How the Cincinnati Bengals Came to Be

The year 1966 is a significant year for the Cincinnati Bengals because it was the year when their existence was first established. Then governor of Ohio, James A. Rhodes, convinced Paul Brown during a time when he wanted to become involved in pro football again, that Ohio needed another team. Cincinnati became the most logical choice.

The name Bengals was personally chosen by Brown so that there a link would be created with the past professional football in the state. There was already a previous team who used the name Bengals and played in three American football fields. Another inspiration for the name came from the fact that the city's zoo was home to a rare white Bengal Tiger. The orange shade that the Bengals are known for today is thought to be chosen by Brown to insult Art Modell since it is the same color used by Modell's previous team. He just added the color black to make the team's color unique. Brown financed the Bengals only when he was sure that the team will become an NFL franchise after the merger.

To accommodate the games of the Cincinnati Bengals, the local government of Cincinnati, with the support of the governor, made plans of building a multi-purpose facility in the riverfront section of the city. This stadium was officially known as the Riverfront Stadium. When the merger was completed in 1970, the Bengals found themselves with an instant rivalry with the Cleveland Browns as a result of the rivalry between Paul Brown and Art Modell.

The inaugural season of the games in Cincinnati was played at the Nippert Stadium. Although they hold a 3-11 record, they still had something to be proud of - they had a team member who was proclaimed to be the Rookie of the Year. For the first eight seasons of the team, it was Paul Brown who coached the team and he was very particular about drafting players with above average intelligence. The players whom Brown drafted eventually became very successful in the other careers that they pursued.

It was only in the 70's that the Bengals brought their games to the Riverfront Stadium, a place which they shared with the Cincinnati Reds. It was only in the year 2000 that the team moved to the Paul Brown Stadium. The team reached the playoffs three times during that decade but were not able to win any of the postseason games. The year 1975 gave the team the highest winning percentage in franchise history with an 11-3 record but it only earned them a Wild Card spot in the playoffs.

The Cincinnati Bengals reached the Super Bowl twice in the 1980's but lost twice to the San Francisco 49ers. Paul Brown died on the year 1990 and the control of the team transferred to his son, Mike Brown. When Mike took over, profit was given a higher priority over winning which made the game lose one after the other. They only improved in 2003 with a new head coach but ever since then, the team continually lost like they did in the early 90's.

Rick Grantham is an avid NFL fan. Most of Rick's articles focus on C incinnati Bengals Merchandise. Many articles are related to Revolution Football Helmets and other sports related topics. Rick is a contributing author to BooYah Village.

by Rick Grantham - January 7, 2009

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