1977 Baltimore Colts season

1977 Baltimore Colts season
Owner	Robert Irsay
General manager	Dick Szymanski
Head coach	Ted Marchibroda
Home field	Memorial Stadium
Results
Record	10–4
Division place	T-1st AFC East
Playoff finish	Lost Divisional Playoffs (vs. Raiders) 31–37 (2OT)
Pro Bowlers	T George Kunz RB Lydell Mitchell DT Mike Barnes DE John Dutton K Toni Linhart
←  1976 Colts seasons 1978  →

The 1977 Baltimore Colts season was the 25th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL). Led by third-year head coach Ted Marchibroda, the Colts finished with 10 wins and 4 losses, tied for first in the AFC East division with the Miami Dolphins. The Colts had the tiebreaker over Miami based on better conference record (9–3 to 8–4), and the Dolphins missed the playoffs. ^{[1] [2]}

This was the final playoff appearance for the Colts as a Baltimore-based franchise (their next came ten years later in 1987, by which time the team moved to Indianapolis). Baltimore's next playoff team was the Ravens in 2000, winners of Super Bowl XXXV.

Offseason

Colts' owner Robert Irsay fired general manager Joe Thomas in January 1977, due to a power struggle he was having with head coach Ted Marchibroda. ^{[3] [4] [5]} The new general manager was former Colts center Dick Szymanski, who was the personnel director and a former scout. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

NFL draft

Main article: 1977 NFL draft

1977 Baltimore Colts draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	26	Randy Burke	Wide receiver	Kentucky
2	53	Mike Ozdowski	Defensive end	Virginia
6	168	Calvin O'Neal	Linebacker	Michigan	Would play for the Colts in 1978.
7	193	Blanchard Carter	Offensive tackle	UNLV	Would play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
8	220	Ken Helms	Offensive tackle	Georgia
9	247	Glen Capriola	Running back	Boston College
10	277	Ron Baker	Guard	Oklahoma State
11	304	Brian Ruff	Linebacker	The Citadel
12	331	Bill Deutsch	Running back	North Dakota
Made roster

Personnel

Staff

1977 Baltimore Colts staff

Front office President and Treasurer – Robert Irsay General Manager – Dick Szymanski Assistant General Manager – Ernie Accorsi Head coaches Head Coach – Ted Marchibroda Offensive coaches Receivers – Dick Bielski Offensive Line – Whitey Dovell

Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Maxie Baughan Defensive Line – Ed Khayat Defensive Backfield – Frank Lauterbur Special teams coaches Special Teams – George Boutselis

Roster

1977 Baltimore Colts roster

	Quarterbacks  7 Bert Jones 15 Mike Kirkland 12 Bill Troup Running backs 48 Roosevelt Leaks FB 34 Ron Lee 23 Don McCauley 26 Lydell Mitchell 27 Howard Stevens PR Wide receivers 81 Roger Carr 35 Glenn Doughty 28 Perry Griggs 80 Marshall Johnson 28 Howard Satterwhite 86 Freddie Scott 88 Ricky Thompson Tight ends 83 Mack Alston 87 Raymond Chester 85 Jimmie Kennedy		Offensive linemen 50 Forrest Blue C 66 Elmer Collett G 69 Wade Griffin T 62 Ken Huff G 75 George Kunz T 57 Ken Mendenhall C 61 Robert Pratt G 64 David Taylor T 67 Bob Van Duyne G Defensive linemen 63 Mike Barnes DT 72 Fred Cook DE 78 John Dutton DE 76 Joe Ehrmann DT 73 Ron Fernandes DE 79 Greg Johnson DE 74 Ken Novak DT		Linebackers 55 Dan Dickel MLB 58 Derrel Luce OLB 52 Tom MacLeod OLB 54 Sanders Shiver OLB 56 Ed Simonini MLB 53 Stan White OLB Defensive backs 47 Tim Baylor FS 44 Lyle Blackwood FS 40 Bruce Laird SS/KR 42 Lloyd Mumphord CB 31 Nelson Munsey CB 30 Doug Nettles CB 25 Ray Oldham SS 43 Norm Thompson CB Special teams  2 Toni Linhart K 49 David Lee P		Reserve lists 84 Randy Burke WR (IR Tooltip Injured reserve) 71 Mike Ozdowski DE (IR Tooltip Injured reserve) Practice squad Rookies in italics

Source: ^[9]

Regular season

Main article: 1977 NFL season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 18	at Seattle Seahawks	W 29–14	1–0	Kingdome	58,991
2	September 25	at New York Jets	W 20–12	2–0	Giants Stadium	43,439
3	October 2	Buffalo Bills	W 17–14	3–0	Memorial Stadium	49,247
4	October 9	Miami Dolphins	W 45–28	4–0	Memorial Stadium	57,829
5	October 16	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 17–6	5–0	Arrowhead Stadium	63,076
6	October 23	at New England Patriots	L 3–17	5–1	Schaefer Stadium	60,958
7	October 30	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 31–21	6–1	Memorial Stadium	60,225
8	November 7	Washington Redskins	W 10–3	7–1	Memorial Stadium	57,740
9	November 13	at Buffalo Bills	W 31–13	8–1	Rich Stadium	39,444
10	November 20	New York Jets	W 33–12	9–1	Memorial Stadium	50,957
11	November 27	at Denver Broncos	L 13–27	9–2	Mile High Stadium	74,939
12	December 5	at Miami Dolphins	L 6–17	9–3	Miami Orange Bowl	68,977
13	December 11	Detroit Lions	L 10–13	9–4	Memorial Stadium	45,124
14	December 18	New England Patriots	W 30–24	10–4	Memorial Stadium	42,250
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Week 1

1 2 3 4 Total • Colts 7 7 5 10 29 Seahawks 0 7 0 7 14 Date: September 18 Location: Kingdome, Seattle Game start: 4:00 p.m. Game weather: Indoors (dome)

Scoring summary Q1 BAL McCauley 6 yard run (Linhart kick) BAL 7–0 Q2 SEA Testerman 1 yard pass from Zorn (Leypoldt kick) Tie 7–7 Q2 BAL Leaks 10 yard run (Linhart kick) BAL 14–7 Q3 BAL Safety, Nettles blocked punt out of end zone BAL 16–7 Q3 BAL Linhart 38 yard field goal BAL 19–7 Q4 BAL Linhart 42 yard field goal BAL 22–7 Q4 SEA Beamon 17 yard blocked punt return (Leypoldt kick) BAL 22–14 Q4 BAL Carr 21 yard pass from Jones (Linhart kick) BAL 29–14

• Lydell Mitchell 32 Rush, 114 Yds

^[10]

Week 2 at Jets

See also: 1977 New York Jets season

Week Two: Baltimore Colts (1–0) at New York Jets (0–1)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Colts	7	7	6	0	20
Jets	0	3	0	9	12

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

• Date: September 25
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 55 °F or 12.8 °C
• Game attendance: 43,439
• ^[11]

Game information

First quarter BAL – Roosevelt Leaks 6-yard run (Toni Linhart kick). Colts 7–0. Drive: Second quarter BAL – Don McCauley 2-yard run (Toni Linhart kick). Colts 14–0. Drive: NYJ – Pat Leahy 25-yard field goal. Colts 14–3. Drive: Third quarter BAL – Don McCauley 1-yard run (Toni Linhart kick). Colts 21–3. Drive: Fourth quarter NYJ – Safety, David Lee ran out of end zone. Colts 21–5. NYJ – Charlie White 1-yard run (Pat Leahy kick). Colts 21–12. Drive: Top passers BAL – Bert Jones – 9/15, 78 yards, INT NYJ – Richard Todd – 13/22, 140 yards, 2 INT Top rushers BAL – Lydell Mitchell – 26 rushes, 68 yards NYJ – Charlie White – 12 rushes, 36 yards, TD Top receivers BAL – Don McCauley – 5 receptions, 40 yards NYJ – Clark Gaines – 6 receptions, 47 yards

Week 3

1 2 3 4 Total Bills 0 7 0 7 14 • Colts 0 10 0 7 17 Date: October 2 Location: Memorial Stadium Game weather: 72 °F or 22.2 °C, relative humidity 73%, wind 14 miles per hour (23 km/h; 12 kn)

Week 4

1 2 3 4 Total Dolphins 14 14 0 0 28 • Colts 10 14 14 7 45 Date: October 9 Location: Memorial Stadium Game weather: 63 °F or 17.2 °C, relative humidity 82%, wind 13 miles per hour (21 km/h; 11 kn) Referee: Don Wedge

Week 5

1 2 3 4 Total • Colts 14 0 3 0 17 Chiefs 0 6 0 0 6 Date: October 16 Location: Arrowhead Stadium Game weather: 46 °F or 7.8 °C, relative humidity 72%, wind 8 miles per hour (13 km/h; 7.0 kn)

Week 6

1 2 3 4 Total Colts 0 0 3 0 3 • Patriots 7 0 10 0 17 Date: October 23 Location: Sullivan Stadium Game weather: 51 °F or 10.6 °C, relative humidity 45%, wind 15 miles per hour (24 km/h; 13 kn)

Week 7

1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 0 0 7 14 21 • Colts 3 14 7 7 31 Date: October 30 Location: Memorial Stadium Game weather: 53 °F or 11.7 °C, relative humidity 54%, wind 8 miles per hour (13 km/h; 7.0 kn) Referee: Red Cashion

Week 8

1 2 3 4 Total Redskins 0 3 0 0 3 • Colts 3 0 0 7 10 Date:November 7 Location: Memorial Stadium Game weather: 61 °F or 16.1 °C, relative humidity 93%, wind 16 miles per hour (26 km/h; 14 kn) Television network: ABC

Week 9

1 2 3 4 Total • Colts 10 14 7 0 31 Bills 7 3 3 0 13 Date: November 13 Location: Rich Stadium Game weather: 29 °F or −1.7 °C, relative humidity 82%, wind 13 miles per hour (21 km/h; 11 kn), wind chill 18 °F or −7.8 °C Referee: Gordon McCarter

Week 10

1 2 3 4 Total Jets 3 0 3 6 12 •Colts 6 13 7 7 33 Date: November 20 Location: Memorial Stadium Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 43 °F or 6.1 °C • Wind 6 mph (10 km/h; 5 kn)

Scoring summary 1 NYJ Pat Leahy 24-yard field goal Jets 3–0 1 BAL Raymond Chester 53-yard pass from Bert Jones (kick failed) Colts 6–3 2 BAL Toni Linhart 30-yard field goal Colts 9–3 2 BAL Toni Linhart 31-yard field goal Colts 12–3 2 BAL Glenn Doughty 33-yard pass from Bert Jones (Toni Linhart kick) Colts 19–3 3 NYJ Pat Leahy 22-yard field goal Colts 19–6 3 BAL Lydell Mitchell 28-yard pass from Bert Jones (Toni Linhart kick) Colts 26–6 4 NYJ Jerome Barkum 18-yard pass from Matt Robinson (Pat Leahy kick) Colts 26–12 4 BAL Robert Pratt 21-yard fumble return (Toni Linhart kick) Colts 33–12

^[12]

Week 11

1 2 3 4 Total Colts 0 3 10 0 13 • Broncos 7 7 0 13 27 Date: November 27 Location: Mile High Stadium Game weather: 40 °F or 4.4 °C, relative humidity 48%, wind 15 miles per hour (24 km/h; 13 kn) Referee: Jim Tunney

Week 12

1 2 3 4 Total Colts 6 0 0 0 6 • Dolphins 3 7 0 7 17 Date: December 5 Location: Orange Bowl Game weather: 79 °F or 26.1 °C, relative humidity 78%, wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn) Television network: ABC

Week 13

1 2 3 4 Total • Lions 0 3 0 10 13 Colts 0 0 3 7 10 Date: December 11 Location: Memorial Stadium Game weather: 22 °F or −5.6 °C, relative humidity 45%, wind 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn), wind chill 11 °F or −11.7 °C Referee: Pat Haggerty TV announcers (CBS): Tim Ryan, Johnny Unitas

Week 14

1 2 3 4 Total Patriots 0 14 10 0 24 • Colts 0 3 13 14 30 Date: December 18 Location: Memorial Stadium Game weather: 41 °F or 5 °C, relative humidity 81%, wind 15 miles per hour (24 km/h; 13 kn) Referee: Fred Silva

Standings

AFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Baltimore Colts (2)	10	4	0	.714	6–2	9–3	295	221	W1
Miami Dolphins	10	4	0	.714	6–2	8–4	313	197	W1
New England Patriots	9	5	0	.643	4–4	7–5	278	217	L1
New York Jets	3	11	0	.214	2–6	2–10	191	300	L2
Buffalo Bills	3	11	0	.214	2–6	2–10	160	313	L1

Playoffs

Main article: 1977–78 NFL playoffs

Baltimore made it to the AFC playoffs as a No. 2 seed and hosted the defending Super Bowl champion Oakland Raiders in the divisional round. The Colts held a 31–28 lead with time running out, when the famous “Ghost to the Post” play to tight end Dave Casper advanced the Raiders to the Baltimore 14-yard line, where Errol Mann kicked the tying field goal to send the contest into overtime. ^[13] After the first overtime went scoreless, Casper caught a 10-yard touchdown pass 43 seconds into the period to win the game for the Raiders. ^{[14] [15]}

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
Divisional	December 24	Oakland Raiders (4)	L 31–372OT	0–1	Memorial Stadium	60,763

Divisional

Main article: Ghost to the post

1 2 3 4 OT Total • Raiders 7 0 14 10 6 37 Colts 0 10 7 14 0 31 Date: December 24 Location: Memorial Stadium Game weather: 41 °F or 5 °C, relative humidity 56%, wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn) Referee: Dick Jorgensen

See also

• History of the Indianapolis Colts
• Indianapolis Colts seasons
• Colts–Patriots rivalry

References

1. "Colts win a berth in playoffs". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 19, 1977. p. 1B.
2. "Dolphins irate over blown call". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. December 19, 1977. p. 2B.
3. "Colt GM Thomas fired". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. January 21, 1977. p. C1.
4. "Internal problems get Thomas fired". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 22, 1977. p. 7.
5. "Colts dumping Joe Thomas". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 22, 1977. p. 13.
6. "Colts realign front office". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. January 24, 1977. p. C6.
7. "Shakeup underway in Baltimore". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 25, 1977. p. 12.
8. "Baltimore shakeup continues". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. January 25, 1977. p. 2B.
9. "1977 Baltimore Colts starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
10. "Baltimore Colts at Seattle Seahawks — September 18th, 1977". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
11. "Baltimore Colts at New York Jets — September 25th, 1977". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
12. "New York Jets at Baltimore Colts — November 20th, 1977". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
13. Reid, Ron (January 2, 1978). "The Ghost to the Post". Sports Illustrated. p. 12.
14. Livingston, Pat (December 25, 1977). "Oakland stops Baltimore, 37-31". Pittsburgh Press. p. D1.
15. "Suddenly, the Raiders win a 37-31 decision". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. December 25, 1977. p. 3C.

External links

• John Facenda (narrator), "The 1977 Baltimore Colts Season: Return to Glory," NFL Films via YouTube.com, June 24, 2019 (Video.)