According to Stephen Holder of ESPN on Wednesday, Indianapolis Colts owner, chairman, and chief executive officer Jim Irsay of Lincolnwood, Illinois passed away at the age of 65. The cause of death has not yet been released.
Irsay was also the vice-president and general manager of the Colts from 1984 to 1996, while his father Robert owned the Colts. Jim Irsay made NFL history in 1984, as he was the youngest general manager ever at age 24. Then when Robert Irsay passed away at the age of 73 in 1997, Jim took over ownership.
Prior to being the Colts general manager, Irsay worked in the Colts’s college scouting department in 1982 and in their personnel department in 1983. Remember, the Colts franchise moved from Baltimore starting in the 1984 season, and it was at the time the franchise switched cities, that Jim Irsay was given more responsibilities from a football perspective with the franchise.
Irsay’s battle to become the Colts owner was controversial. According to Matt Schooley of the Indy Star, Jim Irsay was involved in a lawsuit with his stepmother to be the Indianapolis owner. When Irsay became the owner, he was the youngest owner in the NFL at the time at age 37.
In 1998, Irsay named Bill Polian of The Bronx, New York as the general manager and team president. It turned out to be a significant and successful decision. Polian drafted Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning, who would go on to lead the Colts to a Super Bowl title in 2007. With Jim Irsay’s death, Carlie Irsay-Gordon, Jim’s daughter, takes over ownership.
