1953 Baltimore Colts season

Inaugural season for the current Colts franchise November 2013 March 2026 Baltimore-Colts-mediaguide-1953.jpg Baltimore Colts 1953 3–9 5th NFL Western Carroll Rosenbloom (primary) Don "Red" Kellett Keith Molesworth Memorial Stadium Did not qualify 1952 Dallas Texans Colts seasons The 1953 Baltimore Colts season was the first season for the second Colts franchise as a member club of the National Football League (NFL). The Colts had a record of 3 wins and 9 losses and finished fifth in the Western Conference for the year. The team relocated from Dallas, where they had played as the Dallas Texans. Background The Baltimore Colts of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) were one of three teams merged with the NFL in 1950, despite having suffered a woeful 1–11 season in 1949. Adding complexity to the prospects of a team with an obvious talent shortage, as the odd 13th team in the league the Colts were given a round-robin schedule in 1950, meeting every team but the Chicago Bears one time and allowed a standard home-and-away relationship only with the neighboring Washington Redskins. A predictable debacle ensued, with the Colts again going 1–11 in 1950. Amidst a sea of red ink, the original AAFC Colts shut down operations, with the team's players distributed to the other 12 teams of the league via the 1951 NFL draft. There would be no professional football in Baltimore during the 1951 and 1952 seasons. With the original Dallas Texans franchise a major financial failure in their one and only season in Dallas, by the end of 1952 it became clear that a new 12th team would be needed by the NFL. On December 8, 1952, a drive to "Bring Back the Colts" was launched in Baltimore, with headquarters located at Baltimore Memorial Stadium.Sam Banks (ed.), The Baltimore Colts: 1953 Press, Radio, and Television Guide. Baltimore, MD: Baltimore Colts Football Club, 1953, p. 3. Doors were thrown open at 9 am and by midnight more than $25,000 towards the purchase of season tickets was pledged. This amount was matched on Day 2 and again on Day 3; at the end of six weeks more than $300,000 for 15,0000 season tickets was pledged, with over 99% of this figure ultimately collected. This show of enthusiasm drew attention around the country and proved decisive. In January 1953, a Baltimore-based group led by Carroll Rosenbloom won the rights to a new Baltimore franchise to begin play later that year.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nnwbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=l00EAAAAIBAJ&pg=3024%2C2145632 Pittsburgh Press United Press Baltimore assured NFL franchise January 7, 1953 29 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=V0IsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rM4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6074%2C7815403 Spartanburg Herald-Journal South Carolina Historical highlights of Colts March 30, 1984 C4 Rosenbloom's group was awarded the remains of the Texans organization, including the rights to its players. Among these players were future Hall of Fame defensive linemen Gino Marchetti and Art Donovan, who would comprise a nucleus for the new Colts franchise. Rosenbloom chose the blue and white color scheme used by the original Dallas Texans, while appropriating the bucking-horse-with-football logo used by the original AAFC Baltimore Colts franchise. Despite using the Texans' colors and many of their players, the Colts did not and never have reckoned themselves as a continuation of the Texans franchise or their predecessors, the Boston/New York Yanks/Bulldogs. Likewise, the NFL reckons the Colts as a 1953 expansion team. Season highlights In the season opener against the Chicago Bears on September 27, Colts' defensive back Bert Rechichar set an NFL record for the longest field goal (56 yards),https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=E5ExAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OxAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2279%2C3321799 Milwaukee Sentinel Associated Press Colts jolt Bears, 13-9, get record 56-yard field goal September 28, 1953 2, part 2 May 2022 InternetArchiveBot yes breaking the previous unofficial record of 55 yards (set by drop kick by Paddy Driscoll in 1924). It stood for over seventeen years, until Tom Dempsey booted a 63-yarder in 1970.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IJtRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=KhEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3930%2C1540387 Milwaukee Sentinel Associated Press Dempsey's 63 yard FG jolts Lions November 9, 1970 1, part 2 May 2022 InternetArchiveBot yes The Colts opened the season strong, winning 3 of their first 5 contests — including two against the venerable Bears and a home win over neighboring Washington — before going into a tailspin in which they racked up 7 consecutive losses. The 1953 Colts have the unusual distinction of having a losing record, despite having a league-leading 56 defensive takeaways.Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1940 to 2012, in the regular season, sorted by descending Takeaways. The total is tied for the 6th most in NFL history. Offseason Draft 1953 NFL draft 1953 Baltimore Colts 1 2 Billy Vessels HB Oklahoma 1952 Heisman Trophy winner; signed with Edmonton Eskimos (WIFL). Joined Colts in 1956. 2 14 Bernie Flowers E Purdue signed with Ottawa Rough Riders (IRFU) 3 26 Buck McPhail FB Oklahoma yes 4 39 Tom Catlin LB Oklahoma 5 51 Jack Little T Texas A&M yes 6 63 Jim Sears DB USC 7 75 Bill Athey G Baylor 8 87 Jim Prewett T Tulsa 9 99 Bob Blair E TCU 10 111 John Cole B Arkansas 11 123 Gene Rossi B Cincinnati 12 135 Kaye Vaughan G Tulsa Signed with Ottawa Rough Riders (IRFU) 13 147 Bobby Moorhead B Georgia Tech 14 159 Frank Continetti G George Washington 15 171 Buddy Sutton B Arkansas 16 183 Jim Currin E Dayton 17 195 George Rambour T Dartmouth 18 207 LeRoy Labat B LSU 19 219 Bill Powell B California 20 231 Pete Russo T Indiana 21 243 Frank Kirby T Bucknell 22 255 Merlin Gish C Kansas 23 267 Mike Housepian G Tulane 24 279 Monte Brethauer DB Oregon yes 25 291 Joe Szombathy E Syracuse 26 303 Scott Prescott C Minnesota 27 315 Ray Graves B Texas A&M 28 327 Joe Sabol B UCLA 29 339 Jack Alessandrini G Notre Dame 30 351 Tom Roche T Northwestern no nohttps://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/clt/1953_draft.htm 1953 Baltimore Colts Draftees Pro Football Reference February 20, 2022 Regular season Schedule Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Sources 1 September 27 Chicago Bears W 13–9 1–0 Memorial Stadium 23,715 Recap 2 October 3, 1953 Detroit Lions L 17–27 1–1 Memorial Stadium 25,159 Recap 3 October 11 at Chicago Bears W 16–14 2–1 Wrigley Field 35,316 Recap 4 October 18 at Green Bay Packers L 14–37 2–2 City Stadium 18,713 Recap 5 October 25 Washington Redskins W 27–17 3–2 Memorial Stadium 34,031 Recap 6 October 31, 1953 Green Bay Packers L 24–35 3–3 Memorial Stadium 33,797 Recap 7 November 7, 1953 at Detroit Lions L 7–17 3–4 Tiger Stadium 46,508 Recap 8 November 15 at Philadelphia Eagles L 14–45 3–5 Shibe Park 27,813 Recap 9 November 22 Los Angeles Rams L 13–21 3–6 Memorial Stadium 27,268 Recap 10 November 29 San Francisco 49ers L 21–38 3–7 Memorial Stadium 26,005 Recap 11 December 5, 1953 at Los Angeles Rams L 2–45 3–8 L.A. Memorial Coliseum 26,696 Recap 12 December 13 at San Francisco 49ers L 14–45 3–9 Kezar Stadium 23,432 Recap Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text. Standings Coaching staff Head coach: Keith Molesworth Backfield coach: Nick Wasylik Line coach: Ray Richards Assistant Line coach and trainer: Otis Douglas Roster thumb|center|600px|Official team photo of the 1953 Baltimore Colts. 1953 Baltimore Colts final roster Quarterbacks 19 Jack Del Bello 18 Dick Flowers Running backs 38 John Huzvar 31 Buck McPhail 20 George Taliaferro P/QB 22 Buddy Young Receivers 86 Monte Brethauer FS 82 Dan Edwards 85 Mel Embree Offensive linemen 61 Dick Barwegen C 68 Ernie Blandin T 73 Joe Campanella 50 Brad Ecklund C 74 Ken Jackson G/T 66 Bill Lange G 72 Jack Little T 75 Gino Marchetti T Defensive linemen 60 Sisto Averno MG 70 Art Donovan DT 77 Tom Finnin DT 83 Barney Poole DE 81 Art Spinney DE 84 Elmer Wingate DE 76 Jim Winkler DT/MG Linebackers 62 Alex Agase 65 Bill Pellington 64 Ed Sharkey Defensive backs 24 Larry Coutre CB 21 Tom Keane SS/P 26 Ed Mioduszewski CB/QB 44 Bert Rechichar FS/WR/K 25 Don Shula CB 23 Carl Taseff CB/FS Reserve list 10 Fred Enke QB (IR) 7px 40 Tommy Kalmanir RB (IR) 7px 52 Zollie Toth RB (IR) 7px ---- Dick Wilkins WR (Military) rookies in italics See also History of the Indianapolis Colts List of Indianapolis Colts seasons References 2 External links 1953 Baltimore Colts at Pro-Football-Reference.com 1953 Baltimore Colts at JT-SW.com Baltimore Colts 1953 Baltimore Colts