Boston Bears.

[MIKEBENNIDICT]

There's a book I have which is the history of the NFL published in 1978.

Besides the AFL it also mentions a few previous league also under the name AFL and one of its teams was The Boston Bears.


Since the NFL's Chicago Bears were already established how did the AFL of the 30's get away with using the name?


I don't recall the book saying.

[Mark L. Ford]

Trademark suits weren't as prevalent back then-- back in 1933, the NFL got away with having no fewer than four of its teams share names with baseball's National League, and that doesn't count the Chicago Cardinals. There would have been still another if George Preston Marshall hadn't renamed his Boston Braves earlier that year.

[luckyshow]

When did the Chicago Bears trademark the name, "Bears"?

[Mark L. Ford]

They trademarked the name "Chicago Bears" and the various logos, but "Bears" had been used by a lot of teams before the NFL was founded (including Brown University and Baylor) and wouldn't be considered unique. During the 1960s, the Newark Bears played in the Atlantic Coast League without a problem. And if I'm not mistaken, when the WFL's New York Stars first moved to Charlotte, they just plastered a Bears "C" decal on their helmets until they good get their Hornets logo. I don't know if any semipro football teams use the nickname now, seeing how it ends with the letter "s" and all, but maybe they do.

Back in 1980 or so, the Minnesota Vikings' attorney sent letters to various semipro teams called the Vikings, with a cease and desist letter. They got a reply from a semipro team that had been called the Vikings since before 1961, with a letter to the effect of "maybe you should change your name instead", and the bad publicity got the Vikes to concentrate on other things like trying to win a Super Bowl.

[luckyshow]

If the Vikings were concentrating on winning a Super Bowl not long after 1961, no wonder they couldn't win one when they finally began Super Bowls
just under a decade later!

No one has nicknames ending in "s" because it is fashionable to use a "z" instead?

Bayonne Vikings should have sued!
http://www.luckyshow.org/football/BayonneV.htm