moving? (Merge)

[jimmy g]

Having been a Baltimore, and Indianapolis Colts fan while living in Chicago land most all my life, I see no reason not to be a ??? Colts fan now living in Indy.

Sunday Ticket is good.

exactly. I moved from Penna, north of Baltimore to Indy in 1980. Was checking into buying a satellite in 83-84 because I was certain they were moving to Phoenix. Now, any fan can watch any team via the internet..

[crazycolt1]

actually, Baltimore agreed to build a stadium. A drunk Robert Irsay said on camera he'd sign a lease if the Orioles would. The o's did; irsay backed out..

The Real reason the move was necessary was Baltimore Blue Laws. No game could start before 2pm because the tailgater's took all the church parking lots surrounding Memorial Stadium. Before the 1970 merger there was only one NFL game a day so it was no big deal. Once there were 1pm games, 4pm games plus one 2pm game, a move or a law change was necessary. TV forced the issue..

By the way, the Rams just had their lease changed to Year to Year. They can go anytime...

So Baltimore was agreeing to build a new stadium AND threatening eminent domain at the same time? Kind of hard to believe.

[jimmy g]

So Baltimore was agreeing to build a new stadium AND threatening eminent domain at the same time? Kind of hard to believe.

no. They agreed to build a stadium if Irsay agreed a full year before the eminent domain thing, which was only discussed the few days before they left. they negotiated s new agreement with him over 3 years before he left. They built a new training facility at that time. Given by the city to the Colts. Eventually given or taken back, now the Ravens training facility. Owners had been threatening to leave Baltimore since 66 (the previous owner lived in Tampa, and wanted a team there) if no new stadium built, so no one took him seriously. And since Bob sat in the upper decks and got drunk with the fans (no owner's suites in Memorial Stadium built in 1953), no one knew his actual thoughts. He would blather one thing , drunk, at the postgame- then something different sober the next day. He even fired a head coach once at halftime. I think the NFL welcomed the move as long as jimmy got to run things. It was a breath of fresh air to all to have old Bob less powerful..

Proof they actually wanted a stadium; they changed the Blue Laws and planned a new stadium for the Orioles almost as soon as he left..

[joeb]

Don't sweat it joeb, but gocolts8818 put it very well that you may have been thinking of the quick turnaround wild-card playoff games. Which is a struggle for every city, Green Bay included.           I stand corrected.  I have only been to Indy once in my life. I saw the next to last game in RCA dome. I am eagerly waiting to get to Lucas. I get tickets when I can at the Meadowlands or now it is Met Life. I will Not go to Philly.  It is dangerous there. I heard they had a holding cell in the old stadium. What does that tell you. I'm sure somebody on the forum can confirm that. 

[crazycolt1]

no. They agreed to build a stadium if Irsay agreed a full year before the eminent domain thing, which was only discussed the few days before they left. they negotiated s new agreement with him over 3 years before he left. They built a new training facility at that time. Given by the city to the Colts. Eventually given or taken back, now the Ravens training facility. Owners had been threatening to leave Baltimore since 66 (the previous owner lived in Tampa, and wanted a team there) if no new stadium built, so no one took him seriously. And since Bob sat in the upper decks and got drunk with the fans (no owner's suites in Memorial Stadium built in 1953), no one knew his actual thoughts. He would blather one thing , drunk, at the postgame- then something different sober the next day. He even fired a head coach once at halftime. I think the NFL welcomed the move as long as jimmy got to run things. It was a breath of fresh air to all to have old Bob less powerful..

Proof they actually wanted a stadium; they changed the Blue Laws and planned a new stadium for the Orioles almost as soon as he left..

There are a few holes in your story.

[Colts Fan In L.A.]

I would be THRILLED if this happened  but all bias aside, like it was mentioned before, if there wasnt a LOS statdium then maybe this might have some substance

[csmopar]

What station was that? I did a google search and the only place I can find this talked about right now......is in this thread

Keep in mind there was a lot of time and effort turing Indy into a football town. This is home for the Irsays and they have one of the best stadiums in the NFL, so I'm not sure why they would leave

92.7

[jimmy g]

There are a few holes in your story.

I'm telling it as best and fairly as I remember it. Kept getting the Balt

Sun, the Balt News American, the York Daily Record, and the York Gazette for a number of years after my wife informed me that we had moved 600 miles to Indy (I'm a truck driver, I could live anywhere in those days. I see no holes.. What needs answered, and why does it matter? Colts are here 30 years now. They aren't leaving...

[crazycolt1]

I'm telling it as best and fairly as I remember it. Kept getting the Balt

Sun, the Balt News American, the York Daily Record, and the York Gazette for a number of years after my wife informed me that we had moved 600 miles to Indy (I'm a truck driver, I could live anywhere in those days. I see no holes.. What needs answered, and why does it matter? Colts are here 30 years now. They aren't leaving...

Keep getting the bait? For one thing your comment about people being happy about Jimmy taking over the Colts after the move was wrong. Jimmy was only 25 years old.  Robert was in Indy from 1984 till his death in 1997. Robert Irsay did not start talking to other cities till it was apparent that Baltimore was not going to build a new stadium. The final straw happened when the Maryland General Assembly began passing law to have the Colts taken from Irsay under eminent domain. All of the lawsuits were dismissed in 1986. Baltimore did not agree to build a stadium 1 year before the domain issue came up. All of this is public record if you are interested to finding out the true facts and not what you best remember.

[csmopar]

I'm telling it as best and fairly as I remember it. Kept getting the Balt

Sun, the Balt News American, the York Daily Record, and the York Gazette for a number of years after my wife informed me that we had moved 600 miles to Indy (I'm a truck driver, I could live anywhere in those days. I see no holes.. What needs answered, and why does it matter? Colts are here 30 years now. They aren't leaving...

You do have some holes. Granted this is Wikipedia but you can verify the information with the links at the bottom of the Wikipedia page.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_Colts_relocation_to_Indianapolis

[Timo1]

Thanks for posting the link. I've read that story before, but it's nice to refresh my memory. I wonder who I'd be a fan of if the Colts weren't in Indy. The reason I became a Colts fan is because everyone around here(West Central Il) is a fan of the Bears, Packers, or Vikings. I like to follow the beat of my own drum so I didn't have a favorite team from 1979 til the early 90s. I liked the Saints, Seahawks, Dallas, and ATL. In the early 90s I starting going to indy vs Mia games and rooted for Indy cause I didn't like Marino. When the Colts got Marshall Faulk I started liking them as my favorite. I still like ATL, but Colts are my #1 and got season tickets in 2013.

[jimmy g]

Keep getting the bait? For one thing your comment about people being happy about Jimmy taking over the Colts after the move was wrong. Jimmy was only 25 years old. Robert was in Indy from 1984 till his death in 1997. Robert Irsay did not start talking to other cities till it was apparent that Baltimore was not going to build a new stadium. The final straw happened when the Maryland General Assembly began passing law to have the Colts taken from Irsay under eminent domain. All of the lawsuits were dismissed in 1986. Baltimore did not agree to build a stadium 1 year before the domain issue came up. All of this is public record if you are interested to finding out the true facts and not what you best remember.

jimmy became Gm when they moved. Bob took a major step back from the level of involvement he had done in Baltimore. Baltimore DID negotiate with Irsay more than a year before the move. He DID say in a drunken post game (at least a year before) that if Edward Bennet Williams of the Orioles agreed to a new stadium, that he would too. The next day he appeared on tv and denied it. I was still there when that was played on TV, so it had to be before July 1980.I moved to Indy then. Carroll Rosenbloom was owner of the Colts when he started shopping the team to other cities before Super Bowl III(1968 season, Super Bowl was Jan, 69) He wanted to move them to Tampa (his home), because fans had organized a 'slow-down on tickets', or a major complaint because Rosenbloom was the first to make season ticketholders buy preseason games to keep their tickets. That was the start of the end of the great Unitas run...I was reading the Baltimore sports pages everyday in 1967. Keep looking at Wikipedia for info. I was there... Where's Old Crow?. He can probably verify my memories...

[jimmy g]

You do have some holes. Granted this is Wikipedia but you can verify the information with the links at the bottom of the Wikipedia page.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_Colts_relocation_to_Indianapolis

That's wiki, mine is a memory off the top from 30 years ago. Looks almost identical on my dates and timing, which is amazing for remembering 30 years ago. What they missed was the three times for tv- 1pm, 4pm both for the rest of the nfl- and 2pm for the Colts.... Even wiki said eminent domain came up on March 27, they moved March 29. So I was right that it was a matter of days, and Baltimore did it because the NFL gave him permission to move...

[crazycolt1]

jimmy became Gm when they moved. Bob took a major step back from the level of involvement he had done in Baltimore. Baltimore DID negotiate with Irsay more than a year before the move. He DID say in a drunken post game (at least a year before) that if Edward Bennet Williams of the Orioles agreed to a new stadium, that he would too. The next day he appeared on tv and denied it. I was still there when that was played on TV, so it had to be before July 1980.I moved to Indy then. Carroll Rosenbloom was owner of the Colts when he started shopping the team to other cities before Super Bowl III(1968 season, Super Bowl was Jan, 69) He wanted to move them to Tampa (his home), because fans had organized a 'slow-down on tickets', or a major complaint because Rosenbloom was the first to make season ticketholders buy preseason games to keep their tickets. That was the start of the end of the great Unitas run...I was reading the Baltimore sports pages everyday in 1967. Keep looking at Wikipedia for info. I was there...

You wasn't the only person around during those times. There is a more information other than Wikipedia also. So if your taking all of your information from a local Baltimore paper I guess it's the gospel after 30 years.

[jimmy g]

You wasn't the only person around during those times. There is a more information other than Wikipedia also. So if your taking all of your information from a local Baltimore paper I guess it's the gospel after 30 years.

I have no idea what your problem us, nor do I care. I'm actually amazed myself that coming out of the blue a 60 year old memory was that right-on accurate 30 years later. Guess some don't like being hung with a new rope??? The Colts are here, and staying. I'm happy. The papers and three TV stations were all anyone had. There was no internet, and no cable. No ESPN.....

Oprah Winfry was the local cub reporter for WJZ, the ABC station. She did the reports from the zoo or the crazy stuff...

Jimmy might have only been 25, but he took the day to day ops and (I have to believe) the NFL had to have been relieved. Bob pretty much became a figurehead here, next to his Baltimore days. There, it seemed a gm or a head coach needed permission to go to the bathroom. He was a micromanager there, and pretty well inebriated in a lot of his press conferences. Jimmy was a welcome change if you knew the difference....

[crazycolt1]

I have no idea what your problem us, nor do I care. I'm actually amazed myself that coming out of the blue a 60 year old memory was that right-on accurate 30 years later. Guess some don't like being hung with a new rope??? The Colts are here, and staying. I'm happy. The papers and three TV stations were all anyone had. There was no internet, and no cable. No ESPN.....

Jimmy might have only been 25, but he took the day to day ops and (I have to believe) the NFL had to have been relieved. Bob pretty much became a figurehead here, next to his Baltimore days. There, it seemed a gm or a head coach needed permission to go to the bathroom. He was a micromanager there, and pretty well inebriated in a lot of his press conferences. Jimmy was a welcome change if you knew the difference....

I don't have a problem at all. It is easy to make your point when you tell it from one point of view. I know Robert Irsay was a problem but Baltimore did not make an honest effort to keep the Colts till it was too late. I have been following the Colts since the Elway fiasco so maybe there is more to the story than your opinion. But it's all good.

[jimmy g]

I don't have a problem at all. It is easy to make your point when you tell it from one point of view. I know Robert Irsay was a problem but Baltimore did not make an honest effort to keep the Colts till it was too late. I have been following the Colts since the Elway fiasco so maybe there is more to the story than your opinion. But it's all good.

the main problem was funding. In those days, towns just didn't spend for public stadiums. It wasnt responsible to do so, so the funding failed. Indy was the first to build the city around the sports biz. Until then, it was the other way-- sports was just extra in the city. Indy has built restaurants, bars, arenas, businesses such as the NCAA tourism and other biz all because of the Hoosier Dome. Indy should be proud. Baltimore has since copied it with their Inner Harbor...