An Open Letter to Jim Irsay

Mr. Jim Irsay, Owner and CEO
Indianapolis Colts
7001 W. 56^th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46254

Dear Mr. Irsay,

Congratulations on your Super Bowl Championship. Your Indianapolis Colts showed great skill, character, and resolve in defeating four talented opponents. In addition, the people in your franchise demonstrated a great deal of class and dignity, both on and off the field.

Like you, I spent a great deal of my formative years in Maryland. And like you, I now live in Indiana. I have seen your franchise in both Baltimore and Indianapolis and have friends from both states who have supported the Colts, both emotionally and financially.

Fans from both states have very strong feelings about their Colts. My friends in Maryland have very fond memories of your franchise’s glorious run in Baltimore. Many of the older fans and players from the Baltimore era talk about the connection between the team and the city. In fact, many of the former players of that era still live in Baltimore, including Art Donovan, Lenny Moore, and Tom Matte. Of course, the greatest Colt of the Baltimore era, John Unitas, lived in Baltimore after his career until his death in 2002.

Similarly, the fine people of Indianapolis have a strong connection with the current Colts. Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, and Dwight Freeney are their heroes. I can attest to the passion of Indianapolis Colts fans just by the sheer number of blue jerseys I see around the state during the football season.

While the nickname, colors, and logo traveled across the two cities, the fans did not. The fans of Indianapolis feel no connection to the Colt heroes of the Baltimore era. Likewise, the fans of Baltimore have their own team now, the Ravens, which they follow as passionately as they once did the Colts. To both the past and present Colts fans and players there is a clear demarcation of Colts eras: 1953-1983 and 1984-present.

Yet, in both the Hall of Fame and the Colts’ record book, the Baltimore and Indianapolis Colts are treated as one. Fans of both eras feel that this is a great disservice to them and to the players of their city. When fans in Indianapolis see the Colts’ record book, they want to see the players they (or their parents) remember playing in their city. Likewise, when old Baltimore Colts fans go to the Hall of Fame, they want to see their heroes immortalized as players who played in Baltimore.

Therefore, I would like to make two requests that would make the fans in both cities very happy:

1. Request that the Hall of Fame have both a Baltimore Colts and Indianapolis Colts area. The Baltimore Colts area would include players such as John Unitas, Gino Marchetti, Raymond Berry, Lenny Moore, Jim Parker, Art Donovan, and John Mackey. The Indianapolis Colts area would include Eric Dickerson now but will soon include Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, and perhaps Dwight Freeney. And given how well-run your organization is it will likely include many more in the coming years.

2. Separate the two eras in the Colts record book. John Unitas never played a down in Indianapolis. Indianapolis fans have no connection to him or any of the Baltimore Colts. Twenty years from now, they will be interested if their next great QB can approach Peyton Manning’s records, not John Unitas’s. Likewise, Baltimore fans are pained to hear players from a rival team breaking the franchise records of their heroes.

These two simple moves will put final closure on the events of March 1984. The Baltimore fans will feel that a great injustice has been corrected. And the Indianapolis fans will feel a complete connection to their beloved Colts.

Sincerely,

Darren Klein