1983 Baltimore Colts season

31st season in franchise history; final one in Baltimore August 2023 March 2026 Baltimore Colts 1983 7–9 T-4th AFC East Frank Kush Ernie Accorsi Robert Irsay Memorial Stadium Did not qualify G Chris Hinton 1984 (Ind.) Colts seasons The 1983 Baltimore Colts season was the 31st season for the team in the National Football League (NFL). This would be the franchise's final season in Baltimore as they moved to Indianapolis for the following season. The Colts finished the year with a record of 7 wins and 9 losses, and tied for fourth in the AFC East division with the New York Jets. However, the Colts finished ahead of New York based on better conference record (5–9 to Jets’ 4–8). Having finished the 1982 season with the NFL's worst record at a winless 0–8–1, the Colts held the No. 1 pick in the 1983 NFL draft and expected to land the nation's top collegiate player to their 1983 roster. The Colts used the top pick on John Elway of Stanford. Elway, however, refused to play for the Colts and even considered joining the New York Yankees baseball organization unless he was traded. The Colts were forced to trade Elway to the Denver Broncos and Mike Pagel retained his position as starting quarterback. The Elway controversy became more interesting when Elway's Broncos visited Baltimore for the second game of the season. The Broncos won that game 17–10. Later, when the teams faced each other again in Denver for the second-to-last game of the season, the Colts took a 19–0 lead over the Broncos, only to blow the lead in the fourth quarter and lose 21–19. They won their final game as a Baltimore team against the Houston Oilers 20–10.http://m.pfref.com/m?p=XXboxscoresXX198312180clt.htm Oilers 10 @ Colts 20, 12-18-83 - m.pfref.com 2016-05-25 https://web.archive.org/web/20160630074420/http://m.pfref.com/m?p=XXboxscoresXX198312180clt.htm 2016-06-30 dead The Colts' desertion left Baltimore without an NFL team until the Ravens began play in 1996. Professional football was reintroduced to the Baltimore market in 1994 with the creation of the Baltimore Stallions Canadian Football League team during what was essentially an ill-fated American expansion. From 1981 to this season, the Colts went a combined 9–31–1 (.232). Offseason NFL draft 1983 NFL draft 1983 Baltimore Colts 1 1 John Elway Quarterback Stanford traded to the Denver Broncos no no 2 29 Vernon Maxwell Linebacker Arizona State no yes 3 57 George Achica Nose tackle USC no yes 4 85 Phil Smith Wide receiver San Diego State no yes 5 113 Sid Abramowitz Offensive tackle Tulsa no yes 6 161 Grant Feasel Center Abilene Christian no yes 7 169 Alvin Moore Running back Arizona State no yes 9 225 Jim Mills Offensive tackle Hawaii no yes 9 241 Chris Rose Offensive tackle Stanford no yes 10 252 Ronald Hopkins Defensive back Murray State no yes 11 280 Jim Bob Taylor Quarterback Georgia Tech no yes 12 308 Carl Williams Wide receiver Texas Southern no yes no Undrafted free agents + 1983 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeJohn MillerLinebackerMississippi State Personnel Staff 1983 Baltimore Colts President and treasurer – Robert Irsay General manager – Ernie Accorsi Director of player personnel – Jack Bushofsky Director of pro personnel – Bob Terpening Head coach – Frank Kush Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks – Zeke Bratkowski Running backs – Roger Theder Receivers – Richard Mann Tight ends – Mike Westhoff Offensive line – Hal Hunter Defensive line – Gunther Cunningham Linebackers – Rick Venturi Secondary – Bob Valesente Special teams – Mike Westhoff Roster 1983 Baltimore Colts  9 Mark Herrmann 18 Mike Pagel  8 Mark Reed American football 12 Jim Bob Taylor y 33 Curtis Dickey 32 Randy McMillan 23 Alvin Moore American football y 20 Ricky Porter 39 Newton Williams American football 88 Bernard Henry American football 84 Victor Oatis y 87 Tracy Porter wide receiver 89 Aundra Thompson 81 Pat Beach 83 Tim Sherwin 86 Dave Young American football 74 Sid Abramowitz y T 76 Karl Baldischwiler T 53 Ray Donaldson C 50 Grant Feasel y C 68 Jeff Hart gridiron football T 75 Chris Hinton y G 79 Lindsey Mason T 64 Ben Utt G 73 Steve Wright American football, born 1959 G 97 Quinton Ballard y NT 90 Mark Bell defensive end DE 78 Steve Parker defensive end, born 1959 DE 99 Donnell Thompson DE 71 Henry Waechter DE 69 Leo Wisniewski NT 52 Greg Bracelin OLB 98 Johnie Cooks ILB 51 Ricky Jones American football OLB 55 Barry Krauss ILB 56 Vernon Maxwell American football y OLB 49 Cliff Odom ILB 60 Gary Padjen ILB 54 Sanders Shiver OLB 26 Kim Anderson American football FS 30 Larry Anderson American football SS 45 Jim Burroughs CB 34 Jeff Delaney SS 25 Nesby Glasgow FS 29 Mark Kafentzis SS 35 Tate Randle CB 44 Kendall Williams American football CB  2 Raúl Allegre y K  3 Rohn Stark P 85 Matt Bouza WR IR 80 Ray Butler American football WR IR 57 Mike Humiston LB IR 76 Jim Mills gridiron football y T IR 10 Art Schlichter QB Susp. -- John Sinnott American football T IR 86 Phil Smith American football y WR IR Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 4 at New England Patriots W 29–23 (OT) 1–0 Sullivan Stadium 45,526 2 September 11 Denver Broncos L 10–17 1–1 Memorial Stadium 52,613 3 September 18 at Buffalo Bills L 23–28 1–2 Rich Stadium 40,937 4 September 25 Chicago Bears W 22–19 (OT) 2–2 Memorial Stadium 34,350 5 October 2 at Cincinnati Bengals W 34–31 3–2 Riverfront Stadium 48,104 6 October 9 New England Patriots W 12–7 4–2 Memorial Stadium 35,618 7 October 16 Buffalo Bills L 7–30 4–3 Memorial Stadium 38,565 8 October 23 Miami Dolphins L 7–21 4–4 Memorial Stadium 32,343 9 October 30 at Philadelphia Eagles W 22–21 5–4 Veterans Stadium 59,150 10 November 6 at New York Jets W 17–14 6–4 Shea Stadium 53,323 11 November 13 Pittsburgh Steelers L 13–24 6–5 Memorial Stadium 57,319 12 November 20 at Miami Dolphins L 0-37 6–6 Miami Orange Bowl 54,482 13 November 27 at Cleveland Browns L 23–41 6–7 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 65,812 14 December 4 New York Jets L 6–10 6–8 Memorial Stadium 35,462 15 December 11 at Denver Broncos L 19–21 6–9 Mile High Stadium 74,864 16 December 18 Houston Oilers W 20–10 7–9 Memorial Stadium 20,418 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 1 Colts 3 10 7 3 6 Patriots 0 13 3 7 0 September 4 Sullivan Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts 1:00 p.m. 78 °F °C 1, wind 10 mph km/h knots Don Criqui and Jim Turner NBC yes Q1 BAL Raúl Allegre 25 yard field goal IND 3–0 Q2 NE Stephen Starring 73 yard pass from Steve Grogan (kick failed) NE 6–3 Q2 NE Stanley Morgan 50 yard pass from Steve Grogan (John Smith kick) NE 13–3 Q2 BAL Bernard Henry 16 yard pass from Mike Pagel (Raúl Allegre kick) NE 13–10 Q2 BAL Raúl Allegre 52 yard field goal Tie 13–13 Q3 NE John Smith 39 yard field goal NE 16–13 Q3 BAL Bernard Henry 5 yard pass from Mike Pagel (Raúl Allegre kick) BAL 20–16 Q4 NE Robert Weathers 9 yard run (John Smith kick) NE 23–20 Q4 BAL Raúl Allegre 33 yard field goal Tie 23–23 Q4 BAL Johnie Cooks 52 yard fumble return BAL 29–23 yes NFL Scores https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198309040nwe.htm Pro Football Reference Baltimore Colts at New England Patriots – September 4th, 1983 Week 15 at Broncos Baltimore Colts 1983 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Fifteen: Baltimore Colts (6–8) at Denver Broncos (8–6) December 11, 1983 4:00 p.m. EST Colts 3 13 3 0 Broncos 0 0 0 21 Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado 74,864 40 F C 1 NFL Scores https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198312110den.htm Pro Football Reference Baltimore Colts at Denver Broncos – December 11th, 1983Baltimore Colts vs Denver Broncos, December 11, 1983 https://www.footballdb.com/games/boxscore.html?gid=1983121107 The Football Database First quarter BAL – Raúl Allegre 42-yard field goal, 1:20. Colts 3–0. Drive: Second quarter BAL – Raúl Allegre 55-yard field goal, 10:55. Colts 6–0. Drive: BAL – Raúl Allegre 41-yard field goal, 7:23. Colts 9–0. Drive: BAL – Bernard Henry 40-yard pass from Mike Pagel (Raúl Allegre kick), 5:55. Colts 16–0. Drive: Third quarter BAL – Raúl Allegre 26-yard field goal, 7:50. Colts 19–0. Drive: Fourth quarter DEN – Clint Sampson 21-yard pass from John Elway (Rich Karlis kick), 10:52. Colts 19–7. Drive: DEN – Jesse Myles 26-yard pass from John Elway (Rich Karlis kick), 4:54. Colts 19–14. Drive: DEN – Gerald Willhite 26-yard pass from John Elway (Rich Karlis kick), 0:44. Broncos 21–19. Drive: Top passers BAL – Mike Pagel – 13/27, 217 yards, TD, INT DEN – John Elway – 23/44, 345 yards, 3 TD Top rushers BAL – Curtis Dickey – 19 rushes, 92 yards DEN – John Elway – 3 rushes, 23 yards Top receivers BAL – Bernard Henry – 8 receptions, 169 yards, TD DEN – Steve Watson – 4 receptions, 98 yards Standings See also History of the Indianapolis Colts Indianapolis Colts seasons Colts–Patriots rivalry References Baltimore Colts Category:Baltimore Colts seasons Baltimore