 |
ARIZONA
CARDINALS – The Cardinals originally played in
Chicago as a charter member of the American Professional
Football Association (APPA). 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.”
|
 |
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.” |
 |
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.
|
 |
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.
|
 |
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.
|
 |
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.
|
 |
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."
|
 |
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.
|
 |
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.
|
 |
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.
|
 |
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.”
|
 |
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.
|
 |
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.
|
 |
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.
|
 |
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. |
 |
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. |
 |
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.” |
 |
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.
|
 |
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.
|
 |
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.”
|
 |
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.
|
 |
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.
|
 |
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.
|
 |
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.
|
 |
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. |
 |
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.
|
 |
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.”
|
 |
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.
|
 |
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.
|
 |
TAMPA
BAY BUCCANEERS – A team advisory board reviewed
400 name possibilities and selected Buccaneers.
|
 |
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.”
|
 |
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.
|
