YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – As 65,000 fans settled into sold-out Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, and a national television audience tuned in to watch the Bengals beat the Browns on Thursday, they witnessed more than an NFL game. It was another page in Ohio football history, in a state that gave birth to arguably the most successful pro sport in America.
At the same time Thursday, on the other side of the state, a football team whose history was prologue to the Bengals and Browns – a story hardly anyone outside of Youngstown's South Side has heard – quietly was celebrated by a few dozen curious, fans and extended family.