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.”
A fan contest was held and the team received 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.”
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.
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.
Named Bears as a companion to baseball's Cubs, whom they shared Wrigley Field with at the time.
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."
When owner Arthur McBride bought an AAFC team to Cleveland, he held a newspaper contest to name the team and offered a $1,000 war bond to the winner. Browns became a popular choice in tribute to Paul Brown the team's head coach. Browns was selected the team was unable to use the winning entry Panthers, in honor of Cleveland's first NFL entry.
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, owners of the new NFL team, selected the name of Cowboys to avoid confusion.
“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.
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.
On March 2, 2000, the team announced five choices, the Apollos, Bobcats, Stallions, Texans and Wildcatters. Six months later the team unveiled the name, colors, and logo at a downtown rally.
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 Colts moved to Indianapolis in 1984.
The Jaguars name was selected through a fan contest.
When the team was moved to Kansas City in 1963, the name was selected by a fan contest.
The name was selected in a name the team contest. The bottlenose dolphin, an intelligent creature with an irresistible built-in grin, has inspired wonder for centuries. "The dolphin is one of the fastest and smartest creatures of the sea," Joe Robbie said in announcing the team name on October 8, 1965. "Dolphins can attack and kill a shark or a whale. Sailors say bad luck will come to anyone who harms one of them."
Bert Rose, the first general manager selected the Vikings name because so many people in Minnesota and the surrounding area traced their heritage to Scandinavia (what is now Denmark, Norway, and Sweden).
The name was selected in a name the team contest. The bottlenose dolphin, an intelligent creature with an irresistible built-in grin, has inspired wonder for centuries. "The dolphin is one of the fastest and smartest creatures of the sea," Joe Robbie said in announcing the team name on October 8, 1965. "Dolphins can attack and kill a shark or a whale. Sailors say bad luck will come to anyone who harms one of them."
2011 NFL Combine
By NFL
Posted Feb 13, 2011
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Event takes place Feb. 23-March 1.
The 2011 NFL Scouting Combine will be held February 24 – March 1. More than 300 top prospects for the 2011 NFL Draft will be invited to participate at the combine in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. This event is a vital step in athletes achieving their NFL dreams. NFL.com and NFL Network will have full coverage of the event.
Top Executives, Coaching Staffs, Player Personnel Departments and Medical Personnel from all 32 NFL teams will be on hand to evaluate the nation’s top college football players eligible for the upcoming NFL Draft. This intense, four-day job interview is an exciting time for the athletes and a vital step in achieving their dreams of playing in the NFL.
The city of New York was introduced to professional football on the same day that the city was introduced to the New York Giants. It was a clear sunny October afternoon in 1925 when the Giants took the field to play against the Frankford Yellow Jackets. The Giants lost their home debut by the score of 14-0 to lower their record to 0-3 after opening with two losses on the road. But more importantly, the New York Giants and professional football had arrived.
Tim Mara, a bookmaker (legal at the time) and successful businessman and promoter, purchased the team for a reported $500. In an era when professional football was in the shadows of baseball, boxing and college football, and professional football teams hailed from the towns of Dayton, Rochester and Columbus, league officials believed that a team in a large market such as New York was exactly what was needed to keep pro football alive. The Giants struggled financially through the first decade but managed to win their first title in only their third season, going 11-1-1 in 1927. With the fall of the Stock Market and the Depression that followed, the 1930s were not off to a great start. Tim Mara suffered substantial losses during the crash that threatened the existence of the Giants. With that fear in mind, Tim Mara handed control of the franchise over to his two sons, Jack Mara, who was twenty-two, and Wellington, who was fourteen. Wellington Mara became the youngest owner of a football team and began his storied career as a major player in the Giants organization.
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.
Originally named Pirates after the city’s major league baseball team, Owner Art Rooney Sr. changed the team name to Steelers in 1940 to more properly represent the city’s dominant steel industry.
The Jaguars name was selected through a fan contest.
