Carroll Rosenbloom became the first owner of the Colts when he secured the rights to an NFL team in Baltimore in 1953.
Rosenbloom was born on March 5, 1907, in Baltimore, Maryland. He attended Baltimore City College and the University of Pennsylvania where he played halfback on the football team. At Penn, Rosenbloom became acquainted with future NFL Commissioner Bert Bell who was then serving as an assistant coach for the Quakers.
After graduating, Rosenbloom entered the family textile business. He took the Blue Ridge Overalls Company from nearly bankrupt to part of a conglomerate of business interests with over 7,000 employees.
In 1953, Rosenbloom was approached by Commissioner Bell to become principal owner of a new NFL franchise set to replace the recently folded Dallas Texans. Rosenbloom helped sell over 15,000 season tickets prior to the Colts' first season in Baltimore, which secured the club's future.
Under Rosenbloom's direction, the Colts won three NFL Championships (1958, 1959, 1968) and Super Bowl V. Pro Football Hall of Fame members Johnny Unitas, Raymond Berry, Lenny Moore, Jim Parker, Art Donovan, Gino Marchetti, Weeb Ewbank, and Don Shula made the Colts a dominant team in the 1950s and 1960s.
Rosenbloom was a key figure in the merger of the NFL and AFL, agreeing to move the Colts to the newly formed American Football Conference in 1970.
In July 1972, Rosenbloom and Robert Irsay exchanged franchises to complete the ownership transfer of the Colts. Irsay had previously purchased the Los Angeles Rams and traded ownership of the Rams to Rosenbloom for ownership of the Colts. Rosenbloom led the Rams until his death on April 2, 1979.
