Editing Indianapolis Colts (section)

=== Relocation to Indianapolis ===
{{Main|Baltimore Colts relocation to Indianapolis}}
[[Image:Indianapolis-indiana-rca-dome.jpg|thumb|alt=The exterior of the RCA Dome|The Indianapolis Colts played in the RCA Dome from 1984 until 2007.]]
The Baltimore Colts played their final home game in Baltimore on December&nbsp;18, 1983, against the [[Houston Oilers]]. Irsay continued to request upgrades to [[Memorial Stadium (Baltimore)|Memorial Stadium]] or construction of a new stadium.<ref name="LA Times Colts Relocation">{{cite news|title=Stadium Struggle in Baltimore: Push and Pull of Power|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-01-04-sp-2014-story.html|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=July 4, 2012|first=Richard|last=Justice|date=January 4, 1987|archive-date=November 13, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113033352/http://articles.latimes.com/1987-01-04/sports/sp-2014_1_stadium-authority|url-status=live}}</ref> As a result of the poor performance on the field and the stadium issues, fan attendance and team revenue continued to dwindle. City officials were precluded from using tax-payer funds for the building of a new stadium, and the modest proposals that were offered by the city were not acceptable to either the Colts or the city's MLB franchise the [[Baltimore Orioles|Orioles]]. However, all sides continued to negotiate.<ref name="LA Times Colts Relocation"/> Relations between Irsay and the city of Baltimore deteriorated. Although Irsay assured fans that his ultimate desire was to stay in Baltimore, he nevertheless began discussions with several other cities willing to build new football stadiums, eventually narrowing the list of cities to Indianapolis and Phoenix.<ref>{{cite web|title=Descendants of the Mayflower:A History of the Indianapolis Colts|url=http://bonesaw.tripod.com/Indy_History.htm|publisher=Descendants of the Mayflower|access-date=July 4, 2012|archive-date=July 17, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717102242/http://bonesaw.tripod.com/Indy_History.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Under the administration of [[List of mayors of Indianapolis|mayors]] [[Richard Lugar]] and then [[William Hudnut]], Indianapolis had undertaken an ambitious effort to reinvent itself into a 'Great American City'.<ref name="IndyStar Colts History">{{cite news|title=History of The Indianapolis Colts|url=http://www2.indystar.com/library/factfiles/sports/football-pro/indpls_colts/history/colts.html|newspaper=[[The Indianapolis Star]]|access-date=July 4, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130118192429/http://www2.indystar.com/library/factfiles/sports/football-pro/indpls_colts/history/colts.html|archive-date=January 18, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Hoosier Dome]], which was later renamed the RCA Dome, had been built specifically for, and was ready to host, an NFL expansion team.<ref>{{cite web|title=RCA Dome|url=http://www.stadiumsofprofootball.com/past/RCADome.htm|publisher=Stadiums of Pro Football|access-date=July 4, 2012|archive-date=November 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110200130/https://www.stadiumsofprofootball.com/stadiums/rca-dome/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Meanwhile, in Baltimore, the situation worsened. The [[Maryland General Assembly]] intervened when a bill was introduced to give the city of Baltimore the right to seize ownership of the team by [[eminent domain]]. As a result, Irsay began serious negotiations with Hudnut to move the team before the Maryland legislature could pass the law. Indianapolis offered loans as well as the Hoosier Dome and a training complex.<ref>{{cite news|title=In the end, Irsay rests quietly|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2007/01/13/in-the-end-irsay-rests-quietly/|newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]]|access-date=July 4, 2012|archive-date=November 13, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113023617/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2007-01-13/sports/0701130145_1_jim-irsay-crown-hill-cemetery-robert-irsay|url-status=live}}</ref> After the deal was reached, moving vans from Indianapolis-based [[Mayflower Transit]] were dispatched overnight to the team's Maryland training complex, arriving on the morning of March&nbsp;29, 1984. Once in Maryland, workers loaded all of the team's belongings, and by midday the trucks departed for Indianapolis, leaving nothing of the Colts organization that could be seized by Baltimore.<ref>"The Greatest Game Ever Played" documentary on ESPN, December&nbsp;13, 2008</ref> The [[Baltimore's Marching Ravens|Baltimore Colts' Marching Band]] had to scramble to retrieve their equipment and uniforms before they were shipped to Indianapolis as well.<ref name="TBTWD">''The Band That Wouldn't Die''. Directed by Barry Levinson, Severn River Productions</ref>

The move triggered a flurry of legal activity that ended when representatives of the city of Baltimore and the Colts organization reached a settlement in March 1986. Under the agreement, all lawsuits regarding the relocation were dismissed, and the Colts agreed to endorse a new NFL team for Baltimore.<ref name="IndyStar Colts History"/>[[Image:Indianapolis Colts at Cleveland Browns 1988-09-19 (ticket) (crop).jpg|thumb|right|alt=Dickerson in a Colts uniform|upright|[[Eric Dickerson]] led the team in rushing and earned three Pro Bowl invitations during his tenure with the Colts (1987–1991).]]
Upon the Colts' arrival in Indianapolis over 143,000 requests for season tickets were received in just two weeks.<ref>{{cite web|title=StarFiles: The Indianapolis Colts, 1984–97|url=http://www.indystar.com/article/99999999/NEWS06/80814050/StarFiles-Indianapolis-Colts-1984-1997|work=[[The Indianapolis Star]]|access-date=July 4, 2012|archive-date=September 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924114903/http://www.indystar.com/article/99999999/NEWS06/80814050/StarFiles-Indianapolis-Colts-1984-1997|url-status=live}}</ref> The move did not change the recent fortune of the Colts, with the team appearing in the postseason only once in the first 11&nbsp;seasons in Indianapolis. During the [[1984 Indianapolis Colts season|1984 season]], the first in Indianapolis, the team went 4–12 and accounted for the lowest offensive yardage in the league.<ref>{{cite web|title=1984 NFL, Team & Offensive Statistics|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1984/|publisher=Pro Football Reference|access-date=July 4, 2012|archive-date=June 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629043515/http://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1984/|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[1985 Indianapolis Colts season|1985]] and [[1986 Indianapolis Colts season|1986]] teams combined for only eight wins, including an 0–13 start in 1986 which prompted the firing of head coach [[Rod Dowhower]], who was replaced by [[Ron Meyer]]. The Colts, however, did receive eventual Hall of Fame running back [[Eric Dickerson]]<ref>{{cite web|title=History: Eric Dickerson Trade – Trick-or-Trade|url=http://www.profootballhof.com/history/decades/1980s/eric_dickerson.aspx|publisher=Pro Football Hall of Fame|access-date=July 4, 2012|archive-date=October 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017145944/http://www.profootballhof.com/history/decades/1980s/eric_dickerson.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> as a result of a trade during the [[1987 Indianapolis Colts season|1987 season]], and went on to compile a 9–6 record, thereby winning the [[AFC East]] and advancing to the postseason for the first time in Indianapolis; they lost that game to the [[Cleveland Browns]].

Following 1987, the Colts did not see any real success for quite some time, with the team missing the postseason for seven consecutive seasons. The struggles came to a climax in [[1991 Indianapolis Colts season|1991]] when the team went 1–15 and was just one point away from the first all-losing season in the history of a 16-game schedule.<ref>{{cite web|title=Worst NFL teams of all time|url=https://www.espn.com/page2/s/list/football/teams/worst.html|publisher=[[ESPN]]|access-date=July 4, 2012|archive-date=July 6, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120706000928/http://espn.go.com/page2/s/list/football/teams/worst.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The season resulted in the firing of head coach Ron Meyer and the return of former head coach [[Ted Marchibroda]] to the organization in [[1992 Indianapolis Colts season|1992]]; he had coached the team from 1975 to 1979. The team continued to struggle under Marchibroda and [[Jim Irsay]], son of [[Robert Irsay]] and general manager at the time. It was in [[1994 Indianapolis Colts season|1994]] that Robert Irsay brought in [[Bill Tobin (American football)|Bill Tobin]] to become the general manager of the Indianapolis Colts.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bill Tobin, the GM behind the Hall of Famer|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2011/02/10/bill-tobin-the-gm-behind-the-hall-of-famer/|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=July 4, 2012|first1=Fred|last1=Mitchell|first2=David|last2=Kaplan|date=February 10, 2011|archive-date=July 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729013552/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-02-10/sports/ct-spt-0211-around-town--20110210_1_vince-tobin-draft-hall-of-fame-induction|url-status=live}}</ref>

Under Tobin, the Colts drafted running back [[Marshall Faulk]] with the second overall pick in the [[1994 NFL draft]]<ref>{{cite web|title=1994 NFL Draft|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1994/draft.htm?redir|publisher=Pro Football Reference|access-date=July 4, 2012|archive-date=May 2, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120502130236/http://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1994/draft.htm?redir|url-status=live}}</ref> and acquired quarterback [[Jim Harbaugh]] as well.<ref>{{cite news|last=Pierson|first=Don|title=Pressure On Harbaugh After Tobin Rejects Quarterback In Draft|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/05/01/pressure-on-harbaugh-after-tobin-rejects-quarterback-in-draft/|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=July 4, 2012|date=May 1, 1994|archive-date=July 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729031307/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-05-01/sports/9405010145_1_bill-tobin-jim-harbaugh-no-huddle|url-status=live}}</ref> These Colts began to turn their fortunes around with playoff appearances in [[1995 Indianapolis Colts season|1995]] and [[1996 Indianapolis Colts season|1996]]. The Colts won their first postseason game as the Indianapolis Colts in 1995 and advanced to the [[1995 AFC Championship Game|AFC Championship Game]] against the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]], coming just a [[Hail Mary pass]] reception away from a trip to [[Super Bowl&nbsp;XXX]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Rosenthal|first=Gregg|title=1995 AFC Championship game still haunts Harbaugh|date=May 12, 2011|url=http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/05/12/1995-afc-championship-game-still-haunts/|publisher=Pro Football Talk|access-date=July 4, 2012|archive-date=May 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120517154751/http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/05/12/1995-afc-championship-game-still-haunts/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Marchibroda retired following the 1995 season and was replaced by [[Lindy Infante]] in 1996.<ref name="v081">{{cite web | last=Pollack| first=Chuck| title=Pollock: Remembering Marchibroda as one of the football's 'good guys' | website=Olean Times Herald | date=2016-01-19 | url=https://www.oleantimesherald.com/sports/pollock-remembering-marchibroda-as-one-of-the-football-s-good-guys/article_2c135e22-be45-11e5-8b19-877c7499411a.html | access-date=2024-08-18}}</ref><ref name="y272">{{cite web | title=COLTS SET TO TAP INFANTE | website=Chicago Tribune | date=1996-02-09 | url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1996/02/09/colts-set-to-tap-infante/ | access-date=2024-08-18}}</ref> In the 1996 season, the Colts went 9–7 and had their season end in the Wild Card Round with a 42–14 loss to the PIttsburgh Steelers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1996 Indianapolis Colts Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/clt/1996.htm |access-date=2024-08-18 |website=[[Pro Football Reference]] |language=en}}</ref> After two consecutive playoff appearances, the Colts regressed and went 3–13 during the [[1997 Indianapolis Colts season|1997 season]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=1997 Indianapolis Colts Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/clt/1997.htm |access-date=2024-08-18 |website=[[Pro Football Reference]] |language=en}}</ref>