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Dallas Texans (Colts) Team Formation
Dallas based group led by a young millionaire, Giles Miller, bought what was ostensibly a new franchise the first-ever major league team based in Texas. However, it also acquired the entire Yanks roster. Thus, for all intents and purposes, Miller’s group bought the Yanks and moved them to Dallas. Home games were scheduled to be played at the Cotton Bowl. Miller originally wanted to name the team the Rangers, but later decided to name them the Texans instead. As it turned out, this would be the last game the Texans would play in Dallas. Unable to meet payroll or get financial support from area businessmen (an important factor even in those days), Miller returned the team to the league on November 14 with five games to go in the season. The NFL moved the franchise’s operations to Hershey, Pennsylvania though it kept the “Dallas Texans” name. It also moved the Texans’ last two home games out of Dallas, making them a traveling team.
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Texans Fold and shift to The Colts
The NFL was unable to find a buyer for the Texans, and folded the team after the season. A few months later, the NFL granted a new franchise to a Baltimore-based group headed by Carroll Rosenbloom, and awarded it the remaining assets (including the players) of the failed Texans operation. Rosenbloom named his new team the Baltimore Colts, but for all intents and purposes, Rosenbloom bought the Texans and moved them to Baltimore.
However, the Colts (based in Indianapolis since 1984) do not claim the history of the Yanks/Bulldogs/Yanks/Texans as their own, in spite of the fact that the Colts’ 1953 roster included many of the 1952 Texans. Likewise, the NFL reckons the Colts as a 1953 expansion team; it does not consider the Colts to be a continuation of the Yanks/Bulldogs/Yanks/Texans franchise, or even the Dayton Triangles for that matter considering that franchise’s successor, the Brooklyn Dodgers/Tigers, merged with the Yanks in 1945. As a result, the Texans officially remain the last NFL team to permanently cease operations and not be included in the lineage of any current team.
The Dallas Texans played in the National Football League for one season, 1952, with a record of 1–11. They were one of the worst teams in NFL history, both on (lowest franchise winning percentage) and off the field. The team was based first in Dallas, then Hershey, Pennsylvania, and Akron, Ohio, during its only season. The Texans were the last NFL team to fold. Many players on the 1952 roster went to the new Baltimore Colts franchise in 1953.
Established
1952
City
Dallas – Baltimore – Indianapolis
League History
1952 – Present / National Football League
Team History
1984 – Present / Indianapolis Colts
1953 – 1983 / Baltimore Colts
1952 / Dallas Texans
Nickname
Texans – Giles Miller originally wanted to name the team the Rangers, but later decided to name them the Texans instead.
Championship
Super Bowl 0
2007, 1971
NFL Championships 0
1959, 1958
Stadium
2008 – Present / Lucas Oil Stadium
1994 – 2007 / RCA Dome
1984 – 1993 / Hoosier Dome
*Baltimore*
1953 – 1983 / Memorial Stadium
*Dallas*
1952 / Cotton Bowl
Owner
1997 – Present / Jim Irsay
1972 – 1997 / Robert Irsay
1953 – 1972 / Carroll Rosenbloom
1952 / Giles Miller (games 1–7), NFL (games 8–12)
Retired Number
18 Peyton Manning
19 Johnny Unitas
22 Buddy Young
24 Lenny Moore
70 Art Donovan
77 Jim Parker
82 Raymond Berry
89 Gino Marchetti
*Blue is this team’s history
