-some-shortcuts-and-minnesota-wheels-churning-jounced-through-the-mud dead After the first overtime went scoreless, Casper caught a 10-yard touchdown pass 43 seconds into the period to win the game for the Raiders.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=31UdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JFgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6306%2C2829497 Pittsburgh Press Livingston Pat Oakland stops Baltimore, 37-31 December 25, 1977 D1https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=za1VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=L-ADAAAAIBAJ&pg=7085%2C8086400 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon wire service reports Suddenly, the Raiders win a 37-31 decision December 25, 1977 3C Round Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Divisional December 24 Oakland Raiders (4) L 31–372OT 0–1 Memorial Stadium 60,763 Divisional Ghost to the post Raiders 7 0 14 10 6 Colts 0 10 7 14 0 December 24 Memorial Stadium 41 °F °C or, relative humidity 56%, wind 9 mph km/h knots Dick Jorgensen See also History of the Indianapolis Colts Indianapolis Colts seasons Colts–Patriots rivalry References 2 External links John Facenda (narrator), "The 1977 Baltimore Colts Season: Return to Glory," NFL Films via YouTube.com, June 24, 2019 (Video.) Baltimore Colts Category:AFC East championship seasons Category:Baltimore Colts seasons Baltimore Colts