Cincinnati Bengals The Underdogs In 2007 the Cincinnati first year, but the AFL folded after the season. Bengals celebrated their The Bengals continued as an independent team 40th season of in 1938, and in 1939 joined a new AFL, finishing professional football. in second place with a 6-2 record. But again, the To honor this milestone, league folded after the season. bengals.com took a Once again in 1940, another new AFL emerged, look back at the Top 40 and again the Bengals joined. But that AFL suf- Memorable Moments In fered the fate of the two AFLs before it, folding Bengals History and we after the 1941 season as the United States entered also asked you the fans World World II, and the Bengals folded along to select your all-time with it. Bengals 40th Anniver- Pro football returned to Cincinnati 26 years later sary Team. In 1937, in 1967 when Paul Brown headed an ownership a team known as the group that landed an expansion franchise in the Cincinnati Bengals was modern-era American Football League. Brown, formed as a member a Pro Football Hall of Famer who founded and of the American Foot- coached the Cleveland Browns from 1946-62, ball League. The 1937 picked the name Bengals for the new team “to Bengals finished with a give it a link with past professional football in 2-4-2 record in their Cincinnati.” The Bengals returned to the postseason for the first time since 2005 after finishing with a 10-6 record and winning the AFC North. Cincinnati swept all six of its games against AFC North foes for the first perfect run in franchise history. This piece of team lore was ac- complished in historically hairraising fashion. In Weeks 3-5, the Ben- gals defeated each division rival by three points (23-20 vs. Pittsburgh, 23-20 in overtime at Cleveland, and 17-14 at Baltimore). Cincinnati thus became the first team since the 1970 merger to win division games that closely (three points or less) in three successive weeks. The season’s accomplishments were overshadowed by the un- expected tragic deaths of Vikki Zimmer, wife of Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, on Oct. 8, and wide receiver Chris Henry, who died at age 26 in an accident on Dec. 17 in Charlotte, N.C. Hen- ry played in this season’s first eight games with the Bengals, but was sidelined for the remainder of the season with a left forearm fracture he suffered on Nov. 8 at Baltimore..