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Cincinnati Bengals Team History

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  • 1968
  • 1970
  • 2000
  • 1991
  • Cincinnati Bengals 1968

    Cincinnati Bengals Team Formation

    By 1966, Paul Brown wanted to become involved in professional football again. James A. Rhodes, then the governor of Ohio, convinced Brown that Ohio needed a second team. Cincinnati was deemed the logical choice, in essence, splitting the state. In 1967 a Cincinnati-based ownership group led by Paul Brown was granted a franchise in the American Football League.

    Brown named the team the Bengals in order “to give it a link with past professional football in Cincinnati.” Another Bengals team existed in the city and played in a previous American Football League from 1937 to 1942. Possibly as an insult to Art Modell, Paul Brown chose the exact shade of orange used by his former team. He added black as the secondary color. Brown chose a very simple logo: the word “BENGALS” in black lettering. Ironically, one of the potential helmet designs Brown rejected was a striped motif that was similar to the one featuring the “varicose pumpkin” helmets adopted by the team in 1981 and which is still in use to this day; however, that design featured orange stripes on a black helmet which were more uniform in width.

  • Riverfront Stadium - Cincinnati Bengals

    Move in to Riverfront Stadium

    In 1970 the Bengals moved to play at Riverfront Stadium, a home they shared with the Cincinnati Reds until the team moved to Paul Brown Stadium in 2000. Despite Cincinnati’s love of baseball, it was the prospect of a professional football team that finally moved the city to end twenty years of discussion and build a new stadium on the downtown riverfront. After playing for two seasons at Nippert Stadium on the University of Cincinnati campus, the Bengals built on the Reds’ success in the stadium’s first year when they recorded their first winning season and first playoff appearance in 1970, just their third year of existence. Riverfront Stadium is seating for 56,200.

  • Paul Brown Stadium

    Paul Brown Stadium

    Paul Brown Stadium is an American sports stadium located in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the home venue of the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League. It opened on August 19, 2000. The stadium was named after Bengals’ founder Paul Brown. The stadium is located on approximately 22 acres of land and has a listed capacity of 65,535. Paul Brown Stadium is nicknamed “The Jungle”, an allusion not only to the namesake Bengal tiger’s natural habitat, but the Guns N’ Roses song “Welcome to the Jungle”.

  • brown_paul_440

    Paul Brown Dies

    Paul Brown, legendary NFL personality and innovator, died in 1991. He had already transferred control to his son, Mike Brown, but was reported to still influence the daily operations of the team. Shortly after his death, the Bengals’ fortunes changed for the worse for a long time.

Bengals Primary Logo
Bengals Alternate Logo
Bengals Wordmark Logo
Bengals Concept Logo

The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football franchise based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Bengals currently compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Their home stadium is Paul Brown Stadium in downtown Cincinnati. Their current head coach is Marvin Lewis, who has held the position since 2003 and is currently the second-longest tenured head coach in the NFL, behind the New England Patriots’ Bill Belichick. Their chief rivals are the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, and the Baltimore Ravens.





Established
1968

City
Cincinnati

League History
1970 – Present / National Football League
1968 – 1969 / American Football League

Team History
1968 – Present / Cincinnati Bengals

Nickname
Bengals – Team owner, general manager, and head coach Paul Brown nicknamed Cincinnati’s AFL expansion franchise the Bengals in 1968 in honor of the football team nicknamed the Bengals that played in the city from 1937 – 1942. According to Brown, the nickname “would provide a link with past professional football in Cincinnati.” Brown chose Bengals over the fans’ most popular suggestion, Buckeyes.

Championship
Super Bowl 0

Stadium
2000 – Present / Paul Brown Stadium
1996 – 1999 / Cinergy Field
1970 – 1996 / Riverfront Stadium
1968 – 1969 / Nippert Stadium

Owner
1991 – Present / Mike Brown
1968 – 1991 / Paul Brown

Who is the greatest Cincinnati Bengals?
  • Add your greatest player

Retired Number
54 / Bob Johnson

*Blue is this team’s history

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STH News

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