Who Dey! The Bengals Are Named After A Stove And Other Fun Facts
The Cincinnati Bengals Existed In 30s and 40s Before Joining AFL In 1968
Hal Pennington, the Founder/Club President/General Manager/Head Coach of the newly formed professional Cincinnati Football Club of the old AFL, sat in his mother’s kitchen one late summer day in 1937. It was a day off from the grueling training camp that he was conducting for his football squad at Tacoma Park in Dayton, KY.
It might have been a day off for his players, but Hal was in constant thought in regards to his team. Who can we sign? Who will get cut? How will team play in first game with Pittsburgh? What will our nickname be?
On this particular day, Hal would have one of those questions answered. As he sipped his coffee at the kitchen table, the logo on the stove caught his eye. It was a Bengal Tiger. A beast, ready for attack. He immediately knew, that Bengals was the perfect name for his squad. But he never could have imagined that eight decades later, his football team nickname would remain in the Queen City.
The stove in question was the Bengals Range model from the Floyd-Wells Co. in Royersford, PA.
Those original Bengals lasted a few seasons before the war interrupted the world.
But flash forward to 1967. At a meeting with Paul Brown, Hal Pennington must have been stunned to learn that the new Cincinnati football franchise, the Bengals of today, would be given the honor of using the original Bengals nickname and color scheme.
The original Bengals played at Crosley Field (see above photo), playing in front of decent sized crowds. Professional football was not nearly as popular in those days as it is now. But the team faired admirably, with mascots, cheer gals, music, and rooting sections.
You can learn all about the original Bengals in my short doc here.
And you can learn all about the history of professional football in Cincinnati in my short doc here.
Who Dey!
Girls from the Lookout House! Love it!
This is great Cam!!! The photos of the advertisements are very cool.