The Midnight Skedaddle: The Baltimore Colts' Move to Indianapolis, 1984 Paperback – July 8, 2025

In the dog-eat-dog world of vagabond sports teams, the seesaw goes up and down: up for the city that nabs a team; down for the jilted party. So go the emotions and fortunes in the arena of franchise moves. Two infamous moves in sports history stand apart from all the rest: the Brooklyn Dodgers’ flight to L.A. in 1957 and the Baltimore Colts’ scamper to Indianapolis in 1984. Indianapolis became the victor in the multi-city battle royale for the Baltimore Colts. The Midnight Skedaddle is the first comprehensive account of Robert Irsay’s long-and-winding odyssey of bombast, buffoonery, threats, flirtation, wheeling and dealing, and finally, the late-night bolt from Baltimore to Indy in March 1984. Author Timothy Thompson traces the fascinating plot back to 1965, then chronicles, step-by-step, the twists and turns that eventually climaxed with 14 Mayflower moving vans pulling out of Owings Mills, MD, early on the morning of March 29, 1984, bound for Indianapolis. In one mad dash, the grand and glorious history of the Baltimore Colts was exiled to the warehouse of history, and a new life—as the Indianapolis Colts—began. The Midnight Skedaddle is packed to the rafters with enlightening facts, compelling stories, provocative quotes and intriguing characters, all escorting the reader to a thorough understanding of one of the most consequential events in NFL history. Read more