Indianapolis Capitols (1968-1970)

Continental Football League (1968-1969)
Atlantic Coast Football League (1970)

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Indianapolis Capitols
Logo T-Shirt

If you told me this logo was emblazoned on the flickering neon beacon of a rural filling station on Route 66, I’d believe you. But no, this was the helmet logo for Indianapolis’ minor league football squad that patrolled the Bush Stadium turf from 1968 to 1970. 

Also available in women’s V-neck or tank top styles and as a Hooded or Crewneck sweatshirt from the guys at Old School Shirts!

 

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Background

The Indianapolis Capitols (1968-1970) were a short-lived effort in professional minor league football, a form of entertainment which largely ceased to exist by the mid-1970’s.  The Caps were one of the first pro football franchises to put their team in the hands of a black quarterback. They were also one of the first dabblings in pro sports by future NFL and NHL power broker Edward DeBartolo.

For Caps owner Al Savill, this was his second go at pro football in Indianapolis and his mulligan in the Continental Football League.  The mortgage banker previously owned the Indianapolis Warriors of the old United Football League from 1961 to 1964. He moved the team to Fort Wayne for a final season in the Continental Football League in 1965 before disposing of the team.

The first year Caps finished 8-4 in 1968, good for first in the Continental League’s Central Division, before falling to the Orlando Panthers in the first round of league playoffs.  At the box office, the 1968 team claimed an average of 6,907 fans per game at Bush Stadium.

Courting O.J. Simpson

In the Spring of 1969, the Buffalo Bills drafted the University of Southern California’s Heisman-winning running back O.J. Simpson with the first pick in the AFL-NFL Draft.  Simpson and his Indianapolis-based agent Chuck Barnes got into a protracted contract stalemate with Bills owner Ralph Wilson.  Savill jumped into the fray in April. He offered Simpson a one-year $150,000 contract plus a $250,000 loan to sign with the Caps.  Simpson went on to sign with the AFL, of course. But the offer gained nationwide press for the Caps in the pages of Sports Illustrated, The New York Times and beyond and generated new local interest in Savill’s club.

The Caps fared just fine during the 1969 Continental League season without Simpson.  The Los Angeles Rams sent John Walton, an undrafted rookie free agent quarterback from Elizabeth City (NC) State College, to Indianapolis.  Walton started the season as a back-up to incumbent Frank Stavroff, a holdover from the 1968 Caps squad and a local product from the University of Indiana.  Walton took over in midseason and led the Caps back to the playoffs, where they defeated the defending champion Orlando Panthers 27-7 in the semi-final.

Walton’s role was practically revolutionary in pro football in 1969, a time when black players on the Caps still confronted episodes of overt discrimination in Indianapolis.  In a 2009 interview with Indianapolis Star reporter Phillip Wilson, Caps wide receiver Joe Wynns recalled being denied entrance to an Indianapolis carnival because of the color of his skin.

1969 Championship Game Thriller

The Caps met the San Antonio Toros at Bush Stadium on December 13th, 1969 for the Continental League championship.  The game was a barn burner. With just over a minute remaining, the Caps held a seemingly insurmountable 38-28 lead.  Preposterously, the Toros converted a 29-yard touchdown pass, executed an onside kick and got a 38-yard field goal from Jerry Moritz with six seconds remaining to send the title game into sudden death overtime.  Moritz missed a 25-yard chip shot to win it for San Antonio. Caps fullback John Nice dashed 13 yards for the game winner shortly thereafter.

After the game Caps owner Al Savill took credit in the press for the winning play call, claiming he over-ruled Head Coach Ken Carpenter’s desire to go for the game winning field goal on first down.  Walton became the first African-American quarterback to lead a football team to a professional title. He earned Continental League MVP honors for the 1969 season.

The End

After the 1969 season, the Continental League fell apart.  The Caps helped seal the league’s demise by defecting to the lower-budget Atlantic Coast Football League in February 1970, along with the Jersey Jays, Norfolk Neptunes and the Orlando Panthers.  The Caps played one final season – without Walton – in the autumn of 1970 before folding.

Aftermath

Johnnie Walton continued his quixotic journey through pro football for another 15 years.  He spent three seasons on the Los Angeles Rams taxi squad from 1970-1972 without ever appearing in a regular season game.  He played minor league football in Columbus, Ohio and briefly earned a starting job with the San Antonio Wings of the World Football League in 1975 before that league folded.

Walton eventually saw limited NFL action as a backup for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1976 to 1979.  After a three-year retirement Walton re-emerged as the starting quarterback for the Boston Breakers of the United States Football League in 1983.  He followed the Breakers to New Orleans for the 1984 season, his last before retiring.  Walton enjoyed his most enduring pro success in the USFL. As a 35 and 36-year old, he passed for over 7,000 yards during two seasons in the spring league.

Al Savill continued his sports investments throughout the 1970’s.  In 1973, Savill purchased the Columbus Golden Seals of the International Hockey League from Oakland A’s owner Charles O. Finley.  Two years later, he moved up to the big leagues, buying the National Hockey League’s Pittsburgh Penguins out of receivership for a reported $3.8 million.  Savill owned the Penguins from 1975 to 1978.

Mall developer Edward DeBartolo Sr. also served on the Capitols nine-man board of directors with Savill in the late 1960’s.  DeBartolo would go on to take over the Pittsburgh Penguins from Savill in 1978.  The prolific sports investor also bought the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL in 1977 and also owned the USFL’s Pittsburgh Maulers and Pittsburgh Spirit of the Major Indoor Soccer League.

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Continental Football League
Logo T-Shirt

 Variously described as everything from “semi-pro” football to the “third Major League” behind the NFL and AFL during the late 1960’s, the Continental Football briefly established a sprawling network of pro football clubs that stretched from Florida to Mexico City to British Columbia. The Continental League helped launch the careers of Hall-of-Famers Bill Walsh and Ken Stabler and other NFL stars of the 1970’s including Otis Sistrunk, Bob Kuechenberg and Coy Bacon.

Our friends at Old School Shirts make the only Continental League shirt we’ve found and like all of their retro Americana tees, it’s soft and fits great!

 

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Links

Continental Football League Media Guides

Continental Football League Programs

Atlantic Coast Football League Media Guides

Atlantic Coast Football League Programs

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