Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The club was officially founded in Baltimore, Maryland in 1953, but can trace its history to the Dayton Triangles, a founding member of the NFL that was originally created in 1913. After a series of changes, it assumed the name Baltimore Colts, replacing a previous team of that name that folded in 1950. Playing at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium, the Colts became the first NFL team to have cheerleaders. The team then relocated to Indianapolis in 1984, first playing at the Hoosier Dome, which was then renamed the RCA Dome, before moving to Lucas Oil Stadium in 2008.
The Colts won four NFL championships (three NFL Championships in 1958, 1959, 1968; and Super Bowl V in 1971) while in Baltimore. Since moving to Indianapolis, they won Super Bowl XLI in 2007. Also since 1998, the team has become the first in league history to win 12 games or more in five consecutive seasons—extending this record to seven after the 2009 season.

The Colts franchise was officially created in 1953, but can trace its history to before the NFL actually began; its earliest predecessor was the Dayton Triangles, a founding member of the NFL that was originally created in 1913. That team went through the following changes:

• The Dayton Triangles relocated to Brooklyn and were renamed the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1930.
• The Brooklyn Dodgers changed their name to the Brooklyn Tigers in 1944. In the same year, the Boston Yanks were founded.
• The Brooklyn Tigers and the Boston Yanks merged on a temporary basis in 1945, becoming the wartime "Yanks".
• The Brooklyn Tigers were canceled by the league as a separate franchise at the end of the 1945 season, and the team's temporary merger with the Boston Yanks was made permanent. The Tigers' former owner founded a parallel team in the rival All-America Football Conference (AAFC), the New York Yankees.
• The Miami Seahawks of the AAFC were purchased and relocated to Baltimore and renamed the Baltimore Colts in 1947. This version of the Colts wore green and silver and were brought into the NFL in 1950, but the franchise folded at the end of the season.
• The Boston Yanks moved to New York in 1949 and became the New York Yanks. They absorbed much of the roster of the AAFC's New York Yankees team the next year.
• The New York Yanks moved to Dallas in 1952 and were renamed the Dallas Texans.
• The Texans become a road team halfway through the 1952 season and were dissolved shortly thereafter.
• The Dallas Texans franchise was reorganized and moved to Baltimore on January 23, 1953. They adopted the name Baltimore Colts, but kept the Texans' team colors of blue and white.