NFL records Elbert Dubenion (February 16, 1933 – December 26, 2019)[2] was an American football flanker who spent his entire nine-season professional career with the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League (AFL).
[3] Dubenion, the longest-tenured member of the team's inaugural roster despite being 27 years old at the start of his professional career, is considered one of the best players in the team's history and was an archetype of the AFL's emphasis on speed and the long bomb, both of which were two of Dubenion's greatest strengths and earned him the nickname "Golden Wheels".
His relatively old age (26 at the time) and hailing from a smaller college meant that he was never considered a serious prospect, and the Browns released him prior to the start of the season.
During his rookie season, one of his quarterbacks, Johnny Green, gave Dubenion a backhanded compliment regarding his speed and alleged inability to catch a football, noting that he had "golden wheels."
[15][16][17] Dubenion was a 1993 inductee of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame, and his number 44 is officially in "reduced circulation" on the Bills, meaning although it is not officially retired, the team usually does not allow players who are expected to make the team's regular season roster to wear it.