The Indianapolis Colts announced on Tuesday that the team will unveil the already planned statue of legendary franchise quarterback Peyton Manning on Saturday, October 7th at 3 PM EST (on the North Plaza outside of Lucas Oil Stadium).
Meanwhile, the team will actually retire Manning’s #18 and induct him into the franchise’s ‘Ring of Honor’ during that Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers at halftime:
The statue of Peyton Manning will be unveiled October 7th at 3PM. We'll also retire the No. 18 jersey at #SFvsIND: https://t.co/YkM37YnLHN pic.twitter.com/xL0X5OY7Fw
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) May 9, 2017
Obviously, Manning is a man who needs no introduction regarding the Colts, as he’s the greatest player in Indianapolis’ franchise history. He played 14 magical seasons for the Colts, amassing 54,828 passing yards, 4,682 completions, and 399 passing touchdowns–all franchise records.
Not to mention, he became a 4x MVP, 11x Pro Bowler, and 5x First-Team All-Pro while in Indianapolis, en route to becoming one of the NFL’s all-time greatest quarterbacks.
The Colts were consistently an NFL juggernaut with Manning under center (among the league’s winningest teams), which was highlighted by a 2006 Super Bowl Championship.
Quite frankly, Lucas Oil Stadium is arguably ‘The House that Peyton Built’, as he helped keep the Colts in Indianapolis and put the franchise on the map.
It’s a no brainer decision to have Manning ‘immortalized’ outside Lucas Oil Stadium and enshrined into the franchise’s ‘Ring of Honor’ with no other player ever donning #18 again for the Colts.
He’s an iconic player in Indianapolis’ franchise history, and one of the greatest players to ever play the sport of professional football. The Colts were fortunate enough to have him play the majority of his career in ‘Horseshoe Blue’.