Texans

If you enjoy researching the history of the NFL do not blink or you could miss out on the interesting saga of the 1952 Dallas Texans. Tired of competing at the gate with the more popular cross-town football Giants, the New York Yanks moved their franchise to Dallas after the 1951 season. In Dallas the team found that they had the city all to themselves. Unfortunately they also found that they were all by themselves as spectators who strongly supported the college game virtually ignored the region's first professional football team. Panic set in early in the season and the owners of the team shifted the remainder of their home games to out of state venues. The 1952 Dallas Texans who had come to town with such high hopes finished their first and only season in Texas as an embarrassing barnstorming team.

After the season ended the Texan's colorful blue and white uniforms were most likely turned over to the bankruptcy court along with the team's other remaining assets. The NFL commissioner Bert Bell reassigned the former Texan players to Baltimore to form a new team named the "Colts" (named after the popular 1946-49 AAFC Baltimore Colts who folded after the 1950 season after merging into the NFL). The newly formed Colts would eventually add some young but promising players including a Mr. Moore and Mr. Unitas. This team who originally could not make it in New York as the "Yanks" made a gallant return to that city to defeat the hometown Giants in the legendary 1958 "sudden death" NFL championship game. The Baltimore Colts went on to become one of the most successful and beloved franchises in NFL history. Thanks to Mike and Kevin for helping to keep the record straight!