{"id":2437703,"date":"2025-05-21T22:48:02","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T02:48:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/alert-indianapolis-colts-legend-dead-at-65-started-out-as-ball-boy-became-gm-then-owner\/"},"modified":"2025-05-21T22:49:47","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T02:49:47","slug":"alert-indianapolis-colts-legend-dead-at-65-started-out-as-ball-boy-became-gm-then-owner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/alert-indianapolis-colts-legend-dead-at-65-started-out-as-ball-boy-became-gm-then-owner\/","title":{"rendered":"Alert: Indianapolis Colts Legend Dead at 65 &#8211; Started Out as Ball Boy, Became GM, Then Owner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Falert-indianapolis-colts-legend-dead-at-65-started-out-as-ball-boy-became-gm-then-owner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2437703&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Jim Irsay, the owner of the indianapolis Colts, passed away at the age of 65. His longtime associate, Pete Ward, announced that Irsay died peacefully in his sleep. Known for leveraging Peyton Manning&#8217;s popularity to enhance the team&#8217;s success,Irsay played a crucial role in transforming the Colts into a competitive franchise alongside notable figures like Hall of Fame coach tony Dungy and general manager Bill Polian. Though, Irsay faced meaningful health challenges in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/flashback-teacher-sues-school-board-after-being-fired-he-refused-to-compromise-on-trans-pronouns\/\" title=\"Flashback: Teacher Sues School Board After Being Fired \u2013 He Refused To Compromise on Trans Pronouns\">recent years<\/a>, including a fall and subsequent medical issues, which led to a decline in his public appearances. Despite these struggles, Irsay&#8217;s legacy as a passionate team owner and his contributions to the community are deeply respected. his dedication to the Colts and his family were highlighted in the team&#8217;s statement of condolence.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Jim Irsay, the Indianapolis Colts&rsquo; owner who leveraged the popularity of Peyton Manning into a new stadium and a Super Bowl title, died Wednesday at age 65.<\/p>\n<p>Pete Ward, Irsay&rsquo;s longtime right-hand man and the team&rsquo;s chief operating officer, <a href=\"https:\/\/media.nfl.com\/news-and-releases\/corporate-communications\/statement-from-nfl-commissioner-roger-goodell-on-the-passing-of-0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">made the announcement<\/a> in a statement from the team. He said Irsay died peacefully in his sleep.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Jim&rsquo;s dedication and passion for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/bill-belichick-takes-swipe-peyton-mannings-old-team-colts-owner-forced-respond-1000-fictional\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Indianapolis Colts<\/a>, in addition to his generosity, commitment to the community, and most importantly, his love for his family were unsurpassed,&rdquo; Ward said. &ldquo;Our deepest sympathies go to his daughters, Carlie Irsay-Gordon, Casey Foyt, Kalen Jackson, and his entire family as we grieve with them.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Irsay had a profound impact on the franchise.<\/p>\n<p>With Hall of Fame general manager Bill Polian, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/hall-famer-packs-car-full-top-lifetime-trophies-flees-la-fires-awakes-new-tragedy-morning\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hall of Fame<\/a> coach Tony Dungy, and Manning, Irsay helped turn the Colts from a laughingstock into a perennial title contender.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>But Irsay had battled health problems in recent years and became less visible following a fall at his home.<\/p>\n<p>Police officers from Carmel, Indiana, a northern suburb of Indy, responded to a 911 call from Irsay&rsquo;s home Dec. 8. According to the police report, the officers found Irsay breathing but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/lsu-quarterback-found-unresponsive-terrible-accident\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">unresponsive<\/a> and with a bluish skin tone.<\/p>\n<p>Ward, the report said, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-no-charges-will-be-filed-against-officers-in-daniel-prude-case\/\" title=\"BREAKING: No Charges Will Be Filed Against Officers In Daniel Prude Case\">told officers<\/a> he was worried Irsay was suffering from congestive heart failure and that Irsay&rsquo;s nurse had said Irsay&rsquo;s oxygen level was low, his breathing was labored, and he was &ldquo;mostly&rdquo; unconscious.<\/p>\n<p>A month later, he was diagnosed with a respiratory illness.<\/p>\n<p>During his <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >annual training camp news conference<\/a> last summer, Irsay told reporters he was continuing to rehab from two subsequent surgeries &mdash; though he remained seated in his golf cart. Irsay did not speak during the recent NFL draft as he typically did.<\/p>\n<p>He had also battled addictions to alcohol and painkillers.<\/p>\n<p>Irsay began his football life as a ball boy after his late father, Robert, acquired the team in a trade with the late Carroll Rosenbloom, who took over the Los Angeles Rams.<\/p>\n<p>The younger Irsay then worked his way up, becoming the youngest general manager in NFL history at age 24. He succeeded his father as owner in early 1997.<\/p>\n<p>He also collected guitars, befriended musicians, and often found inspiration in rock &rsquo;n&rsquo; roll lyrics.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: italic;\">The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jim Irsay, the owner of the Indianapolis Colts who capitalized on Peyton Manning&#8217;s fame to secure a new stadium and win a Super Bowl, passed away at 65. Pete Ward, Irsay&#8217;s long-time associate and COO of the team, confirmed his death in a statement, noting that he died peacefully in his sleep. Ward expressed deep condolences to Irsay&#8217;s daughters and family while highlighting Irsay&#8217;s unwavering dedication to the Colts and his community involvement. Under Irsay&#8217;s leadership alongside Hall of Fame figures like Bill Polian and Tony Dungy, the Colts transformed from underperformers into consistent championship contenders<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2437704,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/962b677e219545728c411a238d064f72-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[55690,7215,32229,55691],"class_list":["post-2437703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-indianapolis-colts","tag-nfl","tag-obituary","tag-sports-legend"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/962b677e219545728c411a238d064f72-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2437703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2437703"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2437703\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2437707,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2437703\/revisions\/2437707"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2437704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2437703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2437703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2437703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}