Franchises in operation since 1950.
Baltimore Colts (1950)
This Baltimore Colts franchise began in 1947 in the All-American Football Conference, and was largely formed from the remnants of the Miami Seahawks. The AAFC folded into the NFL, keeping the Baltimore, Cleveland, and San Francisco franchises. Baltimore folded after the 1950 season and is not related to the current Indianapolis Colts.
| Name stint | Tenure [Year – Week (Game)] | |||||
| Starting QB | First Start | Last Start | GS | Reason for Change From | * | Record |
| Adrian Burk | 1950 – 1 (1) | 1950 – 1 (1) | 1 | 0-1 | ||
| Y.A. Tittle | 1950 – 2 (2) | 1950 – 5 (4) | 3 | 0-3 | ||
| Burk 2 | 1950 – 6 (5) | 1950 – 7 (6) | 2 | 0-2 | ||
| Tittle 2 | 1950 – 8 (7) | 1950 – 13 (12) | 6 | franchise disbanded; players entered dispersal draft |
1-5 | |
* Normal starter returned from injury/rest.
New York Yanks (1950-1951)
The Boston Yanks were an NFL franchise founded in 1945. It merged operations for one season with the Brooklyn Tigers in 1946 due to player shortages from World War II. The merged team was simply known as “The Yanks,” and the Brooklyn franchise was subsumed by Boston in 1947. The team moved to New York in 1949 as the New York Bulldogs, and was named the New York Yanks in 1950 — both moves which could technically be considered new franchises based on the business transactions. The franchise was sold back to the league in 1951.
| Name stint | Tenure [Year – Week (Game)] | |||||
| Starting QB | First Start | Last Start | GS | Reason for Change From | * | Record |
| George Ratterman | 1950 – 1 (1) | 1950 – 13 (12) | 12 | signed with CFL Montreal Alouettes | 7-5 | |
| John Rauch | 1951 – 1 (1) | 1951 – 3 (3) | 3 | ineffective | 0-3 | |
| Bob Celeri | 1951 – 4 (4) | 1951 – 8 (8) | 5 | Ratterman finished CFL season; returned to Yanks in mid-October |
0-4-1 | |
| Ratterman 2 | 1951 – 9 (9) | 1951 – 9 (9) | 1 | ineffective | 0-0-1 | |
| Celeri 2 | 1951 – 10 (10) | 1951 – 12 (12) | 3 | Yanks dissolved by league; contracts sold to new Dallas Texans |
1-2 | |
* Normal starter returned from injury/rest.
Dallas Texans (1952)
The Dallas Texans were a new franchise which purchased the contracts of the New York Yanks. The franchise folded after a single season, and is the last NFL franchise to become nonoperational (with the exception of the Cleveland Browns franchise that officially was suspended from 1996-98 under the terms of the Baltimore Ravens relocation). Half of the season was played as a travelling road team without home games.
Most of the contracts from the Texans were purchased by the new Baltimore Colts franchise — the same one that exists in Indianapolis today. Although the league only officially recognizes the Colts as an expansion team in 1953, the Colts lineage includes the Dallas, Brooklyn, and Boston franchises — but not the AAFC Baltimore Colts — and ultimately traces back to the first NFL game as the Dayton Triangles.
| Name stint | Tenure [Year – Week (Game)] | |||||
| Starting QB | First Start | Last Start | GS | Reason for Change From | * | Record |
| Bob Celeri | 1952 – 1 (1) | 1952 – 2 (2) | 2 | ineffective | 0-2 | |
| Chuck Ortmann | 1952 – 3 (3) | 1952 – 4 (4) | 2 | chest injury | 0-2 | |
| Celeri 2 | 1952 – 5 (5) | 1952 – 6 (6) | 2 | prained ankle; Texans claimed Tripucka on waivers from Cardinals |
0-2 | |
| Frank Tripucka | 1952 – 7 (7) | 1952 – 12 (12) | 6 | franchise disbanded; many contracts sold to new Baltimore Colts |
1-5 | |
* Normal starter returned from injury/rest.