gold star for USAHOF

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we maintain and update our existing Top 50 lists annually.  As such, we are delighted to present our post-2024 revision of our top 50 Indianapolis Colts.

As for all of our top 50 players in football, we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Football League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, the Colts went 8-9 and missed the playoffs for the fourth straight year.  There were no new entrants, and two elevations.

As always, we present our top five, which remain unchanged. 

1. Peyton Manning
2. Johnny Unitas
3. Gino Marchetti
4. Marvin Harrison
5. Raymond Berry

You can find the entire list here.

Offensive Lineman and seven-time Pro Bowl Selection Quenton Nelson rose to #15 from #22.

The only new entrant was Center Ryan Kelly, who is now with the Minnesota Vikings.  He debuts at #45.

We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.

 

1972 Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project Class.

Here we are!  Again!!

If you have been following our Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project, you know we have asked the rhetorical question: What if the PFHOF began in January 1946?

After soliciting and obtaining a passionate group of football fans and historians, we sent out a ballot for a Preliminary Vote, in which we asked each voter to give us 25 names as their semi-finalists and 5 in the Senior Pool. We then asked the group to vote for their 15 Finalists in the Modern Era and 3 in the Senior Category. The final stage was to vote for their five Modern Era inductee and one Senior inductee.

This is the result of the 27th official class; 

Below are the final results of this project based on 30 votes.

Remember that the group took a vote in “1970”, and we have reverted to the top five candidates entering the Hall, PROVIDING THEY MAKE 50% of the vote.  This will be put to a vote again in “1973”.

This is for the “Modern Era”

*Bold indicates they have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Class of 1972:

 

Player

Year of Eligibility 

Vote Total

Gino Marchetti DE-T-DT

1

28

Bill George LB-G-MG-DT

1

24

Ollie Matson RB-FL

1

18

Paul Hornung HB

1

14

John Henry Johnson FB-HB

1

14

Mike McCormack T-G

5

13

Stan Jones G-DT-T

1

10

Billy Howton E-FL

4

6

Pat Harder FB

14

5

Alan Ameche FB

7

4

Joe Fortunato LB

1

3

Jimmy Patton DB

1

3

Ward Cuff WB-QB-HB

20

2

Charlie Conerly QB

6

2

Pete Retzlaff E-HB-TE

1

1

 

This is for the “Senior Era”, 

*Bold indicates they have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Class of 1972.

 

Joe Kopcha

11

14

Al Nesser

15

8

Buckets Goldenberg

2

6

None of the Above

N/A

2

 

This is for the “Coaches/Contributors”, 

*Bold indicates they have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Class of 1972.

Tim Mara

3

16

Buddy Parker

3

10

Clark Shaughnessy

3

3

None of the Above

N/A

1

 

About the 1972 Inductees:

Gino Marchetti DE-T-DT, DTX 1952, BAL 1953-64 & 1966: Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1972 on his 1st Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1972.

Easily the best defensive player in Colts history, Gino Marchetti might also have been the best pass rusher in the NFL for a decade.  Marchetti was also a great run defender and was regarded by many offensive players as the toughest player they ever faced.  The Pro Football Hall of Famer would be named a First Team All Pro seven times and many have stated that the Colts would never have won the 1958 and 1959 NFL Championship without him.

Bill George, LB-G-MG-DT, CHI 1952-65 & RAM 1966.  Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1972 on his 1st Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1974.

There are many influential football players in the 1950s, especially as the game was evolving away from two-way players to specific roles.  Bill George played on both sides of the ball, but his calling as a Linebacker proved to be his calling card.

Playing all but his final year with the Chicago Bears, George would settle in as the team’s Middle Linebacker, essentially becoming the first player to truly master the position.  The former Demon Deacon started dropping back at the snap, and he controlled the middle of the field, and inadvertently created the 4-3 Defense. 

Recording 18 Interceptions over his career, George went to eight straight Pro Bowls (1954-61), was a seven-time First Team All-Pro, and won an NFL Championship late in his career with the Bears.

Ollie Matson, RB-FL, CRD 1952 & 1954-58, RAM 1959-62, DET 1963 & PHI 1064-66: Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1972 on his 1st Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1972.

Over the 14 seasons he played in the NFL, Ollie Matson, a 4x400 Olympic Gold Medalist in Helsinki, only was on two winning teams, but don’t put that on the speedster, who was especially in the first half of his career carried his team.

Matson played the first half of his career with the Chicago Cardinals, where he was a Pro Bowl in all six of his seasons, was a five-time First Team All-Pro, and was a two-time league-leader in All-Purpose Yards.  The Rams traded nine players for him, but after his first year there (1959), injuries mounted, but the strength of his first six years earned him his gold jacket.

Tim Mara, Owner, NYG 1925-58.  Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project in 1972 on his 3rd Ballot.  Inducted into the actual Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.

NFL President, Joe Carr believed that New York City should have a franchise for the betterment of the league.  He was right of course, but he could not convince his friend and boxing promoter, Bill Gibson to be the money man for a team in New York.  Gibson did however introduce Carr to his friend, Tim Mara.  Mara jumped at the opportunity.

Mara would become the first owner of the New York Giants, and his presence brought stability to a fluctuating league and he became an influential force in the NFL.  Mara brought stability, standing up to rival leagues (AFL in 1926, and the AAFC from 1946 to 1949), and keeping the Giants strong in trying times (The Great Depression and World War II) played a large part in the league’s growth. 

Mara passed away 1959, and under his leadership, the Giants won four NFL Championships (1927, 1934, 1938 & 1956). 

 

 

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists and consistently look to update them when necessary and based on necessity. As such, we are delighted to present our post-2023 revision of our top 50 Indianapolis Colts.

As for all of our top 50 players in football, we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Football League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, the Colts failed to make the playoffs, but we saw one new entrant and one elevation.

As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes:

1. Peyton Manning
2. Johnny Unitas
3. Gino Marchetti
4. Marvin Harrison
5. Raymond Berry 

You can find the entire list here.

Offensive Lineman and six-time Pro Bowl Selection Quenton Nelson, advances to #22 from #30.

The lone new entry is Center Ryan Kelly, who debuts at #45.

Notably, Shaquille Leonard, who played half last season with Indianapolis, could not rise from his rank of #40.

Buddy Young fell out of the Top 50.

We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity. As such, we are very happy to present our post 2022 revision of our top 50 Indianapolis Colts.

As for all of our top 50 players in football we look at the following:

1. Advanced Statistics.

2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Football League.

3. Playoff accomplishments.

4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, the Colts entered another rebuilding year and were unable to make the playoffs. There was only one elevation resulting from the past season.

As always, we present our top five, which did not change.

1. Peyton Manning

2. Johnny Unitas

3. Gino Marchetti

4. Marvin Harrison

5. Raymond Berry

You can find the entire list here.

The only change is Offensive Lineman, Quenton Nelson, climbs ten rungs to #30. He is now a five-time Pro Bowl Selection.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity. As such, we are very happy to present our pre-2021 revision of our top 50 Indianapolis Colts of all-time.

As for all of our top 50 players in football we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the NFL. 

3. Playoff accomplishments.

4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

There are two new additions in the Top 50, and one small elevation, from our current Colts, but none of which impact our top five.

As always, we present our top five.  They are:

1. Peyton Manning

2. Johnny Unitas

3. Gino Marchetti

4. Marvin Harrison

5. Raymond Berry

You can find the entire list here.

Wide Receiver, T.Y. Hilton moved up one spot to #24.

Left Guard, Quenton Nelson, who has been a First Team All-Pro in all three of his seasons comes in at #48.

2018 Defensive Rookie of the Year, Darius Leonard enters at #49.

We welcome your input and commentsand as always, we thank you for your support.

It was just announced that pro football legend, Gino Marchetti, passed away today at the age of 93.

Drafted in the 2ndRound from the University of San Francisco in 1952 by the Dallas Texans, Marchetti joined the Baltimore Colts when they relocated the year after and from 1954 to 1964 he was chosen for the Pro Bowl 11 years straight.  The Defensive End was one of the most dominating pass rushers of all-time and he was also a two-time NFL Champion with the Colts.

Marchetti entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1972.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends, family and fans of Gino Marchetti at this time.

A World War II veteran who fought in the Battle of the Bulge before starring at the University of San Francisco, Gino Marchetti arrived in Baltimore in 1953 via the Dallas Texans dispersal draft. Standing 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds at defensive end, Marchetti redefined edge play in pro football, deploying an explosive speed rush, elite leverage, and cat-like agility that made him virtually unblockable for a decade.

Technically, Marchetti operated ahead of his time. He was one of the first defensive ends to weaponize a true "arm-over" swim move, slapping away an offensive tackle’s hands the instant the ball was snapped to burst into the backfield untouched. When blockers tried to set up wide to counter his outer-edge speed, Marchetti would convert his momentum into raw, bull-rushing power, collapsing the pocket directly into the quarterback’s face. Opposing coaches routinely assigned two or three blockers to slow him down, but his motor never idled, opening up easy pass-rushing lanes for teammates like Art Donovan and Eugene Lipscomb.

Beyond his pass-rushing acrobatics, Marchetti set a gold standard for interior edge setting against the run. He possessed extraordinary peripheral vision and spatial awareness, diagnosing play-action fakes in a heartbeat and shedding blocks to shut down sweep plays before they could develop. Hall of Fame offensive tackle Forrest Gregg once called Marchetti the single hardest player he ever had to block, marveling at how a player could combine such ferocious physical contact with absolute tactical discipline.

His peak years from 1956 through 1964 represent one of the most dominant individual stretches in NFL history, yielding nine First-Team All-Pro selections across his career. In 1957, Marchetti spearheaded a defense that turned Baltimore into an elite contender, and by 1958, he was the undisputed heart of the squad. In 1960, informal film charts credit him with leading the league in sacks, and unofficial Colts team tracking once recorded him logging an astounding 43 sacks in a single 12-game season—a testament to how completely he destroyed opposing game plans.

His defining moment unfolded during "The Greatest Game Ever Played"—the 1958 NFL Championship Game against the New York Giants. With Baltimore clinging to a late lead, Marchetti made a game-saving tackle on third down to stop Frank Gifford short of a first down, breaking his own leg in a violent pileup. Refusing to leave the field for treatment, Marchetti watched from a stretcher behind the end zone as his teammates rallied to win in overtime, securing the franchise's first world title before returning the following season to captain a repeat championship in 1959.

From 1954 through 1964, Marchetti earned 11 consecutive Pro Bowl selections, cementing his place as the cornerstone of Weeb Ewbank’s defense. Though sacks were not an official NFL statistic during his playing days, modern film study credits him with 138.0 unofficial career sacks (though only 56.0 via the work of Pro Football Reference), making him one of the premier pass rushers in gridiron history.

Marchetti was also a member of the NFL’s 1950s, 75th, and 100th Anniversary Teams; he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1972, and the Colts retired his No. 89.