1982 Baltimore Colts season
OwnerRobert Irsay
General managerErnie Accorsi
Head coachFrank Kush
Home fieldMemorial Stadium
Results
Record0–8–1
Conference place14th AFC
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersNone

The 1982 Baltimore Colts season was the 30th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL), and the Colts’ penultimate season in Baltimore. It was their first under former Arizona State coach Frank Kush, who was hired to replace Mike McCormack after he recorded a 2-14 record in 1981.

The Colts finished the NFL's strike-shortened 1982 season without a victory, finishing with eight losses and one tie in their nine games. The Colts became the third team since the league’s expansion era began in 1960, after the 1960 Dallas Cowboys and the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the second team since the AFL-NFL merger to finish a regular season winless Since then, the 2008 Detroit Lions and the 2017 Cleveland Browns have posted winless seasons; the Colts are the only one of these five teams that did not do so in a full, uninterrupted season (the Cowboys played twelve games, the Buccaneers fourteen, and the Lions and Browns sixteen, as per the league standards of the time). The Colts are also the only winless team to not have a winning percentage of .000 due to the tie giving them a percentage of .056 which is the worst non-zero win percentage for a team in post-1900s North American sports history. This record is only breakable by an NFL team going 0–16–1 (.029) in a season, an MLB team going 8–154 or worse, an NBA team going 4–78 or worse, or by an NHL team finishing with 9 points or fewer.

As mentioned above, the NFL's 1982 season was disrupted by a strike by the league's players. In the Colts’ first game after the end of the strike on November 21, they were shut out by the New York Jets 37–0. The following week, they were shut out by the Buffalo Bills 20–0, in a game in which the Colts offense never crossed the 50 yard line. But the week after that, they lost by only three points to the playoff-bound and defending AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals. It would be the final season the Colts tied a game for 40 years.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1982 NFL Draft
1982 Baltimore Colts draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 2 Johnie Cooks  Linebacker Mississippi State
1 4 Art Schlichter  Quarterback Ohio State
2 28 Leo Wisniewski  Nose tackle Penn State
2 34 Rohn Stark *  Punter Florida State
3 57 Jim Burroughs  Defensive back Michigan State
4 98 Mike Pagel  Quarterback Arizona State
5 113 Terry Crouch  Guard Oklahoma
6 140 Pat Beach  Tight end Washington State
7 169 Fletcher Jenkins  Defensive tackle Washington
8 196 Tony Loia  Guard Arizona State
9 225 Tony Berryhill  Center Clemson
10 252 Tom Deery  Safety Widener
11 280 Lamont Meacham  Defensive back Western Kentucky
12 307 Johnnie Wright  Running back South Carolina
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

1982 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Bernard Henry Wide Receiver Arizona State

Personnel

Staff

1982 Baltimore Colts staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special Teams – Bob Valesente


Roster

1982 Baltimore Colts roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 12 New England Patriots L 13–24 0–1 Memorial Stadium 39,055
2 September 19 at Miami Dolphins L 20–24 0–2 Miami Orange Bowl 51,999
September 26 New York Jets Canceled 0–2 Memorial Stadium NFLPA Strike
October 3 at Detroit Lions Canceled 0–2 Pontiac Silverdome
October 10 Buffalo Bills Canceled 0–2 Memorial Stadium
October 17 at Cleveland Browns Canceled 0–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium
October 24 Miami Dolphins Postponed (played Jan 2) 0–2 Memorial Stadium
October 31 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Canceled 0–2 Memorial Stadium
November 7 at New England Patriots Canceled 0–2 Schaefer Stadium
November 14 Los Angeles Raiders Canceled 0–2 Memorial Stadium
3 November 21 at New York Jets L 0–37 0–3 Shea Stadium 46,970
4 November 28 at Buffalo Bills L 0–20 0–4 Rich Stadium 33,985
5 December 5 Cincinnati Bengals L 17–20 0–5 Memorial Stadium 23,598
6 December 12 at Minnesota Vikings L 10–13 0–6 Metrodome 53,981
7 December 19 Green Bay Packers T 20–20 (OT) 0–6–1 Memorial Stadium 25,920
8 December 26 at San Diego Chargers L 26–44 0–7–1 Jack Murphy Stadium 49,711
9 January 2, 1983 Miami Dolphins L 7–34 0–8–1 Memorial Stadium 19,073
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Miami Dolphins(2) 7 2 0 .778 6–1 6–1 198 131 W3
New York Jets(6) 6 3 0 .667 2–2 2–3 245 166 L1
New England Patriots(7) 5 4 0 .556 3–1 5–3 143 157 W1
Buffalo Bills 4 5 0 .444 1–3 3–3 150 154 L3
Baltimore Colts 0 8 1 .056 0–5–0 0–7–0 113 236 L2
American Football Conference
W L T PCT PF PA STK
Los Angeles Raiders(1) 8 1 0 .889 260 200 W5
Miami Dolphins(2) 7 2 0 .778 198 131 W3
Cincinnati Bengals(3) 7 2 0 .778 232 177 W2
Pittsburgh Steelers(4) 6 3 0 .667 204 146 W2
San Diego Chargers(5) 6 3 0 .667 288 221 L1
New York Jets(6) 6 3 0 .667 245 166 L1
New England Patriots(7) 5 4 0 .556 143 157 W1
Cleveland Browns(8) 4 5 0 .444 140 182 L1
Buffalo Bills 4 5 0 .444 150 154 L3
Seattle Seahawks 4 5 0 .444 127 147 W1
Kansas City Chiefs 3 6 0 .333 176 184 W1
Denver Broncos 2 7 0 .222 148 226 L3
Houston Oilers 1 8 0 .111 136 245 L7
Baltimore Colts 0 8 1 .056 113 236 L2

See also

References


Categories