Baltimore Colts ( 1947 - 50 ) The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team based in Baltimore , Maryland . The first team to bear the name Baltimore Colts , they were members of the All - America Football Conference ( AAFC ) from 1947 – 1949 , and then joined the National Football League ( NFL ) for one season before folding . In 1953 they were replaced by a new franchise that revived the Baltimore Colts name ; this team is now the Indianapolis Colts . The Colts ' origin is with the Miami Seahawks , one of the charter franchises of the AAFC . After playing a single disastrous season the Seahawks were confiscated by the league , and were purchased and reorganized by a group of businessmen as the Baltimore Colts . The new team struggled through the next three seasons , but managed to grow a sizable fan base in Baltimore . In 1949 the Colts were one of three AAFC teams , along with the San Francisco 49ers and the Cleveland Browns , to be brought into the NFL following the AAFC - NFL merger . They played only during the 1950 season before financial pressures forced them to fold . History . The All - America Football Conference had initially intended to place a team in Baltimore in its opening 1946 season , but its prospective owner , retired boxer George Tunney , was unable to secure a stadium deal . Failing in Baltimore , the league approved a bid by Miami , Florida football boosters to place its eighth team in that city , and the Miami Seahawks were born . From the first the Seahawks were beset with problems : a weak team with a difficult schedule , they drew little fan support and accumulated debts of up to $ 350 , 000 , which owner Harvey Hester could not afford to repay . League commissioner Jim Crowley expropriated the franchise , and the AAFC covered its overdue travel and payroll costs . Five businessmen , led by Washington , D . C . attorney Robert D . Rodenburg , made a bid to purchase the Seahawk ' s assets and reform the franchise in Baltimore . The AAFC quickly approved the deal , and the team was reorganized as the Baltimore Colts , a name chosen due to the city ' s long history of horse racing and breeding . Due to the club ' s inherited talent drought , the Colts were permitted to recruit a player from each of the AAFC ' s four strongest teams . Nevertheless , the Colts struggled financially through the 1947 season , leading the owners to drop it . Sensing a crisis the AAFC supplied the Colts and the league ' s two other weakest teams , the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Chicago Rockets , with superior players ; the team found new ownership , but its financial crisis was not resolved . In 1948 both the AAFC and the NFL were struggling , and determined that the continued viability of professional football depended on a merger between the leagues . The leagues began negotiating a deal in which some AAFC teams would be brought into the NFL and the owners of others would be compensated for their interest . The Colts ' owners insisted that their club be maintained in the merger , though their franchise was one of the weakest in the league . However , George Preston Marshall , owner of the Washington Redskins , initially refused to cooperate , as he felt a Baltimore team infringed on his market . Marshall finally relented in exchange for the Colts paying him $ 150 , 000 for the infringement . With this obstacle overcome , the merger was finalized , and the Colts , together with the San Francisco 49ers and the Cleveland Browns , were brought into the NFL . In the 1950 AAFC Dispersal Draft , the Colts restocked themselves primarily with players from the erstwhile Buffalo Bills AAFC team . The Bills were arguably a better choice for entry into the NFL ; they were in a more isolated market , had stronger attendance and performed better on the field , but league owners ( namely George Halas and Dan Reeves ) blocked the Bills ' entry into the NFL . ( The Bills were not the same as the modern Buffalo Bills franchise , which joined the NFL in 1970 . ) The Colts were nominally part of the " National Conference ; " however , unlike the other twelve teams , Baltimore was scheduled as a " swing team " and played every team in the NFL over the course of the 1950 season ( whereas the other twelve teams played a double round robin schedule in their conference plus one crossover game with the opposing conference and a game with Baltimore ) . Despite the addition of the Bills players , the Colts struggled through the 1950 season , ending with a record of 1 - 11 - 0 . Facing a financial crisis , Colts owner Abraham Watner sold the team and its player contracts back to the NFL for $ 50 , 000 , and the team officially folded . Still , however , fan support continued in many quarters ; notably , the Baltimore Colts ' Marching Band remained intact after the team folded ( it has survived to the present day , and is now known as Baltimore ' s Marching Ravens ) and a Baltimore Colts fan club continued to operate . Three years later a new franchise , also named the Baltimore Colts , came to Baltimore . This team relocated to Indianapolis , Indiana in 1984 , and was renamed the Indianapolis Colts . The supporting groups , including the fan club and marching band remained , however , again working to revive a team in Baltimore . In 1996 , the Baltimore Ravens were formed from the players and staff of the Cleveland Browns , and these former Baltimore Colts ' groups became affiliated with the Ravens . The Baltimore Colts name was briefly revived in 1994 when the Canadian Football League created a Baltimore - based expansion team of that name ; however , following a lawsuit from the NFL the name was changed to the Baltimore Stallions . First round draft picks . AAFC NFL