Selected in the second round (45th overall) of the 1967 NFL Draft out of Michigan, Rick Volk completed a rare football progression by transitioning straight from a Rose Bowl appearance with the Wolverines to starting in the NFL as a rookie. Arriving in Baltimore, the tough, cerebral safety immediately won the starting free safety job, bringing instincts, sharp tackling, and ball-hawking range to the back end of the Baltimore secondary.

Volk's impact was immediate, helping propel Baltimore to a 11–1–2 record as a rookie in 1967 while earning his first career Pro Bowl selection and First-Team AP All-Pro honors. The following season, he helped lead the Colts to the NFL Championship and an appearance in Super Bowl III. However, that championship clash turned tragic for Volk when he suffered a severe concussion in a collision in the second half, forcing him to be hospitalized while Baltimore suffered a shocking upset loss to the New York Jets.

Redemption arrived two years later in Super Bowl V against the Dallas Cowboys. Playing with a shoulder harness and relentless determination, Volk made one of the game's defining plays in the fourth quarter. Snagging a critical interception off Cowboys quarterback Craig Morton, he returned it 30 yards to the Dallas 2-yard line, setting up Tom Nowatzke’s game-tying touchdown run and paving the way for Baltimore's 16–13 victory to claim the Lombardi Trophy.

By the time his tenure with the franchise concluded after the 1975 season, Volk had intercepted 31 passes in a Colts uniform—ranking among the top marks in franchise history. He closed out his career with brief stints in New York (Giants) and Miami, but his legacy was permanently established in Baltimore as a big-game playmaker.