On this day in 1983: Colts trade John Elway to the Broncos

On this day in 1983, the Baltimore Colts were forced to trade quarterback John Elway, who had just been selected #1 overall six days earlier in the NFL Draft.

Elway and his father did not want to be a part of the Colts, as they wanted to play closer to the West Coast. Elway’s father, Jack, hours after his son was drafted said that he “will never play for Irsay or Coach Kush.”

Less than a week after he was the #1 pick, he was finally traded to the Denver Broncos. The return for the Colts was quarterback Mark Hermann, offensive tackle Chris Hinton, and Denver’s 1984 first-round pick which ended up being Ron Solt.

‘’I’m definitely thrilled to be here,’’ Elway said at a news conference in Denver. ‘’It’s something I didn’t expect to happen. I’m glad to be playing in the NFL, and I’m glad to be playing for the Denver Broncos.’’

Believe it or not, Elway actually had already played professional baseball with the New York Yankees. The former outfielder hit .318 in over 40 games the summer before he was drafted with their Class A minor league affiliate in Oneonta, New York.

Of course, Elway would go on to be one of the best quarterbacks of all-time winning two Super Bowls, the Super Bowl XXXlll MVP, 1987 NFL Most Valuable Player, and made nine Pro Bowl appearances.

Elway has been the Denver Broncos general manager since 2011 and won Super Bowl 50.