Indianapolis Colts Trivia
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59 free Indianapolis Colts trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Indianapolis Colts trivia quiz spans both cities in the franchise's story: the Baltimore years of Weeb Ewbank, Johnny Unitas and the 1958 'Greatest Game Ever Played', the Super Bowl III shock and the Super Bowl V win, Robert Irsay's swap for the team, and the Mayflower vans that slipped out of Maryland one night in March 1984. Then comes Indianapolis: Eric Dickerson, the Harbaugh Hail Mary, Bill Polian drafting Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison and Edgerrin James, Tony Dungy and Super Bowl XLI, the 2011 collapse that led to Andrew Luck, his 2019 retirement, Deflategate, Jim Irsay's guitars, and the handover to Carlie Irsay-Gordon — plus horseshoes, Blue the mascot, the RCA Dome and Lucas Oil Stadium. Questions run from easy to hard with the difficulty shown on each one. Every answer has been checked against a primary reference and each question carries its citation.
30 of 59 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In which city did the Colts play before moving to Indianapolis in 1984?
Baltimore
Baltimore hosted the Colts from 1953 until Robert Irsay moved the team to Indianapolis in March 1984; the name, chosen in a 1947 fan contest, honoured Maryland's horse-racing heritage.
Q 02Which moving company's vans famously carried the Colts out of town overnight on March 29, 1984?
Mayflower Transit
Mayflower Transit sent fifteen trucks to the Owings Mills complex on the night of 28-29 March 1984, beating a state bill that would have let the city seize the team by eminent domain.
Q 03Which quarterback, once cut by the Steelers and playing semi-pro for $6 a game, led the Colts to 1958 and 1959 titles?
Johnny Unitas
Johnny Unitas, signed by the Colts in 1956 after a tryout, threw a touchdown pass in 47 straight games from 1956 to 1960, a record that stood until Drew Brees broke it in 2012.
Q 04The 1958 NFL Championship, 'the Greatest Game Ever Played', was the first decided how?
In sudden-death overtime
It was the first NFL title game decided in sudden-death overtime: tied 17-17, the Colts won 23-17 when Alan Ameche plunged in from the one-yard line before some 45 million TV viewers.
Q 05Which coach led the Colts to their 1958 and 1959 titles and then beat them with the Jets in Super Bowl III?
Weeb Ewbank
Weeb Ewbank coached the Colts from 1954 to 1962, winning the 1958 and 1959 titles, then took the Jets to their 16-7 upset of his old team in Super Bowl III in January 1969.
Q 06How many points were the Colts favoured by when they lost Super Bowl III to the Jets?
18
The Colts were 18-point favourites, yet Joe Namath's Jets won 16-7 on 12 January 1969, the first Super Bowl victory for the AFL.
Q 07The Colts won Super Bowl V 16–13 on a last-second field goal by which kicker?
Jim O'Brien
Jim O'Brien, a rookie, kicked a 32-yard field goal in the final seconds to win Super Bowl V 16-13 on 17 January 1971, a game marred by 11 turnovers.
Q 08Super Bowl V is unique for what?
Its MVP played for the losing team
Super Bowl V is unique because its MVP played for the losing team: linebacker Chuck Howley intercepted two passes in a 16-13 defeat and became the first non-quarterback to win the award.
Q 09In 1972 Carroll Rosenbloom traded the entire Colts franchise to Robert Irsay in exchange for what?
The Los Angeles Rams
Robert Irsay bought the Los Angeles Rams for $19 million in July 1972 and swapped them the same day to Carroll Rosenbloom for the Colts; Rosenbloom had owned the Colts since 1953.
Q 10Which Stanford quarterback refused to play for the Colts after going first overall in 1983 and forced a trade to Denver?
John Elway
John Elway, drafted first overall by the Colts in April 1983, threatened to play baseball for the Yankees instead and was traded to Denver within a week for Chris Hinton, Mark Herrmann and a 1984 first-round pick.
Q 11Which future Hall of Fame running back did the Colts acquire by trade in 1987?
Eric Dickerson
Eric Dickerson, the NFL's reigning rushing champion, arrived on 31 October 1987 in a three-team trade that cost the Colts the rights to unsigned first-round pick Cornelius Bennett plus draft choices; they went 9-6 and won the AFC East.
Q 12The Colts' 1991 team went 1–15, one point away from what?
The first 0–16 season
At 1-15 the Colts were a point from the first 0–16 season: their lone win came by a single point over the Jets, and coach Ron Meyer was fired after an 0-5 start and replaced by Rick Venturi.
Q 13The 1995 Colts came within a Hail Mary of Super Bowl XXX, losing the AFC Championship Game to which team?
Q 21Which team did the Colts beat 29–17 in Super Bowl XLI, the franchise's first title in Indianapolis?
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears took the lead when Devin Hester returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, but in the first rain-soaked Super Bowl the Colts won 29-17 and Peyton Manning was named MVP.
Q 22In the 2006 AFC Championship Game the Colts came back from what deficit to beat the Patriots 38–34?
21–3
The Colts trailed 21–3 early in the second quarter after an Asante Samuel pick-six, then outscored New England 35-13; Joseph Addai's late touchdown sealed a 38-34 win on 21 January 2007.
Q 23The 2005 Colts started 13–0 and finished with what record, the franchise's best in a 16-game season?
14–2
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers won 20-16 on 14 January 1996 when Jim Harbaugh's last-play heave bounced off Aaron Bailey in the end zone; the Colts had just won their first playoff games since moving to Indianapolis.
Q 14Which GM, hired in 1997, drafted Peyton Manning first overall and built the Super Bowl XLI team?
Bill Polian
Bill Polian, hired from Carolina in December 1997, took Peyton Manning over Ryan Leaf in 1998 and ran the front office for 14 seasons until he was fired after the 2-14 collapse of 2011.
Q 15Peyton Manning played his college football at which school?
Tennessee
Peyton Manning played at Tennessee from 1994 to 1997, finishing as Heisman runner-up to Charles Woodson; the Volunteers retired his number 16.
Q 16How many NFL MVP awards did Peyton Manning win in his career?
Five
Peyton Manning won five MVP awards: four with the Colts in 2003, 2004, 2008 and 2009, and a fifth with Denver in 2013 at age 37.
Q 17Which Colts receiver set the single-season record with 143 catches in 2002?
Marvin Harrison
Marvin Harrison caught 143 passes for 1,722 yards in 2002, a single-season record that stood until Michael Thomas's 149 in 2019.
Q 18Which running back did the Colts draft fourth overall in 1999 to complete their offensive triplets?
Edgerrin James
Edgerrin James, taken from Miami ahead of Ricky Williams, led the NFL in rushing in 1999 and 2000, the first two seasons after the Colts traded away their previous star back.
Q 19Tony Dungy took over the Colts in 2002 after being fired as head coach of which team?
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tony Dungy was fired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in January 2002 after six seasons and four playoff trips; the Bucs won the Super Bowl the next season under Jon Gruden, and Dungy coached the Colts until 2008.
Q 20Who coached the opposing team against Tony Dungy's Colts in Super Bowl XLI?
Lovie Smith
Lovie Smith, once a linebackers coach on Dungy's staff, was the opposing head coach in February 2007, making Super Bowl XLI the first with two African American head coaches.
The 2005 Colts finished 14–2 after their 13-0 start ended with a home loss to San Diego; seeded first, they were upset 21-18 in the divisional round at home.
Q 24The Colts lost Super Bowl XLIV 31–17 to which team after a 14–0 regular season start?
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints won 31-17 in Miami on 7 February 2010 after Sean Payton's surprise onside kick opened the second half; Tracy Porter's 74-yard interception return sealed it.
Q 25How many regular-season games did the Colts win in the 2000s, an NFL-best total?
115
The Colts won 115 regular-season games from 2000 to 2009, a .719 rate that edged the Patriots' 112, with seven straight 12-win seasons from 2003 to 2009.
Q 26Who made eight starts at quarterback for the 2-14 Colts in 2011 while Manning was out?
Curtis Painter
Curtis Painter, a 2009 sixth-round pick from Purdue, went 0-8 as the starter before Dan Orlovsky took over; the 2-14 finish brought the first overall pick and, in March 2012, Manning's release.
Q 27Which Stanford quarterback did the Colts take first overall in 2012 to replace Peyton Manning?
Andrew Luck
Andrew Luck, taken first overall in April 2012, led the Colts from 2-14 to 11-5 and the playoffs as a rookie, then beat Peyton Manning's unbeaten Broncos 39-33 in October 2013.
Q 28In the 2013 wild-card round the Colts beat Kansas City 45–44 after trailing by how much?
By 28
Down 38-10 early in the third quarter, the Colts came back by 28 points, outscoring Kansas City 35-6 the rest of the way as T.Y. Hilton caught 13 passes for 224 yards in the 45-44 win.
Q 29The Colts' loss to New England in the 2014 AFC Championship Game became infamous under what name?
Deflategate
Deflategate began when Colts staff flagged an intercepted ball as soft during New England's 45-7 win on 18 January 2015; the NFL later suspended Tom Brady four games and fined the Patriots $1 million.
Q 30What reason did the Colts' franchise quarterback give for retiring in August 2019 at 29?
The endless cycle of injury and rehab
He cited the endless cycle of injury and rehab: a lacerated kidney, torn rib cartilage, the shoulder that cost him all of 2017 and a calf and ankle problem; the news leaked during a preseason game on 24 August 2019.