Portal:Cincinnati/Sports/4
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The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). Their first season, 1968, was as an American Football League franchise, but they joined the NFL as part of the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger, which had actually been agreed to in 1966.
In 1967 a Cincinnati-based ownership group led by Paul Brown was granted a franchise in the American Football League. As the founder and head coach of the Cleveland Browns from 1946 to 1962, Brown led his team to a .759 winning percentage and seven championships, which includes four championships earned while a member of the All-America Football Conference. Brown became a recognized innovator for his approach to training, game planning, and the passing game. However, Brown sold his minority interest in the team in 1961 to businessman Art Modell. On January 9, 1963, Modell fired Brown.
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.
