1973 Baltimore Colts season

21st season in franchise history

1973 Baltimore Colts season
Owner	Robert Irsay
General manager	Joe Thomas
Head coach	Howard Schnellenberger
Home field	Memorial Stadium
Results
Record	4–10
Division place	T-4th AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
← 1972 Colts seasons 1974 →

The 1973 Baltimore Colts season was the 21st season for the team in the National Football League. Under first-year head coach Howard Schnellenberger, the Colts finished with a record of 4 wins and 10 losses, tied for fourth in the AFC East with the New York Jets. The Colts lost the tiebreaker to the Jets based on head-to-head sweep (0–2).

Baltimore was the only team to lose to the Houston Oilers, bowing 31–27 in week eight at home. The Oilers broke an 18-game losing streak with the victory.

Hired in February, Schnellenberger was previously the offensive coordinator with the Super Bowl champion Miami Dolphins, who went undefeated in 1972 under head coach Don Shula.

This was the first year since 1955 in which long-time quarterback Johnny Unitas was not on the Baltimore roster.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1973 NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1973 Baltimore Colts draft
1	2	Bert Jones *	Quarterback	LSU
1	10	Joe Ehrmann *	Defensive tackle	Syracuse
2	35	Mike Barnes *	Defensive end	Miami (FL)
3	61	Bill Olds *	Running back	Nebraska
3	62	Jamie Rotella	Linebacker	Tennessee
4	83	Gery Palmer	Tackle	Kansas
4	85	Ollie Smith	Wide receiver	Tennessee State
5	114	David Taylor	Guard	Catawba
8	189	Ray Oldham	Defensive back	Middle Tennessee
8	191	Bill Windauer	Guard	Iowa
11	270	Dan Neal	Center	Kentucky
12	295	Bernard Thomas	Defensive end	Iowa
13	322	Tom Pierantozzi	Quarterback	West Chester
14	347	Ed Williams	Running back	West Virginia
15	347	Jackie Brown	Defensive back	South Carolina
16	399	Marty Januszkiewicz	Running back	Syracuse
17	426	Guy Falkenhagen	Tackle	Northern Michigan
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Staff

**1973 Baltimore Colts staff**
	Front office Owner/president and treasurer – Robert Irsay General manager – Joe Thomas Head coaches Head coach – Howard Schnellenberger Offensive coaches Receivers – Pete McCulley Running backs - George Sefcik Offensive coordinator/offensive line – George Young			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator/defensive line – Don Doll Defensive backfield – Bobby Franklin Linebackers coach – Ray Callahan

Final roster

**1973 Baltimore Colts roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 14 Marty Domres 7 Bert Jones 9 Tom Pierantozzi Running backs (RB) 27 Hubie Ginn 23 Don McCauley 26 Lydell Mitchell 38 Bill Olds Wide receivers (WR) 35 Glenn Doughty 17 Sam Havrilak 80 Ollie Smith 28 Cotton Speyrer Tight ends (TE) 88 John Andrews 87 Raymond Chester 84 Tom Mitchell		Offensive linemen (OL) 66 Elmer Collett G 74 Tom Drougas T 54 Fred Hoaglin C 61 Cornelius Johnson G 57 Ken Mendenhall C 50 Dan Neal C 68 Dennis Nelson T 62 Glenn Ressler G 64 David Taylor T Defensive linemen (DL) 73 Dick Amman DE 79 Jim Bailey DT 63 Mike Barnes DT 76 Joe Ehrmann DT 85 Roy Hilton DE 75 Joe Schmiesing DE 65 Bill Windauer DT		Linebackers (LB) 59 Stan Cherry 32 Mike Curtis 83 Ted Hendricks 54 Fred Hoaglin 52 Michael Kaczmarek 58 Ed Mooney 53 Stan White Defensive backs (DB) 29 Brian Herosian S 44 Rex Kern CB 40 Bruce Laird SS 11 Jack Mildren SS 31 Nelson Munsey CB 25 Ray Oldham SS 21 Rick Volk S Special teams 10 George Hunt K 49 David Lee P		Rookies in italics

Regular season

Main article: 1973 NFL season

Before the season, the Colts traded long-time quarterback Johnny Unitas to the San Diego Chargers. Unitas had been splitting quarterback duties with Earl Morrall and Marty Domres over the past few seasons; he played one season for San Diego and retired.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Game recap
1	September 16	at Cleveland Browns	L 14–24	0–1	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	74,303	Recap
2	September 23	New York Jets	L 10–34	0–2	Memorial Stadium	55,942	Recap
3	September 30	New Orleans Saints	W 14–10	1–2	Memorial Stadium	52,293	Recap
4	October 7	at New England Patriots	L 16–24	1–3	Schaefer Stadium	57,044	Recap
5	October 14	at Buffalo Bills	L 13–31	1–4	Rich Stadium	78,875	Recap
6	October 21	at Detroit Lions	W 29–27	2–4	Tiger Stadium	48,058	Recap
7	October 28	Oakland Raiders	L 21–34	2–5	Memorial Stadium	59,008	Recap
8	November 4	Houston Oilers	L 27–31	2–6	Memorial Stadium	52,707	Recap
9	November 11	at Miami Dolphins	L 0–44	2–7	Orange Bowl	60,332	Recap
10	November 18	at Washington Redskins	L 14–22	2–8	RFK Stadium	52,675	Recap
11	November 25	Buffalo Bills	L 17–24	2–9	Memorial Stadium	52,250	Recap
12	December 2	at New York Jets	L 17–20	2–10	Shea Stadium	51,167	Recap
13	December 9	Miami Dolphins	W 16–3	3–10	Memorial Stadium	58,446	Recap
14	December 16	New England Patriots	W 18–13	4–10	Memorial Stadium	52,065	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Miami Dolphins	12	2	0	.857	7–1	9–2	343	150	W1
Buffalo Bills	9	5	0	.643	6–2	7–4	259	230	W4
New England Patriots	5	9	0	.357	1–7	3–8	258	300	L2
New York Jets	4	10	0	.286	4–4	4–7	240	306	L2
Baltimore Colts	4	10	0	.286	2–6	2–9	226	341	W2

References

"Colts wanted a winner, so it got Schnellenberger". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. February 15, 1973. p. 4B.
NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book. New York, NY: Workman Publishing Co. p. 296. ISBN 0-7611-2480-2.

v t e Indianapolis Colts
Founded in 1953 Played in Baltimore (1953–1983) Based and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana
Franchise	History in Baltimore relocation to Indianapolis All-time roster Quarterbacks Coaches Seasons Draft First-round draft picks Ring of Honor
Stadiums	Memorial Stadium RCA Dome Lucas Oil Stadium
Culture	Carroll Rosenbloom Robert Irsay Jim Irsay 12th Man AAFC Colts Baltimore Colts Marching Band Blue Cheerleaders Elway to Marino Parks and Recreation
Lore	Dayton Triangles The Greatest Game Ever Played 1970 AFC Championship Game Ghost to the Post Move to Indianapolis Immaculate Deflection Immaculate Redemption/The Tackle Deflategate Colts Catastrophe Snowvertime Minneapolis Miracle II
Rivalries	Houston Texans Jacksonville Jaguars New England Patriots Brady–Manning rivalry Tennessee Titans
Division championships (16)	1968 1970 1975 1976 1977 1987 1999 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2009 2010 2013 2014
Conference championships (7)	1958 1959 1964 1968 1970 2006 2009
League championships (5)	1958 1959 1968 1970 (V) 2006 (XLI)
Retired numbers	18 19 22 24 70 77 82 89
Media	Broadcasters WFNI-AM Bob Lamey Jim Sorgi
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: American Football Conference Division: South Division
Category

v t e Indianapolis Colts seasons
Played in Baltimore (1953–1983)
1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–65) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–65) or Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance

1973 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Baltimore	Cincinnati	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta
Buffalo	Cleveland	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	Los Angeles
Miami	Houston	Oakland	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Pittsburgh	San Diego	St. Louis	Minnesota	San Francisco
NY Jets			Washington

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