 | |
| Established | 1968 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 1979 |
| Based in | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Home stadium | Bush Stadium |
| League | Continental Football League (1968–1969) Atlantic Coast Football League (1970) Midwest Football League (1972–1974, 1977–1978) |
| League titles | 3 (1969, 1972, 1973) |
The Indianapolis Capitols were a professional American football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They played in the Continental Football League from 1968 to 1969 and Midwest Football League from 1972 to 1974 and 1977 to 1978.
The team was considered "an outgrowth" of the Indianapolis Warriors, which played in the United Football League from 1961 to 1964, moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana, to become the Fort Wayne Warriors in 1965 with the Continental Football League (CFL), and then moved again to Montreal to become the Montreal Beavers with the CFL from 1966 to 1967. [1]
The Capitols started play in 1968 as members of the CFL and played their home games at Bush Stadium. The team won the COFL championship in 1969, the final season of the league. On April 4, 1970, with the future of the COFL uncertain, the Capitols moved to the rival Atlantic Coast Football League. [2] The Capitols went 6–6 in 1970. [3] After one season in the ACFL, Indianapolis announced that it was ceasing operations due to a lack of fan support and adequate playing facilities. [4]
A reconstituted version of the Indianapolis Capitols started play in the Midwest Football League in 1972 as the Indiana Caps. [5] The Caps won the MWL championship in 1972 after posting an 8–2 regular season record. [6] The team changed its name to the Hoosier Caps in April 1973, [7] then again in June to the Indy Caps. [8] They had a farm team agreement with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) for the 1973 season. [9] They went 8–2 in 1973, [10] and were named league champions after a coin toss to break a tie. [11] Indy won the Capitol Division in 1974 with a record of 9–1, [12] and lost in the championship game against the Flint Sabres, 15–2. [13] The team withdrew from the MFL before the 1975 season. [14]
Indianapolis returned to the MFL in 1977 as the Indy Superstars, [15] coached by Percy Griffin. [16] The team went 2–4 and finished in third place for the season. [17] They changed their team name in 1978 to the Indy Kaps. [18] They placed third in their division with a 6–4 record, [19] and lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Kalamazoo All-Stars. [20]
In 1979, the team joined the Northern States Football League. [21] [22]
| Year | Team name | League | W | L | T | Finish | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Indianapolis Capitols | Continental Football League | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1st | Bob Snyder |
| 1969 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1st | Ken Carpenter | ||
| 1970 | Atlantic Coast Football League | 6 | 6 | 0 | |||
| No team in 1971 | |||||||
| 1972 | Indiana Caps | Midwest Football League | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1st | Ken Carpenter |
| 1973 | Indy Caps | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1st | ||
| 1974 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 2nd | |||
| No team from 1975 to 1976 | |||||||
| 1977 | Indy Superstars | Midwest Football League | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3rd | Percy Griffin |
| 1978 | Indy Kaps | 6 | 4 | 0 | 3rd (Southern) | ||
The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues.
The Continental Football League (COFL) was a professional American football minor league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Football League, and hoped to become the major force in professional football outside the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). It owed its name, at least in part, to the Continental League, a proposed third Major League Baseball organization that influenced MLB significantly, although they never played a game.
Terry Lee Hoeppner was an American college football coach who served as head coach of the Miami RedHawks from 1999 to 2004 and the Indiana Hoosiers from 2005 to 2006. Shortly after announcing that he would be on medical leave for the 2007 season, he died of brain cancer.
David Wesley Behrman was an American football offensive lineman who played in the American Football League (AFL) for the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos. He was the fourth overall pick in the 1963 AFL Draft by the Bills and the 11th pick in the 1963 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. He also played in the Midwest Football League (MFL) for the Lansing All Stars / Capitals and Flint Sabres from 1972 to 1976.
Darrell E. Mudra Sr., nicknamed "Dr. Victory", was an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Adams State College (1959–1962), North Dakota State University (1963–1965), the University of Arizona (1967–1968), Western Illinois University (1969–1973), Florida State University (1974–1975), Eastern Illinois University (1978–1982), and the University of Northern Iowa (1983–1987), compiling a career college football record of 200–81–4. Mudra was also the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) for one season in 1966. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2000.
The Ovens and Murray Football Netball League (O&MFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing ten clubs based in north-eastern Victoria, the southern Riverina region of New South Wales and the Ovens and Murray area. The name comes from the Ovens River, the river in the part of north-eastern Victoria covered by the league, and the Murray River, which separates Victoria and New South Wales.
Cornelius Green is a former American football quarterback who played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He was the first African American quarterback to start at Ohio State.
The Youngstown Hardhats were a semi-professional football team that played from 1972 to 1974 and 1976 to 1981. The team was based in Youngstown, Ohio, and competed in the Midwest Football League from 1972 to 1974 and 1976, and Mid-Atlantic Football League from 1977 to 1981.
James Sean Patrick "King" Corcoran was an American football quarterback who had a ten-year career as a journeyman in the Atlantic Coast Football League, Seaboard Football League, Midwest Football League, World Football League, and briefly in the American Football League. Corcoran played college football, mostly as a back-up, for the Maryland Terrapins. He gained notoriety for his flamboyant dress and playboy lifestyle, which earned him the reputation of being a "poor man's Joe Namath".
Keith John Fielding is an English dual-code international rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s as a winger. He played representative level rugby union for England, and at club level for Moseley Rugby Football Club before switching to rugby league in 1973, and went on to play representative level rugby league for Great Britain and England, and at club level for Salford.
The Newton Nite Hawks are a semi-pro American football team that played in Newton, Iowa. They were members of the Chicagoland Football League and Northern States Football League from 1974-1978 and returned to play from 2019-present. They now play in the Heartland Football Association (HFA).
The Montreal Beavers were a professional American football team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The franchise began as the Indianapolis Warriors of the United Football League in 1961, where they played for four seasons. During that time the Warriors made the UFL playoffs three times, and advanced to the league championship in 1964. The team moved to Fort Wayne in January 1965, and became a charter member of the Continental Football League (CFL) when it was formed the next month.
The Omaha Mustangs were a professional American football team based in Omaha, Nebraska. They began as an independent, semi-pro team in the early 1960s before joining the Professional Football League of America, a newly formed league based on remnants of the United Football League, in 1965. The Mustangs won the PFLA championship in their second season by defeating the Des Moines Warriors in a playoff game in front of 4,530 spectators. The Mustangs were affiliated with the Kansas City Chiefs for the 1967 season.
Bill Byrne was a sports entrepreneur who founded the first women's professional basketball league in the United States. Byrne was born in Stoutsville, Ohio and founded the National Scouting Association (NSA) which represented student-athletes from the collegiate and amateur ranks to seek professional football opportunities. He then founded the Columbus Bucks, a semi-professional football team, playing in the Midwest Football League (MFL) and served as commissioner. Byrne was hired by the Chicago Fire of the start-up World Football League in 1974 as the Player Personnel Director. When that team folded toward the end of the season, Byrne then went to the Shreveport Steamer for the 1975 WFL season in a similar role. The World Football League folded toward the end of the season.
Thomas LeRoy Beard Jr. is a former professional American football center who played with the Buffalo Bills in 1972. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the eighth round of the 1971 NFL Draft, and also played for the Lansing All Stars of the Midwest Football League (MFL) in 1971.
The Midwest Football League (MFL) was a low-level professional American football minor league that played games from 1962 to 1978. The league was based mainly in Michigan, until the collapse of the Continental Football League in 1969, when it became more of a regional league.
Ronald Edward Goovert is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions in 1967. He played college football for Michigan State. He also played in the Continental Football League for the Charleston Rockets in 1966, and in the Midwest Football League for the Lansing All Stars and Flint Sabres from 1969 to 1972 and 1974. He was the head coach of the Sabres for two seasons.
James William Hayes was an American football defensive lineman who played for two seasons in the American Football League (AFL) for the Houston Oilers. After playing college football for Jackson State, he signed with the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL) in 1963. He also played for the Charleston Rockets of the United Football League, Indianapolis Capitols of the Continental Football League and Atlantic Coast Football League, and Columbus Bucks / Barons of the Midwest Football League.
The Dayton Colts were a semi-professional American football team that played from 1946 to 1949 and 1953 to 1975. The team was based in Ohio. It competed in the Inter-State Semipro Football League in 1947 as the Dayton Rockets; Tristate Semipro Football League in 1953 and American Football Conference from 1959 to 1961 as the Dayton Triangles; Midwest Football League from 1963 to 1969, 1971 to 1973, and 1975 as the Cedarville Spartans, Dayton Colts, Columbus Bucks, and Columbus Barons; and Ohio–Pennsylvania Football League in 1974 as the Bellbrook Colts. It was also known as the John Stanko Barons and Wiedemann Buds in 1948 and 1949.
James Franklin Teal was an American football linebacker who played college football for Purdue (1969–1971) and professional football in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions (1973), in the World Football League (WFL) for the Birmingham Americans/Birmingham Vulcans (1974-1975), and in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the Ottawa Rough Riders (1977).