1948 Baltimore Colts season

1948 Baltimore Colts season
Head coach	Cecil Isbell
Home field	Memorial Stadium
Results
Record	7–7
Division place	Tied 1st AAFC East
Playoff finish	Lost Divisional Playoff (vs. Bills) 17–28

The 1948 Baltimore Colts season was their 3rd in the AAFC & their 2nd in Baltimore. The team improved on their previous season's output of 2–11–1, winning seven games.[1] They qualified for the playoffs for the first and only time in their 5-year franchise history (dating back to their days as the Miami Seahawks).

The team's statistical leaders included Y. A. Tittle with 2,522 passing yards, Bus Mertes with 680 rushing yards, and Billy Hillenbrand with 970 receiving yards and 78 points scored.[2]

Season schedule

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap	Sources
1	September 5	New York Yankees	W 45–28	1–0	Municipal Stadium	31,800	Recap
2	September 10	at Chicago Rockets	L 14–21	1–1	Soldier Field	14,642	Recap
3	September 16	at New York Yankees	W 27–14	2–1	Yankee Stadium	18,959	Recap
4	September 26	Brooklyn Dodgers	W 35–20	3–1	Municipal Stadium	34,554	Recap
5	October 5	Cleveland Browns	L 10–14	3–2	Municipal Stadium	22,359	Recap
6	October 10	San Francisco 49ers	L 14–56	3–3	Municipal Stadium	37,209	Recap
7	October 15	at Los Angeles Dons	W 29–14	4–3	L.A. Memorial Coliseum	40,019	Recap
8	October 24	at San Francisco 49ers	L 10–21	4–4	Kezar Stadium	27,978	Recap
9	October 31	at Buffalo Bills	L 17–35	4–5	Civic Stadium	23,694	Recap
10	November 7	at Cleveland Browns	L 7–28	4–6	Cleveland Stadium	32,314	Recap
11	November 14	Chicago Rockets	W 38–24	5–6	Municipal Stadium	21,899	Recap
12	November 21	Los Angeles Dons	L 14–17	5–7	Municipal Stadium	25,228	Recap
13	November 28	at Brooklyn Dodgers	W 38–20	6–7	Ebbets Field	7,629	Recap
14	December 5	Buffalo Bills	W 35–15	7–7	Municipal Stadium	33,090	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Division standings

Program for the Colts' 1948 season opener against the New York Yankees.

AAFC Eastern Division
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Buffalo Bills	7	7	0	.500	4–2	360	358	L1
Baltimore Colts	7	7	0	.500	5–1	333	327	W2
New York Yankees	6	8	0	.429	3–3	265	301	W1
Brooklyn Dodgers	2	12	0	.143	0–6	253	387	L6

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

AAFC Western Division
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Cleveland Browns	14	0	0	1.000	6–0	389	190	W14
San Francisco 49ers	12	2	0	.857	4–2	495	248	W1
Los Angeles Dons	7	7	0	.500	2–4	258	305	L2
Chicago Rockets	1	13	0	.071	0–6	202	439	L11

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

Playoff schedule

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance	Recap	Sources
Division	December 12	Buffalo Bills	L 17–28	Municipal Stadium	27,325	Recap

Roster

Baltimores's in-season roster included the following players.[3]

Centers 20 Ralph Stewart 22 Bert Corley † 28 Len "Tuffy" McCormick Guards 30 Dub Garrett † 31 Dick Barwegan † 32 Jack Simmons 33 Ed Grain 35 Barry French 38 Al Klug

Tackles 41 Ernie Blandin † 44 Lee Artoe 46 Jim Spruill † 47 Pete Berezney 48 John Mellus 49 Al Sidorik Ends 51 Lamar "Racehorse" Davis † 52 Bob Nowaskey 53 Win Williams 54 Ollie Poole 55 John North † 56 Joe H. Smith Jr. 57 Hub Bechtol

Quarterbacks 63 Y. A. Tittle † 66 Charlie O'Rourke Fullbacks 73 Bus Mertes † 74 Rex Grossman 77 Spiro Dellerba

Halfbacks 80 Aubrey Fowler 81 Jake Leicht 82 Billy Hillenbrand † 83 John Sylvester 85 Bob "Stormy" Pfohl † 87 Johnny Vardian 88 Lewis "Mickey" Mayne 89 Lu Gambino

† - Denotes starter

References

1. 1948 Baltimore Colts
2. "1948 Baltimore Colts Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
3. Baltimore Colts vs. Frisco Forty-Niners, Oct 10. Baltimore, MD: Baltimore Colts Football Club, Inc., 1948; pp. 16–17.