Old School Design: Cincinnati Bengals Hu-Dey Beer

It was 1981 and the Cincinnati Bengals were making a surprising run to the Super Bowl. The team had recently switched from their traditional simple BENGALS arch helmets to the radical new striped look. The team had a surprise rookie in Cris Collinsworth. The team would be headed for a matchup against the San Diego Chargers in the Freezer Bowl and an eventual Super Bowl 16 appearance against the 49ers.

The city of Cincinnati had adopted a new battle cry for the team, Who-Dey. It was great times for Bengals fans, as the team had never had this level of success before. One of the true design gems to come from this time period in Bengals history was Hu-Dey Beer. The term Hu-Dey was a combination of the famous Who Dey cry and the Hudy brand. Local beer brewer Hudepohl got caught up in the Bengals craze by creating these tiger striped cans of Hu-Dey beer.The can featured an orange and white tiger stripe pattern and a roaring tiger head on the can. The can also featured the battle cry "Who Dey think gonna beat dem Bengals".

These cans come from an era when licensing rules must have been a bit looser than those of today. Though the cans don't have any official Bengals logos on them, they do use the term Bengals in the Who Dey chant. The stripe pattern is not that of the real Bengals, and the tiger is no official Bengals mark but are clearly references to the NFL team. These classic cans are definitely one of the more unusual items ever created to celebrate a local team's success. There was another generation of Hu-Dey beer created in 1988 when the Bengals made their second Super Bowl run, but this set didn't have the unique charm and originality of the 1981 set.

Comments

[marc]

reminds me of those old iron city cans featuring the steelers (boooo). love those old-school solid pop-tops on the cans! ya don't see those anymore. i agree with the assessment re: the '88 set. they're a perfect example of how licensing, art directors and a decent budget ruins everything pure and good. isn't it amazing how they screwed the aesthetic charm in a mere 7 years?

[Jim Ransdell]

Marc-I always look forward to your comments each day-Jim

[marc]

Thanks Jim. I enjoy the site a lot. This and Uni-Watch are among the first sites I check out after catching up on email. Thanks for taking the time to create and maintain the site!

[Zubaz is Zu-back!!!]

I can't stand Cris Collinsworth as a commentator/broadcaster/announcer. He jinxes your team! He says stuff like, "This kicker hasn't missed a field goal all year. It would be a shame if he missed this one." Sure enough, the kicker misses it!

Back in the mid 90's when the Colts signed Jim Harbaugh, Collinsworth RIPPED the Colts a new a-hole, saying it was a stupid move and that Harbaugh was washed up, and the Colts wouldn't go anywhere that year. Turned out the Colts finished only one dropped Hail Mary touchdown away from going to the Super Bowl that year! I've hated Collinsworth ever since!!!!

[randc4ever1]

we have a six pack of both these beers never opened