History of the Buffalo Bills
Harry Wismer, who was to own the Titans of New York franchise, reached out to Detroit insurance salesman and automobile heir Ralph C. Wilson Jr. to see if he was interested in joining the upstart league.
[8] From 1963 to 1966, Buffalo experienced its first stretch of success, making the playoffs all four years and winning back-to-back AFL championships in 1964 and 1965 under head coaches Lou Saban through 1965; and Joe Collier in 1966.
The 1964 squad compiled a 12–2 regular season mark and went on to defeat the favored defending AFL champion San Diego Chargers, 20–7 at Buffalo's War Memorial Stadium on December 26, 1964.
[10] The Bills survived a late-season controversy when star fullback Gilchrist refused to take the field with his teammates at a critical time during a week 10 clash with the (then Boston) Patriots and coach Saban "fired" him off the team; quarterback Kemp, who would go on to the U.S. Congress and to Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President George H.W.
[11] In 1965, Buffalo's offense was hampered all season by injuries to its star receivers Glenn Bass and Elbert (Golden Wheels) Dubenion; additionally, league-leading rusher Gilchrist had been traded to the Denver Broncos.
The team's offensive unit received significant contributions from newly acquired Bills Bo Roberson, Jack Spikes and Billy Joe en route to a championship game rematch with the Chargers, who had smashed Buffalo 34–3 earlier in the season and again were heavily favored.
Buffalo cornerback Butch Byrd electrified Bills fans with a 74-yard punt return for a touchdown, and the defense registered five sacks on San Diego's dangerous quarterback, John Hadl.
After the 1965 season, Bills' placekicker Pete Gogolak, who introduced the innovation of kicking "soccer style" to American football instead of approaching the ball head-on,[12] decided to test the free agent market.
This began the escalation of a bidding war for talent between the two leagues that eventually brought team owners to the negotiating table, resulting in a common draft of players out of college, and the AFL-NFL merger that was completed in 1970.
Many Bills fans of the era are convinced that linebacker Stratton, cornerback Byrd, tackle Tom Sestak, and end Ron McDole should be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Two defensive reserves of note from the era are linebackers Marty Schottenheimer, who went on to win 200 regular season games as an NFL head coach ranking him eighth all time in that category; and Paul Maguire, the AFL's all-time leader in punting yardage, who went on to a distinguished broadcasting career.
The team faced two significant challenges in 1966: The beginning of coach Saban's 6-year hiatus from Buffalo; and the continuing emergence of a young rival AFL Eastern Division quarterback.
The trade of backup quarterback Daryle Lamonica to the Oakland Raiders during the off-season leading up to 1967 was the first of many personnel decisions the team made over the next few years that left many Bills fans befuddled.
This is not true, as Young Bussey and Jack Lummus were still of playing age when they left the NFL to serve in World War II and were killed in action a few years later.
While the Bills struggled in these years, talent remained on the roster and there were some memorable moments, including Buffalo's lone win in 1968, a 37–35 victory over the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Jets,[13] and a gutty Thanksgiving Day, 1968 performance against the high-flying Oakland Raiders.
[14] Players during these years who gave Bills fans sparks of excitement and optimism were Simpson, quarterback Dennis Shaw, wide receivers Haven Moses and Marlin Briscoe, and running back Max Anderson.
The "Electric Company" of Simpson, Jim Braxton, Paul Seymour, and Joe DeLamielleure as recounted in the locally recorded hit "Turn on the Juice", lead a dramatic turnaround on the field.
The play resulted in a touchback, not a touchdown, thus stopping Dallas from breaking the record for most points scored by a team in a Super Bowl (55), which was set three years earlier and is still held today by the San Francisco 49ers.
But the Titans won the game on a controversial play that became known as the "Music City Miracle": During the ensuing kickoff, Frank Wycheck lateraled the ball to Kevin Dyson who then scored the winning touchdown.
In 2001, following the departure of John Butler, team owner Ralph Wilson announced his retirement as president of the organization and handed the reins of his franchise to Tom Donahoe, a former executive with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In one game, however, the Bills' fans gained a small measure of satisfaction when the defense sacked Rob Johnson multiple times in his relief effort for the Washington Redskins.
Notable additions to the roster had included free agent defensive tackle Marcus Stroud and draft picks cornerback Leodis McKelvin and wide receiver James Hardy.
The Bills were hit with another hard blow when star running back Marshawn Lynch was given a three-game suspension by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for pleading guilty to misdemeanor weapons charges.
The team dramatically overhauled its offense in the offseason, bringing in a number of new starters: quarterback Tyrod Taylor, running back LeSean McCoy, fullback Jerome Felton, wide receiver Percy Harvin and tight end Charles Clay.
In addition, longtime center Eric Wood announced his retirement due to health issues, and guard Richie Incognito began suffering mental breakdowns and was released from his contract at his request.
[70] Claiming the 3rd seed with an 11–6 record, the Bills hosted New England in the wild card round, winning 47–17 as they scored a touchdown on all their offensive possessions aside from the final kneeldowns and never punted or turned the ball over, a first in NFL history.
Buffalo won their next three games, including a 48–20 win over Miami, before entering a six-game midseason slump in which the offense struggled and the defense lost three starters to injury, namely Tre'Davious White, DaQuan Jones, and Matt Milano.
[85] To replace Diggs, the Bills signed journeymen Mack Hollins and Curtis Samuel, drafted wide receiver Keon Coleman, and conducted a midseason trade bringing Amari Cooper to Buffalo, while further developing its existing offensive roster and relying more on the run game led by James Cook and rookie Ray Davis.
[91] Buffalo would once again fall to Kansas City in the conference championship game 32–29, in which there were a couple of controversial calls by officiating, including a quarterback sneak by Allen on a crucial 4th-quarter 4th-down that was deemed short.
[92][93] On December 21, 2012, team CEO Russ Brandon, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz announced a new 10-year lease for Ralph Wilson Stadium.
