Baltimore Colts 1982 Draft

I often think back to 1982 and ask myself what if? What if the Baltimore Colts drafted Jim McMahon instead of Art Schlicter? With McMahon, could the Baltimore Colts avoided their winless 1982 season? Would that have meant a better chance of the Baltimore Colts staying in Baltimore?


The top two rated QB’s in the 1982 draft were BYU’s Jim McMahon and Ohio St.’s Art Schlicter. McMahon played at BYU, who ran a pro style passing offense that had produce Gifford Neilson, a QB for the Houston Oilers and the Oakland Raider’s Mark Wilson, a 1st round pick in 1980. McMahon set all sorts of NCAA passing and total offense records while at BYU. But McMahon suffered a knee injury his senior year to go along with a knee injury that forced him to redshirt a season at BYU. Besides some injury questions, McMahon wasn’t the ideal size for a NFL QB. McMahon was about 6’1 and 185 pounds. The NFL loves QB’s who are 6’3 and 225 pounds. McMahon was also a rebel. BYU is a Mormon school. McMahon is Catholic. McMahon liked to drink beer and chew tobacco. Use of alcohol and tobacco is frowned upon in the Mormon religion. He also had an agent, Jerry Argovitz, who was a very tough agent and had his share of problems with the fat, drunk, jerk owner of the Baltimore Colts.

Art Schlichter had a storybook sophomore season in 1980 but the pressures of being a Heisman candidate and some friction between him and his college coach led to two average seasons his junior and senior seasons. Ohio St. ran the option and passed as a last resort. Schlichter had some minor injuries but noting serious. Schlichter was 6’2 and 210 pounds. Schlichter was billed as an All American kid, someone who listened to his coaches and parents and who did and said the right things.

The Baltimore Colts hired Frank Kush as head coach for the 1982 season. Kush had a successful career at Arizona St. but was fired for hitting one of his players. Kush was known as a tough coach who ran his football team like a boot camp.

Bert Jones was the QB in 1981 for the Baltimore Colts. But after a dispute with the jerk, drunk owner, Jones was traded to the LA Rams for the Rams' first and second round picks in the 1982 draft. The first round pick from the Rams was the 4th overall pick. The Baltimore Colts also had the 2nd overall pick.

The 1982 draft was considered a weak draft. Many teams were looking forward to the 1983 draft. So the Baltimore Colts went into the 1982 draft needing defense, a QB, and offensive line help. Ken Sims a defensive tackle from Texas was picked first by the New England Patriots. With the 2nd pick, the Baltimore Colts took Mississippi St. linebacker, Johnnie Cooks. The Cleveland Browns took USC LB Chip Banks with the 3rd pick.

Now the Baltimore Colts were on the clock. Even though scouts rated McMahon higher and more advanced, the Baltimore Colts still took Art Schlicter. With the second round pick acquired from the Rams, the Baltimore Colts took, punter Rohn Stark. An interesting thing happened later in the draft. Baltimore took another QB, Mike Pagel from Arizona St in the 4th round. Maybe as a way to hedge their bet in case Schlicter didn't work out? Pagel was recruited and played for Frank Kush at Arizona State.

McMahon would be picked by the Chicago Bears right after the Baltimore Colts took Schlicter. McMahon would go onto win NFC rookie of the year award in 1982. He had a 80.1 QB rating during the strike shorten 1982 season. McMahon’s stats for 1982: 120 for 210 (57.1%)for 1501 yards with 9 TD’s and 7 INTs. He would help the Chicago Bears to a 3-6 record.

Pagel beat out Schlichter for the starting QB job in Baltimore. Schlichter would not start any games and only got into three games. Schlicter’s stats for 1982. 17 for 37 (45.9%) for 197 yards with no TD pass and two INTs.

In April of 1983 Schlichter admitted to FBI agents he was in debt to bookies. The NFL suspended Schlichterfor the entire 1983 season. McMahon would have an up and down, 1983 season but he eventually became the Bears leader and lead them to a Super Bowl win in 1986. The Baltimore Colts ended the 1982 season with a 0-8-1 record, the worst in the NFL. Which meant they had the first pick in the 1983 draft, that turned out to be a crybaby QB who cried his way to Denver. Then on March 28, 1984 the drunk, bastard owner stole the Baltimore Colts in the middle of the night from Baltimore.

What if the Baltimore Colts drafted McMahon? Certainly McMahon had help winning the Super Bowl. A great defense that today includes two Hall of Fame members, Dan Hampton and Mike Singletary, and of course the great Walter Payton. He was also hurt alot and had a lot of trouble getting along with the Bears head coach Mike Ditka. I find it hard to believe McMahon and Frank Kush would have gotten along too well. But there is also no question that McMahon was a very good QB when healthy.

Could McMahon have changed things for Baltimore? Could McMahon have led Baltimore to a better 1982 record? Thus not finishing with the worst record and the top pick in 1983? Maybe the Baltimore Colts draft third or fourth and get somebody like Jim Covert or Chris Hinton to protect McMahon. Thus the Baltimore Colts would have filled two positions with future stars. Maybe the “Punky QB” helps Baltimore increase attendance and helps get a new stadium built?

So because the drunk, bastard owner is cheap and drafts Art Schlichter because he doesn’t want to deal with McMahon’s agent a once great franchise, suffered their worst season ever. What if. What if

Other things to of note. Drafted after Art Schlichter were Hall of Famers, Mike Munchak, #8, at guard out of Penn St, to the Houston Oilers and Marcus Allen, #10, a RB, a Heisman Trophy winning running back, to the Traitors. Certainly the 1982 Baltimore Colts could have used an OL the talent of Munchak.

In 1982 the Baltimore Colts had a RB, Curtis Dickey, drafted #5 overall in 1980. He was starting to come into his own.

So needing a QB, the Baltimore Colts drafted their second rated QB, even though their top rated QB was still on the board.

The Baltimore Ravens

When I first heard the Cleveland Browns were going to move to Baltimore it was a very bittersweet day. I knew how the fans of Cleveland felt because 11 years before on March 28, 1984 I knew the pain of having a team leave. In the case of the Baltimore Colts, they were stolen in the middle of the night.

I was happy to see the NFL back in Baltimore. The NFL screwed Baltimore during their expansion process. Jack***ville over Baltimore?? What the hell was that idiot commish thinking? Oh wait, I know what he was thinking: let me kiss up to that jerk Jack Kent Cooke. The only NFL owner who had the courage to do the right thing and vote for Baltimore to get the expansion team was Norman Braman, owner of the Phildelphia Eagles. For his efforts, I am very thankful to Mr. Braman.

I'd always thought the day the NFL came back to Baltimore, I would be the happiest guy in the world. But I didn't feel that way. I felt guilty and sad for the Cleveland Browns fans. That would change very quickly. The Browns fans started crying and getting the national media behind them. Sports Illustrated even had a cover with Art Modell sucker punching the Brown's so called mascot, the dog.

Hmm where the hell was SI, when a drunk, jerk bastard stole the Baltimore Colts in the middle of the night back in 1984? They allowed Frank DeFord, a Baltimore native write an awesome ONE PAGE article. That's it. But SI devotes basically an entire issue to the Browns moving.

Now while I'm thankful to Art Modell for bringing the NFL back to Baltimore, I don't like him. He's nothing but a greedy, egomaniac and a terrible businessman. He prooved that when he went to that bastard to buy back the Colts names and color. That bastard said the starting price was $25 million. I've always believed that the $25 million was a sticker price and anybody who has bought a car could have lowered that asking to price to less than $5 million. But Modell, even with all that money given to him, declined.

But more than that he voted against Baltimore in expansion. Part of it was Modell playing company man and going with whatever is best for the NFL. But I also think part of it had to do with allowing keeping the NFL out of Baltimore so that teams could "use" the threat to move to Baltimore, to get either a new stadium or an improved stadium. Which is most insulting. Baltimore provided the NFL the Greatest Game ever played. The greatest QB ever in Johnny Unitas. The greatest OL ever in Jim Parker. The greatest TE ever in John Mackey. Art Donovan. Alan Ameche. Raymond Berry. The NFL repays the city of Baltimore by allowing a drunk, jerk, bastard to own the team? By screwing Baltimore out of an expansion team? By denying the CFL Baltimore COLTS from using that name? Interesting how a couple years after the CFL Baltimore COLTS moved, the Denver Broncos copied the logo of the CFL Baltimore COLTS.

Baltimore Colts Test

This is the test I gave my ex girlfriend. She had to pass this test before I would marry her. Yes, exactly like Eddie in Diner. Since I've never been married, she flunked.

Short Answer:

1. When did the Baltimore Colts die?

2. Lydell Mitchell was traded for who?

3. Bert Jones was traded to the LA Rams for two draft picks. Who did the Baltimore Colts draft with those picks? Bonus points if you can name the two NFL Hall of Famers the Baltimore Colts passed up.

4. Joe Washington on a rainy Monday night, did what in his third game as a Baltimore Colts.

5. Who started for an injuried Bert Jones to open the 1978 season?

6. Johnny Unitas threw his final TD pass as a Baltimore Colt to what WR?

7. What happened up in the sky during that game?

8. What team did the Baltimore Colts play in their last game in Baltimore before they were stolen?

9. What is the World’s Largest Outdoor Insane Asylum?

10. What is the Ghost to the Post?

11. The Baltimore Colts traded who, for the pick that they used on Bert Jones? Bonus points if you name what team the player was traded to.

12. The Miami Seahawks of the All American Football Conference went bankrupt. What city did they move to?

13. Don Joyce won a fried chicken eating contest during training camp one year. Who did he beat?

14. If you pass this test and we get married, we will NEVER use what moving company?

15. Johnny Unitas was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He never played a game his rookie season. But his picture was in newspapers all over the US. Why?

16. Ernie Accorsi resigned a GM of the Baltimore Colts because?

17. The Baltimore Colts got a #1 draft choice after Don Shula left for the Dolphins. Who did the Baltimore Colts take with that #1 pick?

18. When that drunk bastard traded away that crybaby QB, he got Chris Hinton, Mark Herrmann, and a #1 pick in 1984. What else did that drunk bastard get from the Denver Broncos?

19. The Baltimore Colts drafted four QB's during the 1982 and 1983 drafts. Name the four QB.

20. Name the four members of the Sack Pack.

True and False:

1. George Shaw was a #1 draft pick.

2. Jim Bob Taylor was the last QB drafted by the Baltimore Colts ever to play for the Baltimore Colts.

3. The Baltimore Colts originally wore green and silver.

4. Don Joyce after winning a fried chicken eating contest, insisted on artificial sweetner for his ice tea.

5. Alan Ameche opened a chain of hamburger restaurants. His famous hamburgers were called The Giant.