1957 Baltimore Colts season

The 1957 Baltimore Colts season was the fifth season for the team in the National Football League and their first with a winning record. Under fourth-year head coach Weeb Ewbank, the Colts posted a record of 7 wins and 5 losses, third in the Western Conference, one game behind Detroit and San Francisco.

1957 Baltimore Colts season
Owner	Carroll Rosenbloom
General manager	Don "Red" Kellett
Head coach	Weeb Ewbank
Home field	Memorial Stadium
Results
Record	7–5
Division place	3rd NFL Western
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
← 1956 Colts seasons 1958 →

With two games to play, Baltimore (7–3) was in first place with a one-game lead,^[1] but dropped their final two games on the West Coast.^[2][3]

This was the first season in which the Colts wore their trademark "horseshoe" logo on both sides of their helmet, with the team also debuting a new uniform kit featuring "blue jerseys highlighted with two white shoulder stripes" and white pants with "two lines of blue piping up the sides."^[4] While the team had experimented with placement of the horseshoe logo on the back of the helmet for several seasons previously, it was in 1957 that the white helmets with the large blue logos were unveiled.

Regular season

Main article: 1957 NFL season

Schedule

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap	Sources
1	September 29	Detroit Lions	W 34–14	1–0	Memorial Stadium	40,112	Recap	[4][5]
2	October 5	Chicago Bears	W 21–10	2–0	Memorial Stadium	46,558	Recap	[6]
3	October 13	at Green Bay Packers	W 45–17	3–0	Milwaukee County Stadium	26,322	Recap
4	October 20	at Detroit Lions	L 27–31	3–1	Briggs Stadium	55,764	Recap
5	October 27	Green Bay Packers	L 21–24	3–2	Memorial Stadium	48,510	Recap
6	November 3	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 13–19	3–3	Memorial Stadium	42,575	Recap
7	November 10	at Washington Redskins	W 21–17	4–3	Griffith Stadium	33,149	Recap
8	November 17	at Chicago Bears	W 29–14	5–3	Wrigley Field	47,168	Recap
9	November 24	San Francisco 49ers	W 27–21	6–3	Memorial Stadium	50,073	Recap
10	December 1	Los Angeles Rams	W 31–14	7–3	Memorial Stadium	52,060	Recap
11	December 8	at San Francisco 49ers	L 13–17	7–4	Kezar Stadium	59,950	Recap
12	December 15	at Los Angeles Rams	L 21–37	7–5	L.A. Memorial Coliseum	52,560	Recap
Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text. Oct. 5: Saturday night game.

Standings

NFL Western Conference
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Detroit Lions	8	4	0	.667	6–4	251	231	W3
San Francisco 49ers	8	4	0	.667	7–3	260	264	W3
Baltimore Colts	7	5	0	.583	6–4	303	235	L2
Los Angeles Rams	6	6	0	.500	5–5	307	278	W2
Chicago Bears	5	7	0	.417	4–6	203	211	L1
Green Bay Packers	3	9	0	.250	2–8	218	311	L3

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

NFL Eastern Conference
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Cleveland Browns	9	2	1	.818	8–1–1	269	172	W1
New York Giants	7	5	0	.583	6–4	254	211	L3
Pittsburgh Steelers	6	6	0	.500	5–5	161	178	W1
Washington Redskins	5	6	1	.455	4–5–1	251	230	W3
Philadelphia Eagles	4	8	0	.333	4–6	173	230	L2
Chicago Cardinals	3	9	0	.250	2–8	200	299	L1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Roster

Training camp photo of the 1957 Baltimore Colts. Note that these were the "old" uniforms with three stripes on the arm; the new regular season uniforms had two stripes over the shoulders.

See also

• History of the Indianapolis Colts

References

1. "Moore and Unitas star in Colts' 31-14 victory". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. December 2, 1957. p. 28.
2. "49ers jolt Colts, 17-13; create triple tie". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. December 9, 1957. p. 26.
3. "Colts eliminated from title race by Rams, 37-21". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. December 16, 1957. p. 31.
4. Jesse A. Linthicum, "Colts' Spirit Stops Jinx: Football Used in Beating Detroit Given to Shula," Baltimore Sun, Sept. 30, 1957, pp. 15,18.
5. Cameron C. Synder, "Colts Whip Lions in Opener at Stadium, 34 to 14: 40,112 See Unitas Pass to Four Touchdowns; Defensive Line Stars," Baltimore Sun, Sept. 30, 1957, pp. 15, 18.
6. Cameron C. Snyder, "Colts Rally in Last Half to Whip Bears, 21 to 10: Two 4th Down Passes Score Twice Before 46,558 Stadium Fans," Baltimore Sun, Oct. 6, 1957, pp. 1D, 4D.