Dayton Mayor Ben Baker issued a proclamation renaming the City of Dayton as Who Deyton, Kentucky, on Saturday, Jan. 22, to coincide with the Cincinnati Bengals’ divisional playoff game against the Tennessee Titans in Nashville, Tenn. on that day.
The proclamation also recognizes the city’s past history with the Cincinnati Bengals.
In 1937, the original Cincinnati Bengals professional football team — one of seven members of the American League of Professional Football — held its first workout under Coach Hal Pennington at Tacoma Park in Dayton.
The team also held its first scrimmage game on Sept. 27, 1937, before 2,000 fans at Dayton’s O.W. Davis Field. The stadium, which was only three years old at the time, continues to serve as home of the Dayton High School Green Devils football team. John McAfee, an Ohio State University graduate and football coach and teacher at Dayton High School, played halfback on the original Cincinnati Bengals professional football team in 1937.
The mayor also proclaimed that Jan. 22 will be recognized as “Cincinnati Bengals Day” in the City of Who Deyton, Kentucky.
“Because of our city’s past history with the Cincinnati Bengals and as a fun way to celebrate this year’s football team with our residents, who we call the Who Deyton Nation, we decided to change our city’s name for one day to recognize the team’s successful 2021-22 football season and support it in its upcoming divisional playoff game against the Tennessee Titans on Saturday,” Mayor Baker said.
In addition to the mayor’s official proclamation, which he signed in orange ink, the city also has undertaken several other efforts to show support for the Bengals this week. It changed the color of the city’s logo from green to orange (see logo above), changed the exterior lights at city hall and the neighboring firehouse from white to orange, hung a large orange-and-black banner on the front of the firehouse announcing, “Who Deyton: Let’s Go Bengals” and updated its website and Facebook page with a similar banners.
Banner at Bellevue-Dayton Firehouse on Sixth Avenue in Dayton.
City of Dayton
