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ARIZONA
CARDINALS - The Cardinals originally
played in Chicago as a charter member of the American Professional
Football Association (APFA). The team moved to St. Louis in
1960 and then to Phoenix in 1988. Contrary to popular logic,
the team was not named after the beautiful bird but instead
because the team played in used maroon jerseys the original
team (in pre-NFL years) had purchased from the University
of Chicago. When an observer scoffed that the jerseys were
“faded red,” team owner Chris O’Brien countered
that they weren’t “faded red,” they were
“cardinal red.” |
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ATLANTA
FALCONS - A fan contest was held and
the team received more than 1,300 entries suggesting 558 different
names. Although several entries in a fan contest suggested
Falcons, a schoolteacher was declared the winner because of
her reason ? the falcon is proud and dignified with great
courage and fight.? |
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BALTIMORE
RAVENS - On March 29, 1996, Baltimore?s
NFL team became the Ravens. The nickname was selected from
among three finalists in a poll conducted by the Baltimore
Sun. Baltimore fans selected the name in honor of Edgar Allan
Poe, the American poet who penned his famous poem, ?The Raven?
while living in Baltimore. |
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BUFFALO
BILLS - Buffalo?s team in the All-America
Football Conference (AAFC) in 1946 was the Bisons. In 1947
a contest was held to rename the team, which was owned by
James Breuil of the Frontier Oil Company. The winning entry
suggested Bills, reflecting on the famous western frontiersman,
Buffalo Bill Cody. Carrying the ?frontier? theme further,
the winning contestant further offered that the team was being
supported by Frontier Oil and was ?opening a new frontier
in sports in Western New York.? When Buffalo joined the new
American Football League in 1960, the name of the city?s earlier
pro football entry was adopted. |
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CAROLINA
PANTHERS - Team owner Jerry Richardson?s
son Mark is responsible for the selection of Panthers as the
team name. Mark, who felt that there should be some ?synergy?
between the name and the team colors also suggested the team
colors of black, blue and silver. |
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CHICAGO
BEARS - When this team became a charter
member of the American Professional Football Association (APFA)
in 1920, the team was located in Decatur, IL, and was named
after team sponsor, the Staley Starch Company. The team moved
to Chicago in 1921 and became the Chicago Staleys. In 1922,
after team founder-manager and star end George Halas purchased
the team, he changed the name to the Bears. Halas reasoned
that because football players were generally bigger than baseball
players, and the city?s baseball team was the Cubs, then logically
the football team should be the Bears. |
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CINCINNATI
BENGALS - Paul Brown selected the name
because there had once been a pro football team in Cincinnati
named the Bengals and adopting that name ?would provide a
link with past professional football in Cincinnati." |
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CLEVELAND
BROWNS - The Cleveland All-America Football
Conference franchise conducted a fan contest in 1945 to name
the team. The most popular submission was ?Browns? in recognition
of the team?s first coach and general manager Paul Brown,
who was already a popular figure in Ohio sports. Brown at
first vetoed the choice and the team selected from the contest
entries the name ?Panthers.? However, after an area businessman
informed the team that he owned the rights to the name Cleveland
Panthers, from an earlier failed football team, Brown rescinded
his objection and agreed to the use of his name. |
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DALLAS
COWBOYS - In the initial months following
the its formation, the Dallas team was known as the ?Steers.?
After a few weeks, however, the name was changed to ?Rangers.?
At the same time, a baseball team operated in Dallas under
that name, but was scheduled to fold before the 1960 football
season. However, when the baseball team decided to play one
more season, Clint Murchison Jr. and Bedford Wynne, two owners
of the new NFL team, selected the name of Cowboys to avoid
confusion. |
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DENVER
BRONCOS - ?Broncos? was the winning entry
in a fan contest held in 1960 by the original AFL team. The
football team, however, isn?t the first to be called the Denver
Broncos. Denver's 1921 entry in the Midwest Baseball League
was also called the Broncos. |
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DETROIT
LIONS - The Lions name was chosen by
George A. Richards, the Detroit radio executive who purchased
the Portsmouth Spartans and moved the team to Detroit in 1934.
"The lion is monarch of the jungle," a team spokesperson
said, "and we hope to be the monarch of the league." |
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GREEN
BAY PACKERS - The name was a natural
since the team was sponsored first by the Indian Packing Company
and later the Acme Packing Company. Although both companies
went out of business, the team prospered under the name Packers.
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HOUSTON
TEXANS - After Houston was awarded the
NFL's 32nd franchise on October 6, 1999, a series of focus
groups were formed to help come up with a nickname for the
team. On March 2, 2000, the team announced five choices, the
Apollos, Bobcats, Stallions, Texans and Wildcatters. The list
was then shaved to the Apollos, Stallions and Texans a month
later. After careful deliberation, the team unveiled the Texans'
name, colors, and logo at a rally held in downtown Houston
on September 6, 2000. |
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INDIANAPOLIS
COLTS - Baltimore's first pro football
team was a member of the 1947 AAFC. A fan contest produced
the Colts name reflecting the great tradition and proud history
of horse breeding and racing in the Baltimore region. The
original Colts disbanded after the 1950 season but the name
was retained when a new Baltimore franchise began play in
1953. The team moved to Indianapolis in 1984. |
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JACKSONVILLE
JAGUARS - The Jaguars name was selected
through a fan contest. Finalists for the name included the
Sharks, Stingrays and even Panthers, but Jaguars was ultimately
selected on December 6, 1991. |
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KANSAS
CITY CHIEFS - The AFL franchise began
in 1960 as the Dallas Texans. When the team was moved to Kansas
City in 1963, the new name was selected by a fan contest.
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MIAMI
DOLPHINS - A fan contest drew 19,843
entries to name the AFL expansion team. A total of 622 contestants
suggested "Dolphins." Team owner Joe Robbie said
he liked the name because, "The dolphin is one of the
fastest and smartest creatures in the sea." |
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MINNESOTA
VIKINGS - Bert Rose, the first general
manager of the Minnesota team that began NFL play in 1961,
selected the Vikings name because so many people in Minnesota
and the surrounding area traced their heritage to Scandinavia.
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NEW
ENGLAND PATRIOTS - The new AFL team originally
located in Boston, was named the Patriots because of the area's
heritage as the birthplace of the American Revolution. |
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NEW
ORLEANS SAINTS - The name Saints was
the popular choice in a fan contest staged by the New Orleans
States-Item. However, with or without the contest, the New
Orleans team would most likely have been called the Saints.
The franchise was awarded on All Saints Day, November 1, 1966.
New Orleans was famous worldwide as the city of jazz and the
famous marching song, "When the Saints Go Marching In." |
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NEW
YORK GIANTS - Owner Tim Mara "borrowed"
the Giants name from the city's Major League Baseball team
of the same name. This was not unusual among early day pro
football franchises. At one time or another there were NFL
franchises named the New York Yankees, Brooklyn Dodgers, Cleveland
Indians, Cincinnati Reds, and Detroit Tigers. |
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NEW
YORK JETS - New York's original AFL team
was called the Titans. When Sonny Werblin took over the franchise
in 1963, he changed the team name to Jets to reflect the modern
approach of his team and the star-studded performances he
hoped his team would produce. |
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OAKLAND
RAIDERS - For a brief period, the new
AFL team was known as the Senors but by the time the 1960
season started, the Oakland team was known as the Raiders.
The origin of the Raiders name is not known but, since it
is doubtful a fan contest would have been staged in Oakland
since the first team would have to play in San Francisco,
it is most likely the name was chosen by principal owner Chet
Soda and his partners. |
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PHILADELPHIA
EAGLES - When Bert Bell established his
NFL franchise in Philadelphia in 1933, the country was struggling
to recover from the Great Depression. New president Franklin
D. Roosevelt had introduced his ?New Deal? program through
the National Recovery Administration, which had the Eagle
as its symbol. Since Bell hoped his franchise also was headed
for a new deal, he picked Eagles as the team name. |
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PITTSBURGH
STEELERS - The original 1933 team was
named the Pirates after the city's major league baseball team.
In 1940, Owner Art Rooney Sr. changed the team name to Steelers
to more properly represent the city's dominant steel industry.
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SAN
DIEGO CHARGERS - Barron Hilton agreed
after his general manager, Frank Ready picked the Chargers
name when he purchased an AFL franchise for Los Angeles. The
Chargers played in Los Angeles in 1960 and moved to San Diego
in 1961. "I liked it because they were yelling "charge"
and sounding the bugle at Dodgers Stadium and at USC games." |
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SAN
FRANCISCO 49ERS - The 49ers name was
adopted when San Francisco obtained an AAFC franchise in 1946.
The name was selected as a recognition of the pioneering and
adventurous spirit of the men of the 1849 gold rush in the
Sierra Nevada mountains east of San Francisco. |
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SEATTLE
SEAHAWKS - The nickname Seahawks was
the result of a fan contest that drew 20,365 entries and suggested
1,742 different names. Seahawks was suggested by 151 entrants
and judged by the team ownership as the best choice. |
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ST.
LOUIS RAMS - The franchise was originated
in Cleveland in 1936 as a member of the American Football
League. In 1937 the team joined the NFL. Principal owner Homer
Marshman and his general manager, Damon "Buzz" Wetzel
picked the Rams name because Wetzel had said his favorite
football team had always been the Fordham Rams and Marshman
liked the sound of the name. |
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TAMPA
BAY BUCCANEERS - A team advisory board
reviewed 400 name possibilities and selected Buccaneers. |
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TENNESSEE
TITANS - Originally located in Houston,
the team was known as the Oilers. After playing two seasons
as the Tennessee Oilers, team owner Bud Adams formed an advisory
committee to research names and a "Guess the Name"
contest to gain additional feedback was also held. The committee
selected Titans citing the desire to have a nickname that
reflected "strength, leadership and other heroic qualities" |
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WASHINGTON
REDSKINS - George Preston Marshall acquired
an NFL franchise in 1932 and named it the Boston Braves after
the city's Major League Baseball team. However, after a financially
devastating and poorly attended season in 1932, Marshall abandoned
the Braves name in favor of the Redskins. The Redskins name
was retained when the team was moved to Washington in 1937.
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