Watch Eyewitness News at 6 to hear from one of the men who was part of the inner circle that changed Indy forever.
INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) — It happened 35 years ago on March 28. After negotiations to get get the city of Baltimore to pay for improvements to Memorial Stadium failed, Baltimore Colts owner Bob Irsay took things into his own hands. Under the cover of darkness, he had movers pack up the team's belongings from Owings Mills, Maryland and head west to Indianapolis.
It happened on a cold, snowy night. Fifteen moving vans hit the road and left town before anyone could intercept them. State Police greeted them at the state border and escorted them to Indianapolis where Mayor Bill Hudnut cheered their arrival. Twenty thousand fans packed the new Hoosier Dome to welcome their new NFL team.
You've no doubt heard that part of the story. Here's another told from the perspective of the "mover's son," who 35 years later, is still amazed at how those involved were able to keep the move a secret.
"We always said a moving van? Trying to hide it is next to impossible, but you know we were able to do it," Lynn Smith said.
Lynn, a then recent college grad, worked for the moving company. He was involved in public relations and advertising. His father, the late John Smith was CEO of Mayflower Moving Company, headquartered in Indianapolis. Even Lynn knew nothing of the move until the vans were almost in Indianapolis.
"My dad just called and asked me to come to his office," he said. "He told me what was happening and just be prepared for media inquiries and that it was probably not going to be the most positive situation in Baltimore."
And it wasn't, by a long shot. But in Indianapolis standing beside his dad in the Hoosier Dome, he remembers feeling, "just the elation, it was just an unbelievable feeling that it actually happened. It was always in the back of my mind: how could our city pull off something like that?"
It happened, as Mayor Hudnut would say, with a big boost from Mayflower and Lynn's dad.
During an interview with Eyewitness News shortly after the vans arrived Hudnut said, "when I called John, the chair of Mayflower, his first reaction was yes, he'd be glad to help us if in fact it came time and there was a move."
What most people didn't know is that the Smiths and Hudnuts were nextdoor neighbors and good friends.
Lynn's dad was also on the city's capital improvement board.
Lynn said his father and the mayor would on a regular basis get together after work and visit.
"I never thought anything of it, but the whole plan really transpired between the two houses with him coming over to our house and my dad going over to their house. It was kept really quiet," said Lynn.
He said after the Colts moved to Indianapolis, both families received threats, requiring round-the-clock security for several months. They also faced legal threats.
"My father was sued, the city was sued, Bill Hudnut. Anybody you could name in a lawsuit was sued," he said.
But nothing ever came of it. In fact, Lynn said the move ended up being for Mayflower, "the type of publicity you could never have bought," except in one city roughly 600 miles east of Indianapolis.
"I always felt sorry for the agent in Baltimore, the Mayflower agent, but he rode out the storm," Lynn said.
When asked if he'd ever visited Baltimore, he said once.
"I was there about 10 years after. You certainly don't walk around with your Colts sweatshirt on," he chuckled. "Fortunately, having the last name Smith, it's not a name that jumps out," he said.
Looking back 35 years, he still marvels at how it all unfolded.
"It was a well-kept secret," he said. "If it were to happen today, it wouldn't have happened just because of social media. Word would have gotten out and they would have been able to stop it," he said. "It's just incredible it did happen. It was kind of a turning point for our city. It was really a big team of players that came together and made it happen."