This season marks the 50th of football for the Cincinnati Bengals, five decades filled with highs, lows, dynamic personalities and innovations that changed the face of the National Football League. The Enquirer brings you the 50 most influential people in Bengals history through various forms of media, bringing you the names and untold stories that shaped this franchise over its first half century -- good, bad and ugly.
Pete Rozelle became the commissioner of the 12-team National Football League in 1960 and was instrumental in negotiating with the American Football League, and Congress, to merge the two leagues.