It's the early 1970's, and after years of conflict and chaos brought about by the tumultuous ending of the Don Shula era, it's once again good to be a Baltimore Colts fan. After their victory in Super Bowl V, they made their way to the AFC Championship game for a second straight year, and from there (even with an aging Johnny Unitas at quarterback), you wouldn't be seen as an unrealistic fan for expecting the good times to continue to roll. Part of the reason why they wouldn't totally do so was the change in ownership that occurred in 1972; Carroll Rosenbloom divested himself of the franchises, and traded it in exchange for the Los Angeles Rams to a man that very quickly would prove to be anything but a worthy successor. That man was Robert Irsay, an air conditioning dynamo from Chicago, Illinois, who took over the franchise, and installed a man named Joe Thomas into the position of General Manager as his direct envoy. It was that duo that would oversee a semi-successful but always chaotic run for the Colts over much of the 1970's, thanks in part to a another dynamite duo at head coach and quarterback that would be installed shortly. With the calm guiding hand of Ted Marchibroda, and the immense talent of Bert Jones, the Colts would prove to be Super Bowl contenders over this time period; it's due to the incompetence and chaos sewn by both Irsay and Thomas that they never fully lived up to this promise.
This podcast is produced by Jake Louque (@Jakelouque) as a Baltimore Beatdown Podcast Limited Series, presented by SB Nation's Baltimore Beatdown.
Special Thanks to:
Jack Gilden
Bill Curry
Keith Mills
Sourcing and supplemental audio for today's show, in order of appearance:
https://vault.si.com/vault/1986/12/15/now-you-see-him-now-you-dont
https://www.nytimes.com/1972/08/08/archives/colts-get-domres-in-chargers-trade.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz4eFbcw4hs
https://www.nytimes.com/1973/02/15/archives/schnellenberger-is-hired-by-colts-exdolphins-aide-is-sixth-new-head.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNqUt5VqWyE&t=83s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVP57C-oE3o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asH9pnxd3FE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBJEuJauADU
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2001-09-09-0109090368-story.html
https://vault.si.com/vault/1976/09/20/a-breath-of-fresh-air
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9au2as83oc
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