RIP Jim Irsay
 

One of the coolest owners ever. I will miss him

https://x.com/RapSheet/status/1925335164571271368

Sad news, he’s done a lot for this city and brought me a lot of joy myself

This is sad news and a very sad day for all Colts fans.

Just saw this. Hope the franchise is in good hands.

Damn, one of the craziest owners in the NFL. Hope the daughter can steady the ship and keep everything moving forward.

Spent most of his life trying to get out from under Bobs shadow.

I’d argue he did a good job of that as an owner, but he just couldn’t beat the addiction.

Rest in peace, Jim. You really were one of a kind.

It’ll be interesting to see how his daughters run things now that he’s gone.

Jim had his problems, but he loved the team and always wanted to win. One of the best owners in the league. I hope his daughters are the same. I'm surprised, but not shocked. He looked rough the last couple of years.

RIP, Jim Irsay. Peace and love to his family and friends.

I hope his Daughters have the same passion and drive for the team and community he did. RIP Jim, thx for the memories.

On a personal note...There goes my dream of Jim pummeling Jerry Jones ass!:eek:

Still hard to believe he was just 65 years old.

Too young, he’s an Indiana legend now

He was the best
Never shied away from talking about his struggles
RIP

o


Jim Irsay was a great team owner, especially considering the circumstances of his evolution into that position ...... Jim was assigned the task of rebuilding a franchise that was in tatters for a good portion of his father's tenure (1972-1997.) He started out as a 16-year-old waterboy for the 1975 Baltimore Colts, was hired as the team's GM in 1984, and became the team's owner when his father died in January of 1997.

When Jim was the GM of the team, he pulled off a blockbluster trade for Eric Dickerson to immediately give the franchise respectability and a much-needed shot in the arm ...... with the best running back in the game on board, the Colts immediately won the AFC East in 1987, followed that up with a winning season in 1988, and a .500 season in 1989. At the time, the notion of the Indianapolis Colts having 3 consecutive non-losing seasons was unheard of, as that had not happened since their days in Baltimore from 1975 through 1977.

What really makes me admire Jim the most was the reunion that he held in 2009 for his favorite Colts team ever ...... the 1975 Baltimore Colts. Jim was the team owner of the 2006 Colts team that won the Super Bowl, and was the GM for the 1995 Colts team that came within a hair of advancing to the Super Bowl against the Dallas Cowboys ...... but his favorite Colts team EVER was the 1975 Colts, a team in which he was just a 16 year-old waterboy for !!! l :eek: l In terms of "keeping it real" and not being pretentious, that's about as good as it gets. A billionaire who owned a professional sports franchise chose to have a reunion for a team that he was a teen-age waterboy for. l :cool:


I never met Jim, but if I had I would have asked him if he would consider co-retiring the number "88" for both John Mackey and Marvin Harrison ...... similar to the New York Yankees co-retiring the number "8" for both Bill Dickey and Yogi Berra. If nothing else, Jim often thought outside of the box, which I believe was one of the things that made him such a cool team owner and a cool person overall.

Some people have said that Jim was an eccentric nutcase, and he may have been ...... but he was OUR nutcase ...... thank you for everything that you did for both the Baltimore Colts and the Indianapolis Colts, Jim.


Sincerely,

Patrick Colon (Colts And Orioles)

o

It wouldn't surprise me if the team is sold in the next few years. RIP Jim Irsay.

He will be missed! A massive personality with an even bigger heart. This city owes a LOT of what it is today on the sports global stage to what Jim Irsay did and his quiet work behind the scenes to better lives of some others would have just cast away- is a testimony to his greatest attribute, concern for his fellow man. We lost a great one yesterday. May his family find peace and comfort in these painful days.

That's what worries me, hopefully it stays in Indy.

Seeing the many raw, authentic, heartfelt tributes from so many of his players (Reggie, TY, McAfee, and many others) gives you the true measure of his character to those of us who only knew him from the vantage of our fandom. He was a flawed man as are all of us, but he clearly made a lasting positive impact on many people and to the community he loved. RIP. ����

This is one of those rare celebrity passings that feel weird to me. Following the Colts so closely since '95 and he's been the man basically the whole time I've been a fan.

Sucks, but cool to see the respect and tributes all over the place.

I think, I would've preferred to meet Irsay more than any of my sports heroes.

That is saying something since my heroes include, Jack Nicklaus, Earl Anthony, Brooks Robinson, Jim Palmer, Frank Robinson, Cal Ripken, Eddie Murray, John Unitas, Raymond Berry, Gina Marchetti, Bert Jones, Dwight Freeney, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Edgerrin James.

I am anxious to hear the succession plan.

Pretty sure it's Carlie. She had been taking over more of the administrative functions of owning the team for a while.

Carlie took over for him during his suspension back in 2014.

It’ll be her.

The more interesting question is, what are their long term plans? Do they really want to run a franchise, or will they look to sell?

And of course, if they would sell, that would open up a whole other can of worms regarding the future of the Colts in Indy.

This is all known.

I'm talking about the dynamics of what that looks like?

What are the roles and responsibilities?

Does Carlie have final say or does she have to consult with the other two?

Does Ballard take on a bigger role, such as VP of Football Operations?

If Ballard does take on a bigger role then do we hire another GM?

Or do we hire a VP of Football Operations?

Please, please, please let whowever does grab the steering wheel, be prepared to reduce Ballard's role, as in eradicate his role entirely!

I think the Colts lease runs through 2038

What a bummer. A true owner who cared about his team, even if his loyalty to bad coaches/GMs drove me nuts sometime.

EDIT: The tributes to him really speak to how he was beloved by those who knew him well. The volumes that speaks is immense.

From the Indy Star:

The current contract between the Colts and the city and the Capital Improvement Board, which operates Lucas Oil Stadium, runs from 2008 through the 2037 season. But if the Colts are not among the top five NFL teams in gross operating revenues in 2030, the team can terminate the deal.(Aug 17, 2018)

you think his daughters would be that invested into the team just to fucking sell it?

Jerry welcomed Jim. He's safe

I went through the Jim Irsay archives on colts.com and found this pic that I found interesting.

Anyone wanna caption it and provide a year and game location? All I can say is that Jim looks rather skeptical of Bill's explanation.

o


My guess is that it was from the 2009 season finale, in Buffalo. I remember that snowy day in northwestern New York State, and for good reason ...... I'll explain.


2009 was the year that the Colts started 14-0, and decided to bench Peyton Manning and several other key Colts Colts starters in the 3rd quarter of their game against the Jets in Week 16. The Colts had a 5-point lead when Manning was taken out of the game. Curtis Painter came in, and the Colts immediately fumbled the ball and allowed the Jets to score a TD on a scoop-6 to take the lead, a lead which they never relinquished.

The Colts got a lot of crticism for not going all out in their quest to finish that season undefeated, and perhaps match the feat that the 1972 Miami Dolphins accomplished when they went 17-0 overall ...... if this pitcure was indeed from the following week in Buffalo, I'm guessing that Irsay and Polian were disagreeing on the decision to bench Manning and the other Colts starters when the Colts only had a small lead against the Jets the week before, ending their quest for an undefeated season ...... maybe Irsay was angry at Polian's decision to not keep Manning in and go for the undefeated season, and he was letting him know about it.

o

o


Good try, but no ...... I just noticed David Thornton in the background of the photo, and his last season playing for the Colts was 2005. This could not have been the 2009 season finale in snowy Orchard Park.

o

The other thing to remember is that just last year, the NFL owners voted to allow teams the ability to sell a stake of each team to private equity firms as passive investors.

So teams can now sell up to a 10% stake to private equity firms who would have zero decision-making authority.

That would be one way to cash out some money from the franchise without losing any control if they wanted.

I know very little about the daughters, if they are smart they won't even consider selling this franchise. But if they do, let's hope some local people step up to buy it! The Lucas family might be able to do it but would likely need help!

Also PM could buy part of the team.

It looks like this is the week 12 game of 2003 in Buffalo, as it is the only year the Colts played the Bills with David Thornton on the roster. This is the game before they played the Pats in the infamous Willie McGinest fake injury game.

So imagine Jim is asking BP (How are we going to beat the Patriots next week?) BP's answer (We aren't Jim, the cocksuckers will cheat and we will lose!)

o


It might not necessarily be in Buffalo. That was my guess, because I know that it was snowing on that day on the final game of the 2009 season.

In 2003 the Colts played the Patriots in the AFC championship game in Focborough, and it started snowing lightly on that day in the 4th quarter, as it is in the pitcure that you posted.

o

Could be, but I believe those are Bills coats i see in the background.

I found God through AA in indianapolis and was thinking about Jim. He shall always be hailed!

Love you, Jim!

I was born in the 70s so I don't understand all this stuff, but go listen to Jerry Garcia play Tiger.

I was born 9-13-78 which was the first day they played in Egypt. Just listen!

Always a drunk Colts fan!!!