1983 Baltimore Colts season

Last updated

1983 Baltimore Colts season
Owner Robert Irsay
General manager Ernie Accorsi
Head coach Frank Kush
Home field Memorial Stadium
Results
Record7–9
Division placeT-4th AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers G Chris Hinton

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).

Contents

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. [1] This 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.

Offseason

NFL draft

1983 Baltimore Colts draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
11 John Elway   Quarterback Stanford traded to the Denver Broncos
229 Vernon Maxwell   Linebacker Arizona State
357 George Achica   Nose tackle USC
485Phil Smith  Wide receiver San Diego State
5113 Sid Abramowitz   Offensive tackle Tulsa
6161 Grant Feasel   Center Abilene Christian
7169 Alvin Moore   Running back Arizona State
9225 Jim Mills   Offensive tackle Hawaii
9241Chris Rose  Offensive tackle Stanford
10252Ronald Hopkins  Defensive back Murray State
11280 Jim Bob Taylor   Quarterback Georgia Tech
12308Carl Williams  Wide receiver Texas Southern
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

1983 undrafted free agents of note
PlayerPositionCollege
John Miller Linebacker Mississippi State

Personnel

Staff

1983 Baltimore Colts staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams – Mike Westhoff


Roster

1983 Baltimore Colts roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1September 4at New England Patriots W 29–23 (OT)1–0 Sullivan Stadium 45,526
2September 11 Denver Broncos L 10–171–1 Memorial Stadium 52,613
3September 18at Buffalo Bills L 23–281–2 Rich Stadium 40,937
4September 25 Chicago Bears W 22–19 (OT)2–2Memorial Stadium34,350
5October 2at Cincinnati Bengals W 34–313–2 Riverfront Stadium 48,104
6October 9 New England Patriots W 12–74–2Memorial Stadium35,618
7October 16 Buffalo Bills L 7–304–3Memorial Stadium38,565
8October 23 Miami Dolphins L 7–214–4Memorial Stadium32,343
9October 30at Philadelphia Eagles W 22–215–4 Veterans Stadium 59,150
10November 6at New York Jets W 17–146–4 Shea Stadium 53,323
11November 13 Pittsburgh Steelers L 13–246–5Memorial Stadium57,319
12November 20at Miami Dolphins L 0-376–6 Miami Orange Bowl 54,482
13November 27at Cleveland Browns L 23–416–7 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 65,812
14December 4 New York Jets L 6–106–8Memorial Stadium35,462
15December 11at Denver Broncos L 19–216–9 Mile High Stadium 74,864
16December 18 Houston Oilers W 20–107–9Memorial Stadium20,418
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

1234OTTotal
• Colts31073629
Patriots01337023
Scoring summary
Q1BAL Raúl Allegre 25 yard field goalIND 3–0
Q2NE Stephen Starring 73 yard pass from Steve Grogan (kick failed)NE 6–3
Q2NE Stanley Morgan 50 yard pass from Steve Grogan (John Smith kick)NE 13–3
Q2BALBernard Henry 16 yard pass from Mike Pagel (Raúl Allegre kick)NE 13–10
Q2BALRaúl Allegre 52 yard field goalTie 13–13
Q3NEJohn Smith 39 yard field goalNE 16–13
Q3BALBernard Henry 5 yard pass from Mike Pagel (Raúl Allegre kick)BAL 20–16
Q4NE Robert Weathers 9 yard run (John Smith kick)NE 23–20
Q4BALRaúl Allegre 33 yard field goalTie 23–23
Q4BAL Johnie Cooks 52 yard fumble returnBAL 29–23

[2]

Week 15 at Broncos

Week Fifteen: Baltimore Colts (6–8) at Denver Broncos (8–6)
Period1234Total
Colts 3133019
Broncos 0002121

at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

Game information

Standings

AFC East
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Miami Dolphins (2)1240.7506–29–3389250W5
New England Patriots 880.5004–46–6274289L1
Buffalo Bills 880.5004–47–5283351L2
Baltimore Colts 790.4383–55–9264354W1
New York Jets 790.4383–54–8313331L2

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References

  1. ↑ "Oilers 10 @ Colts 20, 12-18-83 - m.pfref.com". Archived from the original on June 30, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  2. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com


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