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“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20 Faithful Navigator Bob Garcia Upcoming Activities (757) 564-•‐9588 [email protected] BINGO, Newport News (Team 2) -- 2 February 5:30 PM Faithful Captain Four Chaplains Ceremony – 8 February 10:00AM Bill Garber Traveling Gavel, Gloucester—19 February 7:30 PM (757) 813-•‐7803 Corporate Communion—23 February (details pending) [email protected]

Faithful Pilot Tom Trudeau Faithful Navigator Comments February 2014 (757) 571•‐7450 Four Chaplains ceremony: Hopefully February will see our temperatures [email protected] return to normal. Although there is still snow on the ground it is melting with the warmer weather. The Color Corps commander, SK Frank Nowak, SK Faithful Comptroller George Scott, SK Harold Hairston and I were at Huntington Park for a short Ferdinand Prantl practice of next week’s four chaplains ceremony. This year Fr Bader (757) 872-•‐9252 Assembly from Newport News will be joining our ceremony. The weather [email protected] should be on our side. The Four Chaplains ceremony takes place on the 8th of

Faithful Purser February. Father John P. Washington is one of the chaplains we honor with Don Progar this ceremony. We will assemble at Huntington Park in Newport News at (757) 898-3344 9:00 AM for a practice run. The ceremony starts at 10:00 AM. I encourage my fellow SKs to come and participate. Full regalia is only required for the Faithful Scribe color guard, the master of ceremonies and the master of ceremonies assistant. Bill Washington Other participant SKs may wear their social regalia; tux with social baldric. (757) 258-•‐5897 Family members are also encouraged to attend. I have included a short [email protected] version of the story of the four chaplains. th Sentinels Traveling Gavel: Our traveling gavel meetings start with the February 19 Mike McDermott Jr-•‐OS meeting at St Therese Church in Gloucester and continue until May. Dates and Giancarlo de Fazio-•‐IS locations are included in the attached schedule of events. (Please note that we have moved the April meeting to the Wednesday after Holy Week. We will Faithful Admiral meet at St Olaf Council on 23 April). Directions to Fr McCarthy Council are Frank Komornik as follow: Take US-17 N over the York River, continue for about 15 miles, (757) 875-•‐1173 turn onto US-17 Branch/VA-14/Main Street. If using your GPS, address is:

CC Commander 6262 Main Street, Gloucester, VA 23601 Frank Nowak Saint Partrick’s Party at CCM Parish Center, Williamsburg: Although (757) 817-•‐4838 the St Patrick’s party is not until next month, I want to give it some advance billing as it is shaping up to be a real good party. Aside from the usual Irish Trustees cuisine, we will also have live music, a Finnigan’s wake skit, an Irish joke Jerry Ladnier 1YT telling contest and a sing-along. Contact Bill Garber for tickets. I have Roland Theriault included the flyer for your info. 2YT Corporate Communion: Our Faithful Captain, Bill Garber, is making final Bart Crews 3YT arrangements for our corporate communion on the 23rd of February. Details will follow via separate email. Bob Garcia Faithful Navigator Be Forever Faithful

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“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105

“If it weren’t for the dark days, we wouldn’t know what it is to walk in the light.”

—Earl Campbell—Houston Oilers--

Short version of the story of the Four Chaplains

A convoy of three ships and three escorting Coast Guard cutters passed through "torpedo alley" some 100 miles off the coast of Greenland at about 1 a.m. on February 3, 1943. The submarine U- 223 fired three torpedoes, one of which hit the midsection of the Dorchester, a U.S. Army troopship with more than 900 men on board. Ammonia and oil were everywhere in the fast-sinking vessel and upon the freezing sea. The four Chaplains on board, two Protestant pastors, a Catholic priest and a Jewish rabbi, were among the first on deck, calming the men and handing out life jackets. When

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“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105

they ran out, they took off their own and placed them on waiting soldiers without regard to faith or race. Approximately 18 minutes from the explosion, the ship went down. They were the last to be seen by witnesses; they were standing arm-in-arm on the hull of the ship, each praying in his own way for the care of the men. Almost 700 died, making it the third largest loss at sea of its kind for the United States during World War II. The Coast Guard Cutter Tampa was able to escort the other freighters to Greenland. Meanwhile the cutters Comanche and Escanaba, disobeying orders to continue the search for the German U-Boat, stopped to rescue 230 men from the frigid waters that night. The four Chaplains were Father John P. Washington (Catholic), Reverend Clark Poling (Dutch Reformed), Rabbi Alexander Goode (Jewish) and Rev. George Fox (Methodist). These four Chaplains were later honored by the Congress and Presidents. They were recognized for their selfless acts of courage, compassion and faith. According to the First Sergeant on the ship, "They were always together, they carried their faith together." They demonstrated throughout the voyage and in their last moments, interfaith compassion in their relationship with the men and with each other. In 1960 Congress created a special Congressional Medal of Valor, never to be repeated again, and gave it to the next of kin of the "Immortal Chaplains."

Roy Clark has been one of my favorite musicians (along with Tom T. Hall). It seems like he can play anything with strings attached to it. I found the following inspirational story by Roy himself in a Guideposts publication. It shows how God touched him in a personal way that most of his fans have not been aware of. I have also included his official biography as a contrast to this struggle he shares with us. Also included are some YouTube hyper-links that shows what a talented performer he is. However his personal testimony below is the inspirational story that is more interesting than his bio.

Roy Clark on Recognizing God's Gifts

By Roy Clark, Tulsa, Oklahoma People are always saying how important it is to believe in yourself if you’re going to get anywhere or accomplish anything. And maybe they’re right. But I’ve learned one more thing: Before you can really believe in yourself, you have to believe in Something much bigger than yourself. I found that out one terrifying but wonderful night in a town in Arkansas named Conway. My life hasn’t been the same since.

To get the story straight, I have to go back about 16 years to the time when my wife Barbara and I were living in Maryland. I was playing small local clubs there, struggling along, yet refusing to give up on a boyhood dream to make it as a singer.

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“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105 Ever since I was 16 and won a national banjo-playing contest, which included a trip to the in Nashville, being a successful country-music performer was my one goal. But in 1960, at nearly 30 years of age, it really began to bother me that nobody had the foggiest idea who Roy Clark was.

One Sunday during this time Barbara and I visited a nearby church. We felt very much at home there, so much so that we filled out a card expressing interest in joining. We’d both been brought up in churches. Now that we’d been married a couple of years, we wanted to get back to hearing God’s word. A few days after our church visit, a minister came to our home and talked with Barbara. I was out at the time.

“And what does your husband do?” the preacher asked. “Roy sings,” Barbara said. “Where does he sing?” he asked. “Wherever he can,” Barbara told him. “Sometimes on radio programs. Sometimes in supper clubs.” A long silence followed. “Well,” the preacher said finally, “that’s just not right, you know. I’m afraid your husband will have to change jobs if you plan on joining our church.” Barbara was speechless. Nothing more was said, and finally the minister left.

When I got home later, I found Barbara really torn up. She was crying and all confused. “Oh, Roy,” she sobbed, after explaining what happened. “I just don’t understand it. We both try to live right. I know how much you want to be a singer. I can’t see anything wrong with that.” I put my arms around her and smoothed her hair. “I don’t understand either, honey.” I said angrily. God had always been a part of my life, starting back when my father held me on his knee and read me Bible stories. But if this was what religion required... I’ll forget about the church and everything connected with it, I thought. I’ve got everything I need to make it on my own.

That scene provided the final push needed to drive Barbara and me from the East Coast. I was sure a change of place would bring me closer to my dream. But out West, more disappointment awaited. In , where we stayed for several months, nobody seemed to notice that I was even alive. I played some small clubs, as I had back East, but I was always turned down for bigger things. would be better, I thought. I was now thinking of recording, maybe even doing some television work. A friend and his wife invited us to move in with them in their L.A. apartment. But even that turned sour. The landlady, who had rented the apartment to two people, didn’t cotton to the idea of twice that number staying there. And my late hours, spent unsuccessfully trying to get record-industry people to listen to me, didn’t suit her either. One morning she spotted me coming home as the milkman was making his rounds. Soon after that she served notice; Barbara and I were to be out the following day.

By this time we barely had a nickel to our name. Fortunately Barbara’s mother came through and wired us some money. Just enough, we decided, to make it back to Maryland. After piling all our belongings into a battered old Chevy, we went to a grocery store around the

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“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105 corner to do some last-minute shopping for the trip. Just as I reached into my pocket to pay for our supplies, Barbara slumped to the floor in front of the cash register. I bent over her, terribly alarmed. “What’s the matter, honey?” I asked. “I’ve got this pain,” Barbara said, holding her side. “The pain’s been coming and going the last few days,” she said. We went quickly to a neighborhood clinic. The doctor there said it definitely was not appendicitis. He wanted to see Barbara again in the morning. In the meantime, he gave her a bottle of pills for the pain.

Later, Barbara insisted we keep to our schedule and take off immediately for the East. Pretty discouraged about everything by now, I didn’t put up too big an argument. “But what about the doctor?” I said. “He wants to see you again.” “I’m fine,” Barbara assured me, swallowing a pain pill. “Really, I am.” So, climbing into the Chevy, we began our 3000-mile trip back home. The more we drove, the more depressed I became. It was quite plain no one wanted me. Brooding as the miles went by, I told myself that I just wasn’t cut out to be a singer. Once home, I would give up my dream and look for something else to do. For the first time in my life, I had completely lost faith in myself.

Since our funds were so low, we couldn’t afford to stop anywhere. Late one night, after driving across and part of Arkansas, I suddenly jerked my head up. Dog-tired, I had nearly fallen asleep. I knew I couldn’t go another mile without some rest. “Barbara,” I said, “do you think you can take the wheel for a spell?” I looked over at her. I’d been so wrapped up in thoughts of my dead-end career that I hadn’t taken much notice of Barbara during the trip. Glancing down, I saw the bottle of pain pills lying on the seat beside her, nearly empty. But still Barbara refused to say anything was the matter. “I’ll try to drive,” she said finally.

As soon as we swapped seats, I was out like a light. Ten minutes later, however, Barbara nudged me awake. It was nearly two a.m. “I can’t go on,” she cried out in agony. “Something’s terribly wrong!” Leaping out of the car, I ran around to the driver’s side. I floored the old Chevy and searched for a light–any light–along the deserted highway. Would anything be open at this hour? I had no idea. My heart raced wildly; I didn’t even know where we were.

Finally I spotted an all-night gas station and there was directed to the nearest hospital, 20 miles away in Conway, Arkansas. Incredibly, when we arrived at the hospital, a surgeon was still on duty. Dr. Fred Gordy was his name. After examining Barbara, he told me that she was bleeding internally. “It looks very serious,” he said. “I’ll need your permission to operate.” I stared at Doctor Gordy. Middle-aged, he had kind, compassionate eyes and an unmistakable air of competence. “Whatever you say, Doc,” I said.

Everything was happening so fast it all seemed like a nightmare. I went to an empty waiting room and slumped down in a chair, exhausted, confused and terribly frightened. Here I was in a strange town, far from home. I had hardly any money, didn’t know anyone, couldn’t call anyone. The person I loved more than anyone in the world was desperately ill, maybe dying. Never in all my days had I felt so alone, so afraid, so helpless. So crazily did my mind begin to spin that before I knew it I found myself praying. “Lord,” I said, “being a successful entertainer doesn’t seem so important to me now. I love Barbara ... she means more to me than anything. She’s all I really care

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“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105 about. Please help her.”

The prayer sounded so peculiar coming from me, the big, thick-headed, obstinate guy who thought he had left God back there in Maryland. Then a strange thing happened in that little Arkansas hospital’s waiting room. On the heels of my desperate prayer, a surge of warmth flooded my body, a feeling I’d never experienced before. It was like warm hands on cold flesh. No longer did I feel alone in the room. Someone was there with me–a caring Presence. Then came a Voice, a comforting Voice, and to this day I swear it was God’s. “Barbara’s going to be all right,” the Voice said. “Just wait and see. Trust ... believe...” And with that I knew she was going to be okay.

Just as the sun came peeping through the waiting room window, Doctor Gordy came back from the operating room. “Mr. Clark,” he said, “your wife had a tubular pregnancy. We almost lost her in there. I don’t know how she made it, but she did.” Tears tumbled down my face, tears of relief and gratitude. Looking at Doctor Gordy, I saw that he appeared almost as tired as I felt. I wanted to hug the guy. “Thanks, Doc,” I said, pumping his hand. “Thanks a lot.”

A nurse found me a motel room where I slept till noon. Barbara remained in intensive care for a couple more days, but the worst was over. Soon she was transferred to another room with, of all people, a preacher’s wife. Because of what had happened in Maryland, Barbara was a little doubtful about this. But I’d experienced so many fantastic things in the past few days that to me it seemed just another one of God’s wonderful workings. And I was right. When the woman’s husband visited, and met us, we all got to talking about what the Maryland preacher had told Barbara. The Arkansas man said that he wouldn’t say anything against another minister. However, he did tell us something that was the freshest breath of air I’d felt in a long time. “It’s God’s church, not any one person’s,” he said. “Only He can say what is right and what is wrong.” When he said that, Barbara looked over at me, smiled and squeezed my hand. Later, on the road once again, heading for Maryland with a beautiful, healthy, Barbara beside me, I thought about those words–what is right and what is wrong.

Doing right, I realized now, was following God and really listening to Him–not to one’s own blind ambition. That was the way to make it as a singer or as anything else–to put Him first. I had turned my back on God temporarily, but God had never turned His back on me. Not in Maryland, not in Vegas, not in L.A., not in that hospital waiting room. It had taken a life-and-death situation to show me how very real and how very caring He is. But that happens sometimes. It’s when we’re down at our lowest, I’ve found, that He makes Himself so known.

Through the years I’ve come to understand that whatever talent I have–to sing, to entertain–is God- given. I have faith in myself as a performer, sure. But only because I have faith in Someone Whose performance is always far greater than the human mind can even begin to comprehend–God Himself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdtFyosOhic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zgo-YWAkgPQ

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“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoEYyPy7AC4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gw0fxuIvBM

Roy Clark’s biography

Born in Meherrin, Virginia, Clark grew up in Staten Island, [1] and lived as a teenager in Washington, D.C. where his father worked at the Washington Navy Yard. At the age of 14, Clark began playing banjo, guitar, and mandolin, and he won two National Banjo Championships by the age of 15. He was simultaneously pursuing a sporting career, first as a baseball player, and then as a boxer, before switching over to music full time. At the age of 17, he had his first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry. By the time he was fifteen he had already won the world banjo/guitar flatpick championship two times. By 1955, he was a regular on Jimmy Dean's Washington, D.C. television program. Dean, who valued punctuality among musicians in his band, the Texas Wildcats, fired Clark for habitual lateness, telling him "you're the most talented person I've ever fired." In 1960, Clark went out to Las Vegas where he worked as guitarist in a band led by former West Coast bandleader-comedian Hank Penny. During the very early 1960s, he was also prominent in the backing band for Wanda Jackson during the latter part of her rockabilly period.

When Dean was tapped to host The Tonight Show in the early 1960s, he asked Clark to appear, introducing him to a national audience for the first time. Subsequently, Clark appeared on The Beverly Hillbillies as a recurring character (actually two, he played businessman Roy Halsey and Roy's mother, Myrtle). Once, on an episode of the Sunday evening Jackie Gleason Show dedicated to , Clark played a blistering rendition of "Down Home". Later, he even appeared on an episode of The Odd Couple where he played "Malagueña".

In 1963, Clark signed to Capitol Records and had three top 10 hits. He switched to Dot Records and again scored hits. He later recorded for ABC Records, which had acquired Dot, and MCA Records, which absorbed the ABC label. In 1969, Clark and Buck Owens were the hosts of Hee Haw. The show was dropped by CBS Television in 1971 but continued to run in syndication for twenty more years. During its tenure, Clark was a member of the Million Dollar Band. In 1983, Clark opened the Roy Clark Celebrity Theatre in Branson, Missouri, becoming the first country music star to have his own venue there, and beginning a trend which led to Branson becoming a center of live music performance, as it is today. Many of the celebrities who have played in Branson first entertained at the Roy Clark Celebrity Theatre. Clark frequently played in Branson during the 1980s and 1990s. He has since sold the venue (now owned by the Hughes Brothers and renamed the Hughes American Family Theatre) and gone back to a fairly light touring schedule, which usually includes a performance with Ramona Jones and the Jones Family Band at their annual tribute to Clark's old Hee Haw co-star Grandpa Jones in Mountain View, Arkansas. In addition to his musical skill, Clark has often displayed his talents as a comedian and actor. During his years on Hee Haw, Clark entertained with numerous comedy sketches, including a recurring feature where he played the clerk of the "Empty Arms Hotel". Clark released several albums of his comedic performances, to varying critical acclaim and commercial success. Clark has endorsed

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Mosrite, Gretsch, and many other brands of guitar during his career. He currently endorses Heritage Guitars, which makes a Roy Clark model.

On August 22, 1987, Clark was made a member of the Grand Ole Opry. He plays an annual benefit concert at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia, the proceeds of which go to fund scholarships for aspiring musicians. For many years Clark has made his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Roy Clark Elementary School in Tulsa's Union School District was named in his honor in 1978. On May 17, 2009, Clark was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame along with Barbara Mandrell and Charlie McCoy.

Here's some background information about the , the championship game of the . February 2, 2014 - Super Bowl XLVIII will be played at the New York/New Jersey MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The will play the Seattle Seahawks. Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers will perform during halftime. (The Baltimore Ravens are the 2013 Super Bowl champions).

Other Facts: First Super Bowl - January 15, 1967 - The first Super Bowl championship game was between the NFL (Green Bay Packers) and AFL () champions at Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. The score was Green Bay, 35 and Kansas City, 10. Attendance was 61,946. Bart Starr, the for Green Bay, was named the MVP. Lowest Winning Score - January 14, 1973 - Lowest scoring winner - Miami Dolphins 14, Washington Redskins 7 - Super Bowl VII, at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles. Highest Winning Score - January 28, 1990 - Highest scoring winner - San Francisco 49ers, 55, Denver Broncos, 10 - Super Bowl XXIV, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. This was also the largest margin of victory to date. Most Played - Cowboys and are tied for appearances in the most Super Bowl games - 8. Most Wins - Pittsburgh Steelers, 6. Most Losses - Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos, and tie for most Super Bowl games lost, 4. The NFL pays for up to 150 rings at $5,000 per ring (plus adjustments for increases in gold and diamonds). The NFL also pays for 150 pieces of jewelry for the losing team, which may not cost more than one-half the price set for the Super Bowl ring. The Trophy is made from sterling silver by Tiffany & Co. 2011 - Cowboy Stadium seating problems, "incomplete installation of temporary seats in a limited number of sections made the seats unusable." leaves 1250 ticket holders without seats. 850 were distributed around the stadium to other seats, 400 were left with no options. NFL promises triple refunds for the $800.00 ticket for all 1250 people. February 3, 2013 - Super Bowl XLVII (47) is played in New Orleans at the Mercedes-Benz

Superdome. The Baltimore Ravens defeat the San Francisco 49ers 34-31. Beyonce is the half-time

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“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105 performer. A power failure at the Super Dome halts the game, and leaves half of the stadium in the dark for 34 minutes. Super Bowl Commercials: 1967 - A 30-second commercial costs about $40,000 during the first Super Bowl. 2014 - Forty-three advertisers buy ad space from Fox; prices reach a record $4.5 million for commercials lasting from 30 seconds to two minutes. Viewership and Ratings (Nielsen): 2013 - Super Bowl XLVII (47) is the third most watched telecast of all time, with an average viewership of 108.7 million. Historical Viewership of the Super Bowl - (Nielsen) Future Super Bowl Sites: 2015 - Glendale, Arizona 2016 - San Francisco, California 2017 - Houston, Texas

And finally for those of you whose team is not in the Super Bowl, here is some trivia to impress your friends with. The Origins of All 32 NFL Team Names by Scott Allen

What do newspaper headline type and the New Deal have to do with the Oakland Raiders and ? Here are the stories behind the nicknames of the NFL’s 32 teams—and what they were almost called.

Arizona Cardinals

The franchise began play in Chicago in 1898 before moving to St. Louis in 1960 and Arizona in 1988. Team owner Chris O’Brien purchased used and faded maroon jerseys from the University of Chicago in 1901 and dubbed the color of his squad’s new outfits “cardinal red.” A nickname was born. The team adopted the cardinal bird as part of its logo as early as 1947 and first featured a cardinal head on its helmets in 1960.

Atlanta Falcons

Shortly after insurance executive Rankin Smith brought professional football to Atlanta, a local radio station sponsored a contest to name the team. Thirteen hundred people combined to suggest more than 500 names, including Peaches, Vibrants, Lancers, Confederates, Firebirds, and Thrashers. While several fans submitted the nickname Falcons, schoolteacher Julia Elliott of nearby Griffin was declared the winner of the contest for the reason she provided. “The falcon is proud and dignified, with great courage and fight,” Elliott wrote. “It never drops its prey. It is deadly and has

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“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105

great sporting tradition.” Elliott won four season tickets for three years and a football autographed by the entire 1966 inaugural team.

Baltimore Ravens

Ravens, a reference to Edgar Allan Poe’s famous poem, beat out Americans and Marauders in a contest conducted by the Baltimore Sun. Poe died and is buried in Baltimore. Of the more than 33,000 voters in the Sun’s phone-in poll, more than 21,000 picked Ravens. “It gives us a strong nickname that is not common to teams at any level, and it gives us one that means something historically to this community,” said team owner Art Modell, who had attempted to buy the Colts nickname back from the franchise that left Baltimore for Indianapolis in 1984. The Marauders nickname referenced a B-26 built during World War II by the Glenn L. Martin Company, a predecessor to Lockheed Martin that was based in Baltimore. Other names considered included the Railers, Bulldogs, Mustangs, and Steamers.

Buffalo Bills

The Bills nickname was suggested as part of a fan contest in 1947 to rename Buffalo’s All-America Football Conference team, which was originally known as the Bisons. The Bills nickname referenced frontiersman Buffalo Bill Cody and was selected over Bullets, Nickels, and Blue Devils. It helped that the team was owned by the president of Frontier Oil, James Breuil. Buffalo was without a team from 1950 to 1959, when owner acquired a franchise in the AFL. Wilson solicited potential nicknames from fans for his new franchise and ultimately chose Bills in homage to the city’s defunct AAFC team.

Carolina Panthers

Panthers team president Mark Richardson, the son of team owner Jerry Richardson, chose the Panthers nickname because "it's a name our family thought signifies what we thought a team should be—powerful, sleek and strong." Richardson also chose the 1995 expansion team’s color scheme of black, blue, and silver, a choice that initially came under scrutiny from NFL Properties representatives. According to one newspaper report, the concern was raised at the 1993 NFL meetings that a team nicknamed the Panthers that featured black in its color scheme would appeal to street gangs and reflect poorly on the league.

Chicago Bears

In 1921, the Decatur Staleys, a charter member of the American Professional Football Association, moved to Chicago and kept their nickname, a nod to the team’s sponsor, the Staley Starch Company. When star player George Halas purchased the team the following year, he decided to change the nickname. Chicago played its home games at Wrigley Field, home of baseball’s Cubs, and Halas opted to stick with the ursine theme.

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“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105

Cincinnati Bengals

Team owner, general manager, and head coach Paul Brown nicknamed Cincinnati’s AFL expansion franchise the Bengals in 1968 in honor of the football team nicknamed the Bengals that played in the city from 1937-1942. According to Brown, the nickname “would provide a link with past professional football in Cincinnati.” Brown chose Bengals over the fans’ most popular suggestion, Buckeyes.

Cleveland Browns

There’s some debate about whether Cleveland’s professional football franchise was named after its first coach and general manager, Paul Brown, or after boxer Joe Louis, who was nicknamed the “Brown Bomber.” Team owner Mickey McBride conducted a fan contest in 1945 and the most popular submission was Browns. According to one version of the story, Paul Brown vetoed the nickname and chose Panthers instead, but a local businessman informed the team that he owned the rights to the name Cleveland Panthers. Brown ultimately agreed to the use of his name and Browns stuck.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys, who began play in the NFL in 1960, were originally nicknamed the Steers. The team’s general manager, Texas E. Schramm, decided that having a castrated bovine as a mascot might subject the team to ridicule, so he changed the name to Rangers. Fearing that people would confuse the football team with the local minor league baseball team nicknamed the Rangers, Schramm finally changed the nickname to Cowboys shortly before the season began.

Denver Broncos

Denver was a charter member of the AFL in 1960 and Broncos, which was submitted along with a 25-word essay by Ward M. Vining, was the winning entry among 162 fans who responded in a name-the-team contest. A Denver team by the same name played in the Midwest Baseball League in 1921.

Detroit Lions

Radio executive George A. Richards purchased and moved the Portsmouth Spartans to Detroit in 1934 and renamed the team the Lions. The nickname was likely derived from Detroit’s established baseball team, the Tigers, who won 101 games and the AL pennant that year. As the team explained it, “The lion is the monarch of the jungle, and we hope to be the monarch of the league.”

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“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105

Green Bay Packers

Team founder Earl “Curly” Lambeau’s employer, the Indian Packing Company, sponsored Green Bay’s football team and provided equipment and access to the field. The Indian Packing Company became the Acme Packing Company and later folded, but the nickname stuck.

Houston Texans

Houston’s 2002 expansion franchise became the sixth professional football team nicknamed the Texans. The Dallas Texans were an League team from 1990 to 1993 and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones revived the team in 2000. He was planning to keep the old nickname, but ultimately renamed the team the Desperados. Houston owner Bob McNair chose Texans over Apollos and Stallions.

Indianapolis Colts

The Baltimore Colts, a member of the All-America Football Conference from 1947-1950, were named in honor of the region’s history of horse breeding. The name remained when a new franchise began play in 1953 and after the team relocated to Indianapolis in 1984.

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars nickname was selected through a fan contest in 1991, 2 years before the city was officially awarded an expansion team and 4 years before the team would begin play. Other names considered included the Sharks and Stingrays. While Jaguars aren’t native to Jacksonville, the oldest living jaguar in North America was housed in the Jacksonville Zoo.

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs began play in the AFL in 1960 as the Dallas Texans. When the team moved to Kansas City in 1963, owner changed the team’s name to the Chiefs after also considering Mules, Royals, and Stars. Hunt said the name was locally important because Native Americans had once lived in the area. Hunt may have also been swayed by Kansas City mayor H. Roe Bartle, whose nickname was The Chief. Bartle helped lure the team to Kansas City by promising Hunt that the city would meet certain attendance thresholds.

Miami Dolphins

A name-the-team contest drew nearly 20,000 entries and resulted in the nickname for the Miami franchise that entered the AFL as an expansion team in 1966. More than 600 fans suggested Dolphins, but Marjorie Swanson was declared the winner after correctly predicting a tie in the 1965 game between Miami and Notre Dame as part of a follow-up contest. Swanson, who won a lifetime season pass to Dolphins games, told reporters she consulted a Magic 8-Ball

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“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105

before predicting the score of the game. Miami owner Joe Robbie was fond of the winning nickname because, as he put it, “The dolphin is one of the fastest and smartest creatures in the sea.”

Minnesota Vikings

According to the Vikings’ website, Bert Rose, Minnesota’s general manager when it joined the NFL in 1961, recommended the nickname to the team’s Board of Directors because “it represented both an aggressive person with the will to win and the Nordic tradition in the northern Midwest.” The expansion franchise also became the first pro sports team to feature its home state, rather than a city, in the team name.

New England Patriots

Seventy-four fans suggested Patriots in the name-the-team contest that was conducted by the management group of Boston’s original AFL franchise in 1960. “Pat Patriot,” the cartoon of a Minuteman preparing to snap a football drawn by the Boston Globe’s Phil Bissell, was chosen as the team’s logo soon after. While the first part of the team’s name changed from Boston to New England in 1971, Patriots remained.

New Orleans Saints

New Orleans was awarded an NFL franchise on All Saints’ Day, November 1, 1966. The nickname was a popular choice in a name-the-team contest sponsored by the New Orleans States-Item, which announced the news of the new franchise with the headline, “N.O. goes pro!” The nickname, chosen by team owner John Mecom, was a nod to the city’s jazz heritage and taken from the popular song, “When the Saints Go Marching In.”

New York Giants

New York owner Tim Mara borrowed the Giants nickname from John McGraw’s National League baseball team, a common practice by football teams during an era when baseball was the nation’s preeminent team sport.

New York Jets

Originally nicknamed the Titans, the team was renamed the Jets in 1963 after Sonny Werblin led an investment group that purchased the bankrupt franchise for $1 million.

According to a contemporary New York Times story, the franchise considered calling itself the Dodgers, but nixed the idea after Major League Baseball didn’t like it. Gothams also got some consideration, but the team didn’t like the idea of having it shortened to the Goths, because “you know they weren’t such nice people.” The last finalist to fall was the New York Borros, a pun on

Father Washington Assembly 2184

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105

the city’s boroughs; the team worried that opposing fans would make the Borros-burros connection and derisively call the squad the jackasses.

Eventually the team became the Jets since it was going to play in Shea Stadium, which is close to LaGuardia Airport. According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the name was supposed to reflect the “modern approach of his team.”

Oakland Raiders

Chet Soda, Oakland’s first general manager, sponsored a name-the-team contest in 1960. Helen A. Davis, an Oakland policewoman, submitted the winning entry, Señors, and was rewarded with a trip to the Bahamas. The nickname, an allusion to the old Spanish settlers of northern California, was ridiculed in the weeks that followed, and fans also claimed that the contest was fixed. Scotty Stirling, a sportswriter for the Oakland Tribune who would later become the team’s general manager, provided another reason to abandon the nickname. “That’s no good,” Stirling said. “We don’t have the accent mark for the n in our headline type.” Responding to the backlash, Soda and the team’s other investors decided to change the team’s nickname to Raiders, which was a finalist in the contest along with Lakers.

Philadelphia Eagles

In 1933, and Lud Wray purchased the bankrupt Frankford Yellowjackets. The new owners renamed the team the Eagles in honor of the symbol of the National Recovery Act, which was part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh’s football team shared the same nickname as the city’s baseball team, the Pirates, from 1933 to 1940. Before the 1940 season, owner Art Rooney held a rename-the-team contest. A change couldn’t hurt, as Pittsburgh had failed to post a winning season in its first 7 years. Joe Santoni, who worked in a mill for Pittsburgh Steel, was one of several fans who suggested Steelers. Santoni received a pair of season tickets, which he would renew every year until his death in 2003.

San Diego Chargers

Team owner Barron Hilton sponsored a name-the-team contest and promised a trip to Mexico City to the winner in 1960. Gerald Courtney submitted “Chargers” and Hilton reportedly liked the name so much that he didn’t open another letter.

There are varying accounts as to why Hilton chose Chargers for his franchise, which spent one year in Los Angeles before relocating to San Diego. According to one story, Hilton liked the name, in

Father Washington Assembly 2184

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105

part, for its affiliation with his new Carte Blanche credit card. The owner also told reporters that he was fond of the “Charge!” bugle cry played at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers, who began play in the All-America Football Conference in 1946, were named after the settlers who ventured to the San Francisco area during the gold rush of 1849.

St. Louis Rams

The Rams, who originated in Cleveland in 1936 and spent 1946 through 1994 in the Los Angeles area, trace their nickname to the college ranks. Principal owner Homer Marshman and general manager Damon “Buzz” Wetzel chose the nickname because Wetzel’s favorite football team had always been the Fordham Rams. Fordham—Vince Lombardi’s alma mater—was a powerhouse at the time.

Seattle Seahawks

There were 1,700 unique names among the more than 20,000 submitted in a name-the-team contest in 1975, including Skippers, Pioneers, Lumberjacks, and Seagulls. About 150 people suggested Seahawks. A Seattle minor league hockey team and Miami’s franchise in the All-America Football Conference both used the nickname in the 1950s. “Our new name suggests aggressiveness, reflects our soaring Northwest heritage, and belongs to no other major league team,” Seattle general manager John Thompson said. The Seahawks’ helmet design is a stylized head of an osprey, a fish- eating hawk of the Northwest.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

A panel of local sportswriters and representatives from the NFL expansion team, including owner Hugh F. Culverhouse, chose Buccaneers from an original list of more than 400 names in 1975. The nickname, which was a popular choice among fans in a name-the-team contest, was a nod to the pirates who raided Florida’s coasts during the 17th century.

Tennessee Titans

After relocating from Houston to Tennessee in 1995, the team played two seasons as the Oilers before owner held a statewide contest to rename the team. Titans was chosen over nicknames such as Tornadoes, Copperheads, South Stars, and Wranglers. “We wanted a new nickname to reflect strength, leadership and other heroic qualities,'' Adams told reporters.

Father Washington Assembly 2184

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105

Washington Redskins

One year after he acquired an NFL franchise in Boston, George Preston Marshall changed the team’s nickname from Braves to Redskins. According to most accounts, the nickname was meant to honor head coach and Native American William Henry “Lone Star” Dietz, though some question whether Dietz was a Native American. The Redskins kept their controversial nickname when they relocated to Washington, DC, in 1937.

Presenting the Colors at Walsingham Academy at the District 30 Free Throw Contest

Father Washington Assembly 2184

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105

“Okay, place my ticket on the top where it is most likely to be picked. It’s been a long time since I won”.