Rockin’ the Riverfront in 1970: As Riverfront Stadium takes shape, so do the Bengals – The Cincinnati Enquirer

JULY 15, 1970: ...All-Stars At Riverfront Stadium.(Photo: Enquirer file)

While many considered Cincinnatis and Hamilton Countys commitment to building Riverfront Stadium crucial to keeping the Reds in Cincinnati, theres no doubt that the city would not have landed a National Football League franchise without it.

Still, the fledgling Bengals had to wait two years before playing in their new home. Of course, founder and coach Paul Brown used those two years wisely, transforming the team from a collection of other teams castoff veterans to a roster full of young, vibrant talent.

The teams first season, 1968, featured running back Paul Robinson. The Arizona product, known as "The Cactus Comet,"led the American Football League in rushing attempts, yards and touchdowns on his way to being named Rookie of the Year and helping the Bengals go 3-11.

DECEMBER 20, 1970: Proud players carried Paul Brown off the field after the last game at Riverfront Stadium when the Bengals beat the Boston Patriots for the AFL Central title.(Photo: The Enquirer/Allan Kain)

If picking Robinson in the third round of his first Bengals draft was impressive, Browns first-round pick in 1969 was nothing short of inspired. Picking fifth, he pounced on record-setting University of Cincinnati quarterback Greg Cook, a charismatic, 6-foot-4, 220-pound right-hander who had "prototype NFL quarterback"written all over him.

Cook was everything for which Brown hoped. Playing on the familiar playing surface of UCs Nippert Stadium, he threw for exactly 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns while leading the Bengals to season-opening wins over Miami, San Diego and a Kansas City team that would go on to win the Super Bowl.

1969: Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio.(Photo: The Enquirer/Fred Straub)

"He was just phenomenal,"recalled cornerback Ken "Rattler"Riley, a rookie that season. "He was an unbelievable football player. I was a quarterback coming out of high school. I could throw the ball and run, but Greg had all those tools. The best thing is he could throw the long ball. There just wasnt anybody like him until (Ken Anderson) came along.

"I know youve heard this from everybody, but he was just a phenomenal talent, said center Bob Johnson, the Tennessee product who owns the distinction of being Browns first-ever college draft pick with the Bengals. Big, strong, fast, accurate, touch he had everything."

While Johnson was among the legion of Cook admirers, he also wasnt alone in noticing the developing dynamic between the authoritative Brown and free-spirited Cook, who was among other things an aspiring artist.

"You have to wonder if Paul Brown and Greg Cook could have co-existed,"Johnson said. "They were not exactly the same kind of people."

JUNE 1970: Riverfront Stadium, downtown Cincinnati.(Photo: File)

"(Cook) drove (Brown) crazy, because he was so damn good,"said tight end Bob Trumpy, another emerging talent whod been named first-team all-league in his second season. "Wed never seen Greg in a pressure situation. I dont know how he would have responded. I do know that when he played at UC, he was in a bunch of pressure situations and handled it beautifully, but wed never been in a must-win situation with him, so there were a lot of parts of him that none of us really knew, but physically? Extraordinary."

Brown made another move to improve the offense by trading defensive linemen Bill Staley and Harry Gunner to the Chicago Bears for 6-5, 260-pound offensive tackle Rufus Mayes, whod played on Ohio States 1968 national championship team. Not only did that further solidify the offense, it also opened up spots on the defense for more talented players, holes Brown worked on filling through the draft.

That years 17-round session started on January 26, and Browns choice with the seventh overall pick was Maxwell Award-winning Penn State defensive tackle Mike Reid like Cook, a talented football player with an artistic side. The 6-3, 255-pounder leaned toward music, performing and writing.

"That was our first choice, even if we had drafted first,"Brown said.

The Bengals seemed to be Reids first choice, too.

"If Id had a choice, Cincinnati probably wouldve been the team Id take,"he told The Enquirer. "Ive been thinking a lot about it and consider it a team with a young organization on the upswing with a great coach the kind of team I like. Thats the Bengals."

Browns second pick was 6-4, 261-pound defensive tackle Ron Carpenter out of North Carolina State, who was expected to team with Reid to form a formidable inside defensive presence with 6-4, 243-pound middle linebacker Bill Bergey, Cincinnatis second pick behind Cook in the previous years draft. Bergey had been named by The Sporting News and the Associated Press as the AFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and played in the same AFL All-Star Game from which Trumpy was sent home with a fractured ankle.

Brown used 12 of Cincinnatis 17 picks on defense, including one that was somewhat overlooked at No. 6 defensive back Lemar Parrish out of Lincoln University in Missouri, who would make immediate, electrifying contributions.

"Weve done pretty much what we wanted to do,"Brown said. "We have some outstanding early selections, no doubt about it. When you get toward the end, youre not nearly as familiar with the players, but everyone is in the same boat. Every year, a few teams come up with some outstanding players in the late rounds. We took Bob Trumpy in the 12th round two years ago, and he was All-Pro this year."

The draft was one part of a busy day both for the Bengals and the NFL. Besides picking college players, Brown picked up free-agent punter Dave Lewis from the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. Lewis, a Stanford product who would dabble at quarterback, would spend the next four seasons with the Bengals.

Meanwhile, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle picked the first day of the draft to also finalize talks with television networks on a groundbreaking deal. He completed four-year deals with CBS and NBC to go along with the three-year, $7.5 million deal hed put together with newcomer ABC the previous June. The combined revenue from the three contracts was $130 million.

Monday Night Football was coming to the NFL.

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Rockin' the Riverfront in 1970: As Riverfront Stadium takes shape, so do the Bengals - The Cincinnati Enquirer