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Top 50 Indianapolis Colts

The Baltimore Colts first took the field in 1953 following the collapse of the Dallas Texans, most of whom joined the new team in the Mid-Atlantic Coast.  

The late 50’s were good to Baltimore, as they would win back-to-back NFL Championships in 1958 and 1959.  They would win a third one in 1968, though that is one best forgotten.  This was the year that they lost Super Bowl III to the New York Jets thus rendering the ’68 NFL Title essentially meaningless.

Baltimore would however rebound two years later and win Super Bowl V.

The team would controversially relocate to Indianapolis prior to the 1984 season however for years they were not a bona fide Super Bowl contender for years…until Peyton Manning was drafted.

Manning would take the Colts to two Super Bowls, winning Super Bowl XLI and providing the first title following the move to Indianapolis.

This list is up to the end of the 2022 regular season.

Note: Football lists are based on an amalgamation of tenure, traditional statistics, advanced statistics, playoff statistics and post-season accolades.

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The final game played by Tarik Glenn was a winning effort at Super Bowl XLI, which is about as good a way to end a career as it gets.  Glenn took over as the starting Left Tackle and held that post for nine consecutive seasons.  The last three saw Glenn represent Indianapolis at the Pro Bowl.
A former Super Bowl Champion, Offensive Lineman, Bob Vogel would helm the Left Tackle slot for the Baltimore Colts for a decade earning five Pro Bowls and a First Team All-Pro nod along the way.  Vogel remains an icon in Professional Football in Baltimore.
Exit Peyton Manning.  Enter Andrew Luck. Everybody knew that Andrew Luck was going to be the first overall pick in 2012 as it was widely believed that the Stanford superstar was going to be a difference-maker in the National Football League.  The Colts, who had Peyton Manning, had to watch their stud Quarterback sit out that year resulting in Indianapolis…
T.Y. Hilton is still with the Indianapolis Colts as of this writing, which is to date the only NFL team that he ever played for.  He started as a special teams player, but his play and injuries to his teammates moved him to a featured position on the Colts offense, punctuated by five 1,000 Yard years, and the Receivining Yards…
Known as the “guy who was traded for John Elway”, Chris Hinton had a pretty good career in own right, predominantly with the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts.  Hinton would make six of his seven Pro Bowls with the Colts and while he wasn’t “John Elway”, who would have blocked for him had he come to Baltimore?  Chris Hinton agrees!
Spending his entire career with the Baltimore Colts, Defensive Tackle, Fred Miller would participate in three championship games on behalf of his team.  Miller would win a ring in his final attempt, Super Bowl V, and along the way would go to three Pro Bowls.
A three time Pro Bowl Selection with the Baltimore Colts, Rick Volk would represent his team three times in the Pro Bowl.  Volk went from the Rose Bowl to the Super Bowl, although in Super Bowl III he would be knocked out of the game with a severe concussion in Baltimore’s shocking loss to the New York Jets.  Super Bowl…
Making history as the first African-American starting Center in NFL history, Ray Donaldson came out of the University to Georgia to spend thirteen seasons with the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts.  Donaldson would go to four consecutive Pro Bowls in the late 1980’s and later in his career would win a Super Bowl with the Dallas Cowboys.
What can be said about “Mr. Clutch” that hasn’t already been said?  The legacy of Adam Vinatieri was already set in stone from his work in New England with his game-winning kicks in the 2001 blizzard playoff game against the Oakland Raiders and in two Super Bowls.Vinatieri would sign with Indianapolis and while the second half of his career has…
Quenton Nelson had only been with the Indianapolis Colts for five years (the same amount that he has been in the NFL), but it has been amongst the most prolific of any four-year period of any Offensive Linemen in Colts history. Nelson was highly coveted, going number three overall in 2018 from Notre Dame, and he was immediately plugged in…
Jerry Logan was with the Baltimore Colts for all ten of his National Football League seasons and most notably was with them during their first Super Bowl winning season.  Logan was a three time Pro Bowl selection who recorded 34 Interceptions, five of which he returned to the end zone.  He was also an adept Special Team player in the…
Coming out of Ohio State, Running Back, Tom Matte would be with the Baltimore Colts for his entire 12 year career in the NFL with the Baltimore Colts.  Matte would go to two Pro Bowls and had over 7,000 All-Purpose Yards, even leading the NFL in that metric in 1969.
Arriving to Baltimore after three years with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jimmy Orr would be a productive a Wide Receiver earning First Team All-Pro accolades in 1965. Orr finished in the top ten in Receiving Yards as a Colt three times (he had done in twice before in Pittsburgh) and led the NFL in Yards per Reception three times, two of…
The starting Right Tackle for the Super Bowl XLI Champions, Ryan Diem started 150 games for the Indianapolis Colts. Diem played his entire career with Indianapolis and while he was never a Pro Bowl selection he provided solid protection from the strong side for Peyton Manning.
In a professional football career that was only spent in Baltimore, Dick Syzmanski was quite the versatile player, even for his era!  Syzmanski was used predominantly as a Center, a position in which he went to 3 Pro Bowls in.  However for two seasons Baltimore used him at Middle Linebacker, the first of which was the second straight NFL Title…
A Baltimore Colt for the duration of his thirteen years of service in the NFL, Don Shinnick was one of the better pass rushers of his day. The former UCLA Bruin still holds the career record for Interceptions for the Colts and would lead the league in that metric in 1959, the same year he helped Baltimore to it’s second…
A member of the Super Bowl V Championship Team, Defensive Lineman, Billy Ray Smith ended his career perfectly; on that championship win.  Nicknamed “The Rabbit” by his teammates, Smith was a defensive captain and known as one of the locker room leaders and on the field with his solid dedication to fundamentals.
An Indianapolis Colt for 13 of his 14 seasons in the NFL, Eugene Daniel was one of the more popular players amongst the Indianapolis fan base. While he was never a Pro Bowl selection his on-field tenacity would become legendary in the Colts locker room. Daniel still holds the record of the longest Interception Return for a Touchdown in Indianapolis…