1974 Baltimore Colts season

22nd season in franchise history August 2023 March 2026 Baltimore Colts 1974 2–12 5th AFC East Howard SchnellenbergerJoe Thomas Robert Irsay Joe Thomas Memorial Stadium Did not qualify LB Mike Curtis Colts seasons The 1974 Baltimore Colts season was the 22nd season for the team in the National Football League. The Colts finished with a record of 2 wins and 12 losses, fifth in the AFC East. Second-year head coach Howard Schnellenberger was fired after three games,https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hjRWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4ucDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6237%2C7589750 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Associated Press Schnellenberger the last to know September 30, 1974 1C after an argument with owner Robert Irsay over whether Marty Domres or Bert Jones should start at quarterback for the Colts.Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Rich The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 12th Edition, p. 270, Martin's Press, August 1994, 0-312-11073-1 General manager Joe Thomas took over the head coaching duties for the remainders of the season, but could direct the team to only two wins, both on the road, as the Colts failed to win a home game during the 1974 season. This would be the last time the Colts would fail to win a home game in a non-strike season until their abysmal 1–15 1991 season, when the team was based in Indianapolis. Offseason NFL draft 1974 NFL draft 1974 Baltimore Colts 1 5 John Dutton Defensive end Nebraska yes yes 1 24 Roger Carr Wide receiver Louisiana Tech yes yes 2 32 Fred Cook Defensive end Southern Miss yes 3 57 Glenn Robinson Linebacker Oklahoma State no 3 67 Robert Pratt Guard North Carolina yes 4 84 Tony Bell Defensive back Bowling Green no 5 129 Doug Nettles Defensive back Vanderbilt yes 6 140 Danny Rhodes Linebacker Arkansas no 7 161 Noah Jackson Guard Tampa no 7 170 Dan Dickel Linebacker Iowa yes 7 174 Freddie Scott Wide receiver 1973 Amherst Lord Jeffs Amherst yes 8 188 Greg Latta Tight end Morgan State no 8 198 Paul Miles Running back Bowling Green no 10 240 Bob Van Duyne Guard Idaho yes 10 257 Glenn Ellis Defensive tackle 1973 Elon Phoenix Elon no 11 265 Tim Rudnick Defensive back Notre Dame yes 12 292 Dave Simonson Tackle Minnesota yes 12 307 Bob Bobrowski Quarterback Purdue no 13 317 Randy Hall Defensive back Idaho yes 14 344 Ed Collins Wide receiver Rice no 15 369 Pat Kelly Linebacker Richmond no 16 396 Dave Margavage Tackle Kentucky no 17 421 Tim Berra Wide receiver UMass yes 17 436 Buzzy Lewis Defensive back Florida State no no Staff 1974 Baltimore Colts President and treasurer – Robert Irsay General manager – Joe Thomas Head coach – Howard Schnellenberger (fired after 0–3 start) Interim head coach - Joe Thomas (2–9) Receivers – Pete McCulley Running backs - George Sefcik Offensive coordinator/offensive line – George Young Defensive coordinator/defensive backfield – Don Doll Defensive line – Jerry Smith Linebackers coach – Frank Lauterbur Final roster 1974 Baltimore Colts 14 Marty Domres  7 Bert Jones 12 Bill Troup 36 John Andrews American football 23 Don McCauley 26 Lydell Mitchell 38 Bill Olds 37 Joe Orduna 84 Tim Berra American football 81 Roger Carr y 35 Glenn Doughty 86 Freddie Scott American football y 80 Ollie Smith American football 28 Cotton Speyrer 87 Raymond Chester 83 Ron Mayo 66 Elmer Collett G 57 Ken Mendenhall C 50 Dan Neal C 68 Dennis Nelson American football T 61 Robert Pratt American football y G 62 Glenn Ressler G 60 Dave Simonson y T 64 David Taylor American football T 67 Bob Van Duyne y G 63 Mike Barnes American football, born 1950 DT/DE 79 Jim Bailey American football DT 72 Fred Cook American football y DE 78 John Dutton defensive lineman y DE 76 Joe Ehrmann DT 74 Steve Williams defensive lineman, born 1951 DT/DE 65 Bill Windauer DT 51 Tony Bertuca y OLB 32 Mike Curtis American football MLB 55 Dan Dickel y OLB 52 Tom MacLeod OLB 56 Danny Rhodes y MLB 53 Stan White linebacker OLB 33 Randy Hall American football y CB 40 Bruce Laird American football SS 31 Nelson Munsey CB 30 Doug Nettles y CB 25 Ray Oldham CB 43 Tim Rudnick y SS 21 Rick Volk FS 49 David Lee punter P  2 Toni Linhart K 71 Gery Palmer T IR Regular season 1974 NFL season All-Pro linebacker Ted Hendricks signed a future contract with the World Football League, and was then traded by the Colts to the Green Bay Packers by general manager Joe Thomas. (Hendricks never ended up playing for the bankrupt WFL, and made four more Pro Bowls in his career.) In an autopsy of the Colts 1974 season written for Street & Smith's Pro Football Annual, Buffalo Evening News writer Larry Felser observed that the patience of Baltimore fans was waning, with the perennially sold-out Memorial Stadium had failed to crack the 40,000 mark at the gate on multiple occasions.Larry Felser, "Baltimore Colts," in Sam E. Andre (ed.), Street & Smith's Pro Football Annual, 1975. New York: Conde Nast Publications, 1975, pp. 48–50. "When Joe Thomas arrived on the scene as general manager in 1972, he promised to tear down a decaying team and rebuild it into a champion," Felser wrote. "He produced on the first part of his vow; the Baltimore fans are waiting for the other shoe to drop." Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Game Recap 1 September 15 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 0–30 0–1 Three Rivers Stadium 48,890 Recap 2 September 22 Green Bay Packers L 13–20 0–2 Memorial Stadium 41,252 Recap 3 September 29 at Philadelphia Eagles L 10–30 0–3 Veterans Stadium 64,205 Recap 4 October 6 at New England Patriots L 3–42 0–4 Schaefer Stadium 59,502 Recap 5 October 13 Buffalo Bills L 14–27 0–5 Memorial Stadium 40,626 Recap 6 October 20 at New York Jets W 35–20 1–5 Shea Stadium 51,745 Recap 7 October 27 at Miami Dolphins L 7–17 1–6 Orange Bowl 65,868 Recap 8 November 3 Cincinnati Bengals L 14–24 1–7 Memorial Stadium 36,110 Recap 9 November 10 Denver Broncos L 6–171–8 Memorial Stadium 33,244 Recap 10 November 17 at Atlanta Falcons W 17–7 2–8 Atlanta Stadium 41,278 Recap 11 November 24 New England Patriots L 17–27 2–9 Memorial Stadium 34,782 Recap 12 December 1 at Buffalo Bills L 0–6 2–10 Rich Stadium 75,325 Recap 13 December 8 Miami Dolphins L 16–17 2–11 Memorial Stadium 34,420 Recap 14 December 15 New York Jets L 38–45 2–12 Memorial Stadium 31,651 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Standings Source:NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, 0-7611-2480-2, p. 296 Season summary Week 2 vs Packers Baltimore Colts 1974 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Two: Green Bay Packers (0–1) at Baltimore Colts (0–1) September 22 2:00 p.m. EST Packers 3 10 7 0 Colts 3 3 0 7 Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland 41,252 61 F C Box Score First quarter GB – Chester Marcol 52-yard field goal. Packers 3–0. Drive: BAL – Toni Linhart 37-yard field goal. Tie 3–3. Drive: Second quarter GB – MacArthur Lane 1-yard run (Chester Marcol kick). Packers 10–3. Drive: GB – Chester Marcol 39-yard field goal. Packers 13–3. Drive: BAL – Toni Linhart 23-yard field goal. Packers 13–6. Drive: Third quarter GB – MacArthur Lane 13-yard run (Chester Marcol kick). Packers 20–6. Drive: Fourth quarter BAL – Bill Olds 7-yard pass from Bert Jones (Toni Linhart kick). Packers 20–13. Drive: Top passers GB – Jerry Tagge – 10/16, 109 yards, INT BAL – Bert Jones – 7/16, 88 yards, TD, INT Top rushers GB – MacArthur Lane – 22 rushes, 36 yards, 2 TD BAL – Lydell Mitchell – 18 rushes, 63 yards Top receivers GB – Jon Staggers – 3 receptions, 52 yards BAL – Lydell Mitchell – 5 receptions, 47 yards References See also History of the Indianapolis Colts Indianapolis Colts seasons Colts–Patriots rivalry External links 1974 Baltimore Colts at Pro-Football-Reference.com 1974 Baltimore Colts at JT-SW.com Baltimore Colts Category:Baltimore Colts seasons Baltimore Colts