There will never be another number 18 to suit up for the Indianapolis Colts. Team owner Jim Irsay honored former Colts quarterback Peyton Manning at a news conference Friday. Manning was in attendance.
Before 1998 the Indianapolis Colts had experienced little success since the team's relocation from Baltimore fourteen years earlier.
That changed after the Colts drafted Manning with the first pick in the '98 draft and --over the next thirteen seasons-- the quarterback out of Tennessee led the team to 141 wins, two Super Bowl appearances and one Super Bowl win.
So, in light of Manning's retirement after four seasons with the Denver Broncos and another NFL championship, Irsay laid out how the Colts plan to honor Manning's legacy.
"I, James S. Irsay, with profound appreciation, hereby declare that no future Indianapolis Colt will ever wear the number 18," Irsay says.
Manning then took his opportunity at the mic to note it was his first visit to the Colts training facility since he left for Denver four years ago, then proceeded on a trip down memory lane.
"The very first preseason game, my very first pass, I threw a five-yard touchdown pass and Marvin Harrison ran 48 yards for a touchdown," Manning says. "I remember thinking, 'This NFL is easy. You just throw a short pass to Marvin Harrison and he runs for touchdowns.'"
In addition to retiring Manning's jersey, the Colts will erect a statue in front of Lucas Oil Stadium, although no timetable was provided for when that project might be complete.