The Arizona Cardinals were founded in Chicago in 1898 and moved to St. Louis in 1960, then to Arizona in 1988. In 1901, team owner Chris O’Brien bought worn and faded maroon jerseys from the University of Chicago and renamed the hue “cardinal red” for his team’s new uniforms. A moniker was born. The cardinal bird was introduced as part of the team’s logo in 1947, and a cardinal head was first placed on the team’s helmets in 1960.
Atlanta falcon: A local radio station sponsored a contest to name the team shortly after insurance executive Rankin Smith introduced professional football to Atlanta. Over 500 names were suggested by thirteen hundred people, including Peaches, Vibrants, Lancers, Confederates, Firebirds, and Thrashers.
BALTIMORE RAVENS: In a contest run by the Baltimore Sun, the Ravens, a tribute to Edgar Allan Poe’s renowned poem, won out Americans and Marauders. Poe died in Baltimore and was buried there. More than 21,000 people chose Ravens in the Sun’s phone-in survey of more than 33,000 people.
The Bills nickname was proposed in 1947 as part of a fan contest to rename Buffalo’s All-America Football Conference team, which was formerly known as the Bisons. The Bills were chosen above the Bullets, Nickels, and Blue Devils because of their nickname, which was inspired by frontiersman Buffalo Bill Cody.
The Decatur Staleys, a founding member of the American Professional Football Association, relocated to Chicago in 1921 and retained its nickname, a reference to the team’s sponsor, the Staley Starch Company.
