Longtime Cleveland Browns coach Paul Brown didn't have to look far when seeking a city to field a new team. Following his firing from the Browns by team owner Art Modell, Brown agreed to take charge of the Cincinnati Bengals as the easiest way back to the NFL, knowing his team would soon join the senior league in a 1970 merger. Brown and his new team of "Tigers" took the field for the first time in 1968 and though he experienced little in the way of success in the Bengals first two seasons, he pushed the team to division championships in 1970, 1973 and finally 1975, when he retired after forty-five years of coaching.

Presented is a lot of (16) 1968-1969 Cincinnati Bengals AFL programs including (13/14) possible regular season home game editions for the first two years of the team's existence, along with (3) preseason editions. These nicely preserved game day publications report in excellent condition, with an average of (EX to NM) and just (1) lesser due to the cover being somewhat loose at the staples.

Featured are: (8) 1968 inaugural year programs: (2) preseason editions: 8/3, 8/17; and (6/7) regular season home game editions: 9/15, 9/29, 10/20, 11/3, 11/10, 11/24, the one edition required to complete this year run is 9/22; and (8) 1969 second year programs: (1) preseason edition: 9/6; and a complete run of (7/7) regular home season editions: 9/14, 19/21, 9/28, 10/12, 10/19, 11/2, 11/16 (this is the issue with the loose, but still attached cover).

This is one of ten lots pulled from an outstanding collection of 1960s AFL football programs being offered in our current November, 2018 auction. Each of these lots represents one of the ten teams that played in the AFL. To review the other AFL program lots please see our Football Cards & Memorabilia/Publications category.