The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football franchise in the National Football League. Since starting off as an expansion franchise in the American Football League in 1968, they have appeared in three Super Bowls, but lost all three times, twice to the San Francisco 49ers and once to the Los Angeles Rams. Origins See also: Cincinnati Reds (NFL) (1933–1934) Former Cleveland Browns head coach Paul Brown began planning for the creation of the Bengals franchise in 1965, and Cincinnati's city council approved the construction of Riverfront stadium in 1966. On May 23, 1967, Cincinnati was granted a franchise in the American Football League. The franchise was sold to a Cincinnati-based ownership group led by Brown, who had an ownership share of 10%. The other investors included Austin E. Knowlton who was the majority shareholder with 30%, John Sawyer with 20%, The Cincinnati Enquirer with 11% and seven others who had a combined ownership share of 29%. As a founder and head coach of the Cleveland Browns from 1946 to 1962, Brown led his team to a .759 winning percentage and seven championships, which includes four championships earned while a member of the All-America Football Conference. The Browns were champions of that league in each of the four years it existed. When the AAFC folded after the 1949 season, the Browns, as well as the San Francisco 49ers and the first incarnation of the Baltimore Colts, were absorbed into the National Football League. Brown became a recognized innovator for his approach to training, game planning, and the passing game. However, he was only a minority owner of the Browns and lacked the resources to buy out the rest of the ownership group. In 1961, businessman Art Modell assumed control of the team and on January 9, 1963, Modell controversially fired Brown. Many believe that Modell had tired of complaints of Brown's autocratic style; others claim it was Brown's decision to trade for Syracuse University's Heisman Trophy-winning running back Ernie Davis, who was drafted by the Washington Redskins, without Modell's knowledge. However, Davis was diagnosed with leukemia shortly afterward. Brown didn't want to play Davis; Modell insisted he could play. The relationship between Paul Brown and Art Modell, which was never warm to begin with, deteriorated further. Davis died on May 18, 1963. By 1966, Paul Brown wanted to become involved in professional football again. James A. Rhodes, then the governor of