Peyton Manning - Jim Irsay turned Indianapolis into football city - ESPN

When Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning parted with the Indianapolis Colts in 2012, he left behind a much different city than he found upon his arrival in 1998.

And even though the success of the former Colts great had much to do with reshaping the city into a sports hub and a town obsessed with football, Manning credited Jim Irsay as the biggest reason.

Irsay, the team's owner since 1997, died Wednesday at 65. A day later, appearing on ESPN's «NFL Live,» Manning recalled the evolution of Indianapolis under Irsay's stewardship of the franchise.

«When I got there, Indiana basketball, [auto] racing, the Indy 500 — that was it,» Manning said. «I think football was the third sport. Maybe not. Golf might've been in there. And all of a sudden, because of the commitment Jim made to winning… he goes out and hires Bill Polian, who had rebuilt the Buffalo Bills, had started the Carolina Panthers as a new franchise, takes them to the NFC Championship [Game], then he drafts Edgerrin James, obviously re-signs Marvin Harrison, who's already there. And next thing you know, the Colts all of a sudden, 'Hey, the Colts are beating Miami, they're beating Buffalo, they're winning their division. And all of a sudden, hey, the Colts are for real.»

That started a transformation of the city from a basketball town to one preoccupied with football.

«Right before your eyes, Indianapolis became the biggest football town. High school football goes up. Fans wear more jerseys to a Colts game than any other stadium out there. And that was [because of] Jim's commitment. That was his commitment to the city that he was going to bring them a winner once he took over, and he did.»

The Colts, at odds with the city over a stadium lease agreement, flirted