How They Got Their Name: Cincinnati Bengals

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Not coincidentally, both Ohio NFL teams, the Bengals and Browns, share the same color scheme.  This is because they both shared one of the NFL’s greatest coaches, Paul Brown.  Brown, who the Cleveland Browns are named after, had a very successful career in Cleveland, but things went downhill in the later years of that tenure, leading to owner Art Modell firing Brown in 1963.  Still possessing the strong desire to coach football professionally, Paul Brown met with the Ohio governor about bringing another professional football team to the Buckeye State.  Shortly after, the Cincinnati city council approved the construction of a brand new stadium, and AFL’s newest franchise was set to begin play in 1968 with Paul Brown as its head coach.  The name he chose for his new team: The Cincinnati Bengals.

This wasn’t the first Cincinnati Bengals team, though.  In fact, that’s why Brown chose the name.  To pay homage to the former Cincinnati Bengals football teams that played in three previous American Football Leagues (before they each folded) in the late 1930s and early 1940s, he revived the name.  In perhaps taking a shot at his former team who had let him go, Brown decided the color scheme of the Bengals would be orange and black as well.  And if you’re wondering how the original 1937 Bengals team got their name, it appears it came from original Bengals coach (and founder) Hal Pennington’s mother’s stove.  According to Pennington, he didn’t like the original fan suggestions for a name, including the Cincinnati Elephants.  So, after walking through his mother’s kitchen one day he noticed her Floyd, Wells, & Co. stove used a Bengal tiger trademark which quickly grabbed his attention and the rest is history.

Garett