(cid:42)(cid:79)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:92)(cid:3)(cid:39)(cid:68)(cid:92)(cid:86) I n the years after World War II Paul Brown did more to change professional football than anyone else He was the first coach to scout and sign African-American players hire a full-time staff of assistant coaches and make sure his team studied film of opposing teams Not surprisingly his Cleveland Browns won three National Football League NFL championships When Brown retired he thought he would enjoy himself but he soon became bored In 1967 the same year that Brown was elected to the Hall of Fame the American Football League AFL allowed him to start a new team in Cincinnati Ohio He named the team the Bengals and got busy finding players for the 1968 season Brown built his roster with unwanted players from other clubs He also made smart picks in the draft One of those selections was Paul Robinson In Cincinnati’s first season he (cid:25)
led the AFL in rushing with 1,023 yards and was named Rookie of the Year In 1970 the Bengals and the rest of the AFL teams became part of the NFL By then the Bengals had some of the best young players in the game including Bob Trumpy Bill Bergey Ken Riley Lemar Parrish Mike Reid and Horst Muhlmann Cincinnati won the Central Division of the American Football Conference AFC with an 8 6 record Brown was named Coach of the Year He retired four seasons later Cincinnati had to look for new leaders Quarterback Ken Anderson guided the team on the field for 12 seasons starting in 1972 He had a strong accurate arm and knew how to get the best out of his teammates His weapons included running backs Archie Griffin and Pete Johnson two college stars from nearby Ohio State University and receivers Isaac Curtis and Dan Ross In 1981 after three last-place finishes in a row the Bengals rose to the top of the AFC The team’s coach was Forrest Gregg He knew all about championship football Gregg had been an offensive LEFT Paul Robinson ABOVE Ken Anderson (cid:26)
lineman for the Green Bay Packers in 1960s when they ruled the NFL He led the Bengals to Super Bowl XVI but they came up short of a victory against the San Francisco 49ers New stars joined the Bengals in the 1980s David Fulcher and Tim Krumrie were the leaders of a tough defense Cincinnati was even better on offense Max Montoya and Anthony Munoz anchored the offensive line Quarterback Boomer Esiason put points on the scoreboard with help from running back James Brooks and receivers Cris Collinsworth and Eddie Brown The Bengals won the AFC championship in 1988 Esiason had a great season and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player MVP The Bengals faced the 49ers again in the Super Bowl Unfortunately Cincinnati lost another close game The 1990s were not nearly as much fun for the Bengals and their fans Outside of one season the team had a losing record every year Cincinnati tried to rebuild around stars such as Carl Pickens Jeff Blake and Corey Dillon but the Bengals continued to struggle LEFT Boomer Esiason ABOVE Corey Dillon (cid:28)
