Back in the late 70s and 80s, before the advent of the internet, you had to buy team merchandise through specialty stores. The ones in LA catered to the local teams like the Rams and later, the Raiders. Most had stuff from the other pro teams that were popular in that era like the Cowboys and Steelers etc... Trying to find
anything related to the Bengals in LA back then was like trying to find hens teeth. I remember when one team specialty store opened up in Northridge where I lived. I was able to find a Bengals bumper sticker and maybe a pin.....that's it. Everything else was Rams, Lakers, Dodgers, USC, UCLA and on and on.
Bleech!!!
I remember my first trip to Las Vegas I found a small store in a local Mall and Las Vegas not having a pro team at that time was thrilled to find it stocked with merchandise for ALL the NFL teams. I was able to buy Bengal hats, belt buckles, posters, key chains etc... it was like a small slice of heaven!
Of course, now you can find most anything on the net you want. Also ebay occasionally has older Bengal merchandise like jackets and hats etc... if you don't mind it being used.