England’s third-place finish at the 2026 World Cup may have softened the blow a little, but it still wasn’t the trophy. That gap between finishing well and actually winning it is exactly the kind of feeling longtime Colts fans in Baltimore would recognize.
Back in the mid-1960s, the NFL used to stage third-place games, and the Colts came out on top in both 1965 and 1966. Those victories came with bragging rights, sure, but not the kind that stick the way a championship does. The last of those wins came just one season before the first Super Bowl, which only sharpens how strange that era looks in hindsight.
Don Shula was the coach behind those Baltimore teams, and yet those third-place wins don’t count toward his official NFL total. The league lists him at 347 career wins, but the source material says that number should be 349 because those playoff games for third place were excluded. It’s the kind of detail that feels small until you realize it changes the record.
Shula later moved on to the Miami Dolphins and won Super Bowls in 1971 and 1972, though the source notes he could have made it three if he had stayed with the Colts. After 1972, even with Shula coaching Miami until 1995, he never won another title.
The Colts’ quarterback history from that stretch was just as unusual. Johnny Unitas was the first of the franchise’s legendary passers, but when Baltimore won its first NFL title in 1968, Earl Morrall had taken over as QB1. Then in the 1970 season, when the Colts won the Super Bowl, Unitas was back as the main starter, though both quarterbacks played in the title game.
That same 1970 season also brought another twist: Baltimore lost to Shula’s Dolphins, but Miami then fell in the first round of the playoffs. The Colts still had the final word that year. And by the time the Indianapolis Colts won their first Super Bowl, Shula was long retired.
So if England’s fans were left with a third-place finish and the familiar ache of being close, Colts fans from Baltimore already know the feeling. Shula, though, won’t get credit for those two third-place finishes. England will get credit for not winning the 2026 World Cup, too.
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Two Colts Backups Just Got Recognition That Could Matter Soon
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Dulin drew notice for the value he brings on special teams and the fact that he can still flash as a receiver when called upon, while Adebawore got credit for his growing pass-rush presence and increased production in 2025. For the Colts, it is the kind of acknowledgment that matters because these are the players who can quietly keep a team afloat when injuries hit and the rotation gets tested. [Read more 🡒]