who owned the colts when they left baltimore
Robert Irsay Irsay
title: Baltimore Colts relocation to Indianapolis text: Real estate investor Will Keland was originally slated to buy the Colts from Rosenbloom. Keland could not generate the necessary funds to purchase the team, but his golfing buddy Robert Irsay, who originally was slated to own only 1 percent of the team, did possess the necessary funds and moved in to make the purchase. On July 13, 1972, Irsay became owner of the Colts. Under the terms of the arrangement, he bought the Los Angeles Rams for $19 million, then traded them to Rosenbloom for the Colts and $3 million in cash. In 1971, Baltimore mayor William Donald Schaefer title: History of the Baltimore Colts text: Colts franchise to move there. Baltimore was unsuccessful at persuading them to stay, so the city government attempted to get the state legislature to condemn the Colts franchise and give ownership to another group that would promise to keep the Colts in Baltimore. Oakland, California had just had some success in court trying the same tactic with the Oakland Raiders. Under the threat of eminent domain from the city of Baltimore, the franchise relocated to Indianapolis in the middle of the night on March 29, 1984. The city of Baltimore did not give up and sued to condemn the franchise title: Indianapolis Colts text: (of 1920–1922 to 1950) when the NFL was reorganized. The Baltimore Colts were one of the three former AAFC powerhouse teams (known by the designation "AAFC" or "1947–50") to merge with the NFL at that time, the others being the San Francisco 49ers and the Cleveland Browns. This new Colts team, now in the "big league" of professional American football for the first time, although with shaky financing and ownership, played only in the 1950 season of the reorganized "third" NFL, and was later disbanded and moved. Two years later, in 1953, a new Baltimore-based group, heavily supported by the title: Baltimore Colts relocation to Indianapolis text: Baltimore Colts relocation to Indianapolis The Baltimore Colts relocation to Indianapolis was a successful effort by Robert Irsay, the owner of the Baltimore Colts to move the American football team from Baltimore, Maryland to Indianapolis, Indiana. The team began play as the Indianapolis Colts for the 1984 National Football League (NFL) season. The Colts' move was unannounced and occurred in the early hours of March 29, 1984, after years of lobbying for a new stadium to replace the inadequate Memorial Stadium. The franchise's move continues to embitter many Baltimore natives decades afterward, and has had a lasting impact on the title: Baltimore Colts relocation to Indianapolis text: were made. Rosenbloom even considered using $12–20 million of his own money to help fund the building of a new football-only stadium on land in adjoining Baltimore County. By November 1971, Rosenbloom announced that the Colts would not return to Memorial Stadium when their lease ran out following the 1972 season and that he was not interested in negotiating with the city anymore. He wanted out of Baltimore for several reasons—team revenue, problems with Baltimore Orioles ownership relating to Memorial Stadium revenues, a running feud with the Baltimore press, and his new wife's desire to move to the West Coast.