1953 Baltimore Colts season

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1953-colts-teamphoto.jpg
1953 Baltimore Colts season
Owner Carroll Rosenbloom (primary)
General manager Don "Red" Kellett
Head coach Keith Molesworth
Home field Memorial Stadium
Results
Record3–9
Division place5th NFL Western
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1953 Baltimore Colts season was officially the first season for the team as a member club of the National Football League. The Colts had a record of 3 wins and 9 losses and finished fifth in the Western Conference.

Contents

In January 1953, a Baltimore-based group led by Carroll Rosenbloom won the rights to a new Baltimore franchise. [1] [2] Rosenbloom was granted an NFL team, and awarded the holdings of the defunct Dallas Texans organization, the descendant of the last remaining Ohio League founding APFA member Dayton Triangles, who lasted only one season in Dallas. Amongst these assets and players were future hall of famer players Gino Marchetti and Art Donovan, the nucleus of the group of players that remained from the Texans and carried on the legacy of the original Triangles franchise. Despite these definitive connections through the years, what was, and is still recognized as the new team was named the Colts after the unrelated previous team that folded following the 1950 season. The team kept the blue and white color scheme that the Triangles franchise had for much of its existence. Baltimore was without a team in 1951 and 1952.

The 1953 Colts have the unusual distinction of having a losing record, despite having a league-leading 56 defensive takeaways. [3] Baltimore had a winning record after five games, defeating neighbor Washington before a capacity crowd of over 34,000 at Memorial Stadium, [4] then lost seven straight to finish the season.

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), [5] 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. [6]

Offseason

Draft

1953 Baltimore Colts draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
12 Billy Vessels   HB Oklahoma 1952 Heisman Trophy winner; signed with Edmonton Eskimos (WIFL)
214 Bernie Flowers   E Purdue signed with Ottawa Rough Riders (IRFU)
326 Buck McPhail   FB Oklahoma
439 Tom Catlin   LB Oklahoma
551 Jack Little   T Texas A&M
663 Jim Sears   DB USC
775Bill Athey  G Baylor
887Jim Prewett T Tulsa
999Bob Blair E TCU
10111John Cole  B Arkansas
11123Gene Rossi B Cincinnati
12135 Kaye Vaughan  GTulsaSigned with Ottawa Rough Riders (IRFU)
13147Bobby Moorhead B Georgia Tech
14159Frank Continetti G George Washington
15171Buddy Sutton BArkansas
16183Jim Currin E Dayton
17195George Rambour T Dartmouth
18207LeRoy Labat B LSU
19219Bill Powell B California
20231Pete Russo T Indiana
21243Frank Kirby T Bucknell
22255Merlin Gish C Kansas
23267Mike Housepian G Tulane
24279 Monte Brethauer  DB Oregon
25291Joe Szombathy E Syracuse
26303Scott Prescott C Minnesota
27315Ray Graves BTexas A&M
28327Joe Sabol B UCLA
29339Jack Alessandrini G Notre Dame
30351Tom Roche T Northwestern
      Made roster  

[7]

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1September 27 Chicago Bears W 13–91–0 Memorial Stadium 23,715 Recap
2October 3 Detroit Lions L 17–271–1Memorial Stadium25,159 Recap
3October 11at Chicago Bears W 16–142–1 Wrigley Field 35,316 Recap
4October 18at Green Bay Packers L 14–372–2 City Stadium 18,713 Recap
5October 25 Washington Redskins W 27–173–2Memorial Stadium34,031 Recap
6October 31 Green Bay Packers L 24–353–3Memorial Stadium33,797 Recap
7November 7at Detroit Lions L 7–173–4 Tiger Stadium 46,508 Recap
8November 15at Philadelphia Eagles L 14–453–5 Shibe Park 27,813 Recap
9November 22 Los Angeles Rams L 13–213–6Memorial Stadium27,268 Recap
10November 29 San Francisco 49ers L 21–383–7Memorial Stadium26,005 Recap
11December 5at Los Angeles Rams L 2–453–8 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 26,696 Recap
12December 13at San Francisco 49ers L 14–453–9 Kezar Stadium 23,432 Recap
Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFL Western Conference
WLTPCTCONFPFPASTK
Detroit Lions 1020.8338–2271205W6
San Francisco 49ers 930.7508–2372237W4
Los Angeles Rams 831.7277–3366236W2
Chicago Bears 381.2732–7–1218262L2
Baltimore Colts 390.2502–8182350L7
Green Bay Packers 291.1822–7–1200338L5

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Baltimore assured NFL franchise". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. January 7, 1953. p. 29.
  2. ↑ "Historical highlights of Colts". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. South Carolina. March 30, 1984. p. C4.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ "Colts defeat 'Skins, 27-17". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. October 26, 1953. p. 28.
  5. ↑ "Colts jolt Bears, 13-9, get record 56-yard field goal". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. September 28, 1953. p. 2, part 2.[ permanent dead link ]
  6. ↑ "Dempsey's 63 yard FG jolts Lions". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. November 9, 1970. p. 1, part 2.[ permanent dead link ]
  7. ↑ "1953 Baltimore Colts Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
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