Today's Tidbit... Rooming With Art Donovan at the 1953 Baltimore Colts Training Camp

I recently acquired a small collection of mid-1950s NFL playbooks and other documents, including the 1953 Baltimore Colts Training Camp Guidelines that outline the rules and regulations during the team's stay in Albert Normal Ward Hall on the campus of Western Maryland, now McDaniel College. We'll focus today on this document, which includes basic instructions and room assignments for the players, coaches, and assorted others.

The franchise that is now the Indianapolis Colts traces its origins to the pre-NFL Dayton Triangles. They became the Brooklyn Dodgers/Tigers (1930-1943), Boston Yanks (1944-1948), and the New York Yankees (1950-1951), before morphing into the Dallas Texans for the 1952 season. The Texans' owners returned the franchise to the NFL during the 1952 season.