Fans of the Black-and-gold take legitimate pride in the legacy of Arthur J. Rooney, Sr. and his family, which have provided uncommon stability and consistency for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ organization through the years. But in contrast to the Steelers’ six NFL championships during the past five decades, the story of the Cincinnati Bengals during the same period has been one of continual frustration, occasionally bordering on abject hopelessness.
Conceived by the immortal Paul Brown, former head coach of the Cleveland Browns whose teams won three league championships during the 1950-1955 period, the Bengals were one of 10 franchises in the former American Football League (AFL) which merged with the NFL in 1970.