Buffalo Bills



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American Football League
Charter Members

Click here to see a tribute to the 1964 AFL Champions.

        FRONT ROW: Ted Wegert, Tommy O'Connell, Elbert Dubenion, Jack Johnson, Bill Atkins, Buster Ramsey (Head Coach), La Verne Torczon (Captain), Wilmer Fowler, Richie Lucas, Carl Smith, Joe Kulbacki, Wray Carlton, Billy Canard.

   SECOND ROW: Harvey Johnson (Assistant Coach), Dan McGrew, Bernie Buzynski, Dick Brubaker, Jack Laraway, John Green, Phil Blazer, Monte Crockett, Jim Wagstaff, Richie McCabe, Joe Schafter, Archie Matsos, Floyd "Breezy"Reid (Assistant Coach).

   THIRD ROW: Bob Dove (Assistant Coach), Ed Abramowski (Trainer), Harold Olson, Ed Muelhapt, Dan Chamberlain, Bob Sedlock, Tom Rychlec, Chuck McMurtry, John Scott, Jim Sorey, Ed Meyer, Don Chelf, Mack Yoho, Ed Dingman, (Equipment Manager).

      MISSING FROM PHOTO: Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. (owner), Dick Gallagher (GM), Robert Barrett, Fred Ford, Darrell Harper, Joe Hergert, Al Hoisington, Harold Lewis, Leroy Moore, Dennis Remmer, Charles Rutkowski.

Photo Courtesy of Jack Laraway, No. 57, fifth from left in second row. Note that the list includes the ENTIRE team complement of admiistrators, coaches, staff and players: a total of FIFTY-ONE! Click the photo to enlarge it.



My "Charging Bison" logo, ©1965.

Bills original plaque image courtesy of Bob Schilling.		My "dream" helmet.
	Cookie Gilchrist, Lou Saban & Wray Carlton

Civic Stadium/War Memorial Stadium ~ Home of the American Football League Buffalo Bills


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Bills' first-ever draft choice ~ Joe Schaffer, Tennessee

Bills' first game ~ at the Titans, September 11, 1960

Bills' first home game ~ September 18, 1960

A 1960 program from lb Jack Laraway (57). Laraway was with the Oilers when they won the 1961 AFL title.	Halfback Joe Kulbacki from Purdue was one of the original 1960 Bills. He became a vintner and author of America - A Nation That's Lost Its Way.	Stew Barber (77), Al Bemiller (50), and Joe O'Donnell (67) protect against the New York Jets' pass rush for Grambling's James Harris (12). In 1969, Harris was the first black ever to begin a professional football season as his team's starting quarterback.


In the American Football League, a predominantly offensive league, the Buffalo Bills were a great defensive team. With a linebacking corps of Harry Jacobs, Mike Stratton, and John Tracey; and defensive line stalwarts like Tom Day, Tom Sestak, Jim Dunaway, and Ron McDole, the Bills defense did not allow a rushing touchdown for seventeen straight games over a period of the 1964 and 1965 seasons. Their pass defense was just as good as their run defense, registering fifty quarterback sacks in 1964, still a team record, although it was established in a 14-game season. The Bills won AFL championships in both of those seasons. They were the first American Football League team to win 13 games in a season (1964); were one of only three teams to appear in an AFL championship game for three successive years; and the only AFL team to apear in the playoffs four straight years, 1963 through 1966. Balancing their defensive prowess, the Bills had offensive muscle as well, in stars such as running backs Cookie Gilchrist and Wray Carlton, quarterbacks Jack Kemp and Daryle Lamonica, and receivers Elbert Dubenion and Ernie Warlick.
The following Bills are in the American Football League Hall of Fame
Stew Barber Al Bemiller George "Butch" Byrd Elbert Dubenion Jim Dunaway Booker Edgerson Tom Flores Bill Groman Cookie Gilchrist Pete Gogolak Harry Jacobs Jack Kemp Bob Kalsu	Daryle Lamonica Keith Lincoln Paul Maguire Ron McDole Art Powell George Saimes Tom Sestak Billy Shaw O.J. Simpson Mike Stratton John Tracey Ernie Warlick
Lou Saban	Ralph Wilson
Dave Orr	Angie Coniglio

Bills' uniforms over the years

Gene Grabosky

Mack Yoho

Johnny Green

Ken Rice

Herb Paterra

Dick Hudson

Al Bemiller

Keith Lincoln

Mike Mercer

Joe O'Donnell

Haven Moses

Click on each image for a larger view.

The AFL Bills wore basically three styles of uniform. Click image for more.

On the verge of greatness:
THE 1962 BUFFALO BILLS
Many of the Bills' future superstars appear in this photo of Lou Saban's first Buffalo team. Starting in 1963,
they went to the playoffs four straight years, winning two American Football League Championships.
(click photo to enlarge)

Photo Courtesy of Lou Omel

FRONT ROW: Marv Matuszak, Willie Jones, Al Bemiller, Stew Barber, Billy Shaw, Head Coach Lou Saban, Archie Matsos, Tom Day, Carl Charon, Glenn Bass.

SECOND ROW: Wray Carlton, LeRoy Moore, Ray Abruzzese, John Yaccino, Warren Rabb, Jack Kemp, Cookie Gilchrist, George Flint, Willie West, Carl Taseff.

THIRD ROW: Harold Olsen, Jerry DeLucca, Monte Crockett, Ernie Warlick, Tom Rychlec, Tom Sestak, Mack Yoho, John Tracey, Wayne Crow,

FOURTH ROW: Trainer Ed Abramowski, Assistant Coach John Mazur, Assistant Coach Bob Miller, Elbert Dubenion, Sid Youngelman, Mike Stratton, Booker Edgerson, Jim Sorey, Assistant Coach Jerry Smith, Assistant Coach Joel Collier, Equipment Manager Tony Marchitte.

.	Billy Shaw ~ the only Pro Football Hall of Fame member who played his entire career in the AFL, and never played a down in the NFL.

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1964 AFL Championship ring courtesy of Ernie Warlick Tom Janik, George Saimes & Harry Jacobs

     This is a sequence of images from the October 24, 1964 Bills game at the New York Jets, which the Bills won, 34-24.
     On the left, the Bills' guard Billy Shaw (66) pulls out and blocks the Jets' defensive tackle Paul Rochester (72), while Cookie Gilchrist (34) crushes linebacker Ralph Baker (51). The Bills helmet in the right background is that of guard George Flint, being eluded by Jets defensive tackle Gordy Holz.
     In the next image, Bills halfback Bobby Smith (22) comes into the picture, and Rochester falls as Shaw runs by him. Holz, whose No. 74 is now visible, gets by Flint, whose helmet and backside are visible. Cookie's right leg is to the far right, and behind it is the right side of Jets defensive end LaVerne Torczon (87), a forner Bill.
     The final image, on the right, is my original oil painting, derived from a magazine photo. Smith's right leg is moving forward, and Shaw is almost past Rochester, whose right hand is now on the turf. Ralph Baker is prone as Cookie moves on to demolish the next defender. The Jets' Holz remains in pursuit, with Flint's back visible behind him, as Bills wide receiver Glenn Bass (85) watches the play develop from his position on the left flank.
     I had done the oil painting before I found the other two photos, and when I looked at them closely, I realized they were of the same play, taken split-seconds apart. If you know the identity of the photographer(s), or if you have the photo my painting was taken from, please let me know.
     After hanging it in my home for forty-eight years, in 2012 I gifted the painting to Bobby Smith, in commemoration of his seventieth birthday.

Richie Lucas ~ 1960

Charlie Ferguson may be the only player to have been on teams with Jim Brown (1961), Cookie Gilchrist (1963-64), and O.J. Simpson (1969).

Lou Saban was among the first to use double tight ends, when in the 1965 AFL Championship game he paired rookie Paul Costa with Ernie Warlick.

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The Bills' Tom Sestak rushes Charger quarterback Tobin Rote in the 1964 AFL Championship Game at War Memorial Stadium.

1966 AFL Rookie of the Year Bobby Burnett takes a handoff from Jack Kemp and follows Bills' guards Joe O'Donnell and Billy Shaw around right end.

Autographs

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RAY ABRUZZESE

Defensive back Raymond Lewis Abruzzese, Jr. played college football at the University of Alabama, and played professionally in the American Football League for the Buffalo Bills from 1962 through 1964, when the Bills won the AFL Championship game, 20-7, over the defending AFL Champion San Diego Chargers. He also played for the AFL's New York Jets in 1965 and 1966.
Abruzzese had a little-known but major impact on the growth of modern Professional Football. He roomed with Joe Namath when both were at Alabama. When Namath was considering signing with the NFL's Cardinals or the AFL's Jets, he told Jets owner Sonny Werblin that one thing that would sway him toward the Jets would be for them to acquire Abruzzese. Bills owner Ralph Wilson cooperated, and for the good of the league, traded Abruzzese to the Jets.
Namath signed with the Jets instead of the Cardinals, and went on to achieve the AFL's first victory in an AFL-NFL World Championship game against the over-rated Baltimore Colts.

BILLY ATKINS

Auburn University's Billy Atkins is a 2005 inductee to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Atkins was graduated from Auburn in 1957 as the school's all-time leading scorer. He came to the Buffalo Bills in 1960 and provided strong support in the defensive backfield. In 1961 he was an American Football League All-Star based on his league-leading 10 interceptions and a yards-per-punt average of 44.5, which also led the league. In addition, he kicked 29 of 31 PAT attempts and two field goals for a total of 41 points. He played for the Bills in 1960, 1961 and 1963, and also was with the New York Titans and Jets, and the Denver Broncos in his AFL career.

One of a series of cards by American Football League fan and artist Jim Fish.

STEW BARBER

        Stew Barber of was drafted from 'linebacker U': Penn State, in 1961, by both the AFL Bills and the NFL Cowboys. He chose Buffalo, and ultimately became one of only 43 men to play in at least nine of the AFL's ten seasons.
        Although Pro Football draft records list him as an offensive lineman, in 1961, his rookie season, the Bills started him at linebacker, where he had one interception for a TD. In 1962, they switched him over to offense, where he played both tackle and guard, and as soon as the following year he was named first-team All-AFL by both the AP and the UPI.
         Barber was selected for five consecutive AFL All-Star Games, 1963 through 1967. He started at left tackle in three AFL Championship Games and won AFL championships in 1964 and 1965. In his championship games (1964, 1965 and 1966), the Bills ranked respectively first, third, and second in scoring offense.
         The AP and the UPI each selected him first-team All-AFL twice (1963 and 1964). He was picked for the All-AFL second team by major news services in 1965, 1966 and 1968.

         In 1970 Barber was named a second-team offensive tackle on the All-Time AFL Team (along with Winston Hill and behind Ron Mix and Jim Tyrer, all three of whom are in the AFL Hall of Fame).   With no easily available statistics on their play-by-play performance, evaluating offensive linemen for awards or honors can be difficult. But Barber's 'comparables' speak for themselves.
        Barber's combination of length of AFL service, individual success and team success gives him the highest qualifications.
                                                                ~ Submitted by Albert Klumpp, AFL Statistician

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A member of the
American Football League Hall of Fame

One of a series of cards by American Football League fan and artist Jim Fish.

GLENN BASS

Glenn Bass was drafted in 1961 from EAST CAROLINA by the Chargers, and played for the Bills opposite Elbert Dubenion from 1961 through 1966, winning American Football League Championships with them in 1964 and 1965 before being traded to the Oilers in 1966.

Bass caught 50 passes for the Bills in his rookie year. He won an Eastern Division crown with Houston in 1967.

AL BEMILLER

        Al Bemiller was drafted from SYRACUSE as an offensive lineman by the Buffalo Bills in 1961, when he immediately became their starting center, replacing Dan McGrew, even though McGrew had been the All-AFL 2nd team center in the Bills' inaugural season of 1960.
        During the 1961 season, Bemiller played in all 14 games, between fellow rookie Billy Shaw at left offensive guard and second year pro Chuck Muelhaupt at right guard, under head coach Buster Ramsey. In 1962, he continued to play center next to Shaw and new right guard Tom Day under new head coach Lou Saban.
        These three linemen would play together through 1963, when the Bills tied for first place in the AFL east division, but lost a playoff game to the Boston Patriots.
         In 1964, Bemiller was switched to right offensive guard, playing between veteran center Walt Cudzik and right offensive tackle Dick Hudson. The offensive line was a major factor in leading the Bills to their first AFL championship, accruing 400 points and 5,206 yards on offense, leading the league in both categories.
         The Bills repeated in 1965, when Bemiller was named the AFL All-Star right guard, still next to Hudson but with a new center, Dave Behrman.

In 1966, under new head coach Joe Collier, Bemiller switched back to center, playing between Shaw and right guard Joe O'Donnell. From 1967 to 1969, he remained the starting center but also played left offensive tackle in 1967. In 1968, he played between Shaw and Bob Kalsu and in 1969, his final year, between Shaw and O'Donnell. In his 9-year career with the Bills, he never missed a game, starting and playing in 129 straight, including 3 postseason games.

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A member of the
American Football League Hall of Fame

One of a series of cards by American Football League fan and artist Jim Fish.

BUTCH BYRD

(click here for more)

        George "Butch" Byrd of Boston University was one of the best running backs and pass receivers on the Terrier football team of the early '60s. He joined the Bills in 1964 and immediately made an impact in the defensive backfield, with seven interceptions.
         Byrd was also a solid punt returner for his entire career. Byrd had an outstanding performance in the 1965 American Football League Championship game against the Chargers. He held Chargers receiver Don Norton to one reception and knocked him unconscious with a block at the line of scrimmage in the third period.
         But his biggest play of the game was a scintillating punt return, when Byrd took a John Hadl punt and with fabulous blocking, went 74 yards for a TD. Byrd still holds the Bills' career records for interceptions (40), interception return yards (666) and interceptions returned for touchdowns (5).
          He was a five-time American Football League All-Star, and selected to the second team, All-time All-AFL. In 2008, he was selected to the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.

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A member of the
American Football League Hall of Fame

One of a series of cards by American Football League fan and artist Jim Fish.

WRAY CARLTON

In his early years with the Bills, Duke's Wray Carlton formed a virtually unstoppable backfield tandem with Cookie Gilchrist. He scored the Bills first-ever touchdown against the Broncos in 1960, and led the team in rushing that first year. Later he helped the Bills win back-to-back league championships in 1964 and 1965. Perennially among the AFL's top rushers, he led the league in rushing touchdowns in 1965 and was voted to the American Football League All-Star team in 1965 and 1966. Carlton was the Bills' all-time leading rusher during their AFL years, with a 4.1 yards per carry average.

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A member of the
American Football League Hall of Fame

One of a series of cards by American Football League fan and artist Jim Fish.

TOM DAY

         Tom 'Tippy' Day played defensive end at North Carolina A&T State University.   After spending 1960 with the NFL, he joined the American Football League, where he played for the Buffalo Bills from 1961 through 1966, starting at offensive right guard in 1962 and 1963 being switched to defense. Day went to the San Diego Chargers for 1967, and rejoined the Bills for the 1968 season.
          He was part of the Bills' Formidable Front Four, in a defense which did not allow a rushing touchdown for 17 consecutive games over a portion of the 1964 and 1965 seasons, winning the AFL championship in both years.
          He was overshadowed by his outstanding teammates on the Bills' defensive line, but was no less talented or intense.   I once complained to Day that the Bills' offense had been ineffective in a 7 - 0 loss. His response was "If we (the Bills' defense) hadn't given up those points, we wouldn't have lost!"   'Tippy' was an American Football League All-Star in 1965.   Day said of winning the AFL championship, "Winning the championship is like making love to the most beautiful woman in the world."

A member of the
American Football League Hall of Fame

One of a series of cards by American Football League fan and artist Jim Fish.

ELBERT DUBENION

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Elbert Dubenion of Bluffton College had tremendous speed, great hands and excellent running skills. As a rookie for the Buffalo Bills in 1960, "Duby" or "Golden Wheels" had 7 touchdowns and 752 receiving yards on 42 catches, a 17.9 yds/catch average. He ran 16 times for 94 yards and a TD, a 5.6 yds/carry average. In 1961, facing tighter and deeper coverages, he upped his production as a runner, rushing for 173 yards and a touchdown on just 17 carries, a 10.3 yds/carry average.
He had 31 catches for 461 yards and 6 TDs. In 1964, Duby had one of the most sensational seasons of any receiver in pro football history, 10 touchdowns and 27.1 yards per catch on 42 receptions for 1,139 yards, (14 game season). In 9 seasons, he totalled 296 receptions for 5,424 yards and 36 TDs for a career average of 18.3 yds/catch. He rushed for 360 yards and 3 TDs on 48 carries, a career average of 7 yds/carry. Dubenion ranks seventh all-time in the AFL in receptions and reception yardage.

He holds the record for the longest reception in AFL playoff history, a 93-yd reception for a TD from Daryle Lamonica against the Boston Patriots in 1963. Dubenion was an American Football League All-Star in 1964, the year of the Bills' first league championship.

A member of the
American Football League Hall of Fame
and the
Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame

One of a series of cards by American Football League fan and artist Jim Fish.

JIM DUNAWAY

        Jim Dunaway was a unanimous All-American at Mississippi, which was a two-time national champion during his three-year tenure, when they lost ony one game.
       He was a 1963 second-round draft pick of the Buffalo Bills, and went on to win two American Football League Championships with them in 1964 and 1965, with a stellar defensive unit that did not allow a rushing touchdown in a 17-game streak over those two seasons.
         Dunaway was an American Football League All-Star from 1965 through 1968, and All-AFL in 1966.

A member of the
American Football League Hall of Fame

One of a series of cards by American Football League fan and artist Jim Fish.

BOOKER EDGERSON

       Booker Edgerson of Western Illinois University was a cornerstone of the Buffalo Bills' defense in the mid-1960s, at left cornerback.
        A four-year letterman (football, baseball, wrestling, track & field); in 1959 and '60, he led the WIU football team to the only consecutive undefeated seasons in school history, and is in the WIU Hall of Fame.
       Booker signed as a free agent with the Bills in 1962 and stepped into a starting role at left cornerback. He made a career-high six interceptions (including two in his first game, against Hall of Famer George Blanda), and was named to the AFL All-Rookie team.
       Edgerson appeared in playoffs four consecutive years, and in three straight AFL Championship games. Edgerson's college career as a sprinter and long jumper served him well in the demanding role of man-to-man pass coverage. The AFL featured many dangerous receivers at that time including San Diego's Lance Alworth. But Edgerson became one of the key components of the league's best defense, and he was the only man ever to catch Alworth from behind, more than once.

2010 Buffalo News Article

More about Edgerson

One memorable play by Edgerson against Alworth came in the third quarter of the 1965 Thanksgiving game, when Edgerson tackled Alworth and caused a fumble, recovered by John Tracey in the 20-20 tie.The Bills beat the San Diego Chargers in 1964 and again in 1965, when Edgerson was selected as an American Football League All-Star. He had 23 interceptions in his eight-year career in Buffalo, and scored on two, including one against Joe Namath. He also forced and returned a fumble for the deciding score in a 1969 game against the Bengals, played in blizzard conditions.
Edgerson retired to Buffalo, where he has been involved in numerous charitable endeavors through the Bills Alumni, and was the 1993 recipient of the Ralph C. Wilson Award. In 2010, he was inducted to the Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame.

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A member of the
American Football League Hall of Fame
and the
Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame

One of a series of cards by American Football League fan and artist Jim Fish.

COOKIE GILCHRIST

        A legendary player in the American Football League, Cookie Gilchrist came from six years of super-stardom in the Canadian Football League, where he played fullback, linebacker, lineman and placekicker, and gained nearly 5,000 yards rushing. Gilchrist was a CFL All-Star five straight years, with the Hamilton Tiger Cats in 1956 and 1957, in 1958 with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and the Toronto Argonauts in 1959 and 1960. Gilchrist recorded 4,911 rushing yards, 1,068 receiving yards and 12 interceptions during his Canadian Football League career.
          For Buffalo, he ran and kicked, though he insisted he could have played both ways. He was the first 1,000-yard American Football League rusher, with 1,096 in a 14-game schedule in 1962.
       Gilchrist, and later Paul Robinson (Bengals, 1968), were the only two men to rush for over 1,000 yards in their first year in a U.S. Professional Football league. That year, Gilchrist set the all-time AFL record for touchdowns with 13, and earned league MVP honors.
         He rushed for 243 yards and scored 5 tds in a single game against the NY Jets in 1963, setting a Professional Football record.

          Though he was only with the Bills for three years (1962-1964), he remains the team's fifth leading rusher all-time, and led the league in scoring in each of his three years as a Bill.   Gilchrist ran for 122 yards in the Bills' 1964 American Football League championship defeat of San Diego, 20-7.   His 4.5 yds/rush average is second as a Bill only to O.J. Simpson.
          Cookie led a successful boycott of New Orleans as the site of the American Football League All-Star game after the 1964 season, in an early civil rights victory for black athletes. He was an AFL All-Star in 1962, 1963, 1964, and while with the Denver Broncos in 1965, when he rushed for 954 yards. He also played for the Miami Dolphins in 1966 and finished his AFL career in Denver in 1967. In 1970, he was selected as the fullback on the All-Time All-AFL Team. His combined statistics in the CFL and the AFL are 9,204 yards rushing, 2,203 yards receiving, and 12 interceptions. Can that combination of stats be matched by any other player?
           In November 2006, Cookie received honorable mention in the selection of the 50 greatest CFL players of all time. Cookie was the only former AFL player to receive this honor. In 2007, he fought a battle against throat cancer. After a remission, the cancer made an even stronger return, and Cookie succumbed on January 10, 2011.
            Cookie is a member of the Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame.

One of a series of cards by American Football League fan and artist Jim Fish.

When all was said and done, Carlton Chester “Cookie” Gilchrist, in his fourteen seasons of Professional Football, rushed for 9,204 yards and 65 touchdowns, and caught passes for 2,203 yards, including eleven for touchdowns. He had 58 kickoff returns for 1,352 yards. He played lineman, placekicker, linebacker, and fullback, where he was as fearsome a blocker as he was a ball-carrier.

In the CFL, he played both ways, and in addition to his offensive production, tallied 12 interceptions.

In the American Football League in 1962, he not only gained over 1,000 yards rushing for the first time in league history, he also kicked twelve PATs and seven field goals. He averaged over 1,000 yards rushing in his first four years in the league.

During his career he tied the record for rushing touchdowns in a game (5), and broke the record for rushing yards in a game (243). His 4.5 yards per carry average with the Bills is second only to O. J. Simpson’s.

He racked up 12,759 all-purpose yards IN THE FIFTIES AND SIXTIES! He was an All-Star nine times, a league MVP, a Grey Cup Champion and an AFL Champion.

(click here for more)

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A member of the
American Football League Hall of Fame
and the
Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame

Click HERE for the Gilchrist family's Official Website for Cookie

PETE GOGOLAK

        The American Football League established many Professional Football firsts: first black place kicker, Gene Mingo of the Broncos; first Hispanic-American quarterback, Tom Flores of the Raiders; first professional use of the two point conversion; first use of the scoreboard clock as the official game clock; first black quarterback of the modern era, the Bills' James Harris; etc.
         Before the Bills signed Pete Gogolak in 1964, every placekicker in Professional Football was a "conventional" kicker; that is, they approached and kicked the ball straight-on, leading with the toe. Gogolak, from Cornell University, revolutionized kicking by approaching the ball from the side, and kicking with the arch and instep, "soccer style". Today, "soccer style" is conventional, and the former style of placekickers is non-existent.
         Gogolak attended CORNELL University, where he made the "Top 40 Moments that Define College Football" by kicking the first field goal by a soccer-style kicker, a 41-yarder, on October 28, 1961 (coincidentally, Ange & Angie Coniglio's wedding date!).   Gogolak was signed out of Cornell by the Buffalo Bills in 1964, becoming another example of innovation in the AFL, as Pro Football's first "soccer style" kicker.

             Unlike the placekickers before him, Gogolak approached the ball at an angle and kicked it with his instep. Virtually all placekickers in American college and Professional Football now use this technique. In 1964 his 102 points were 25% of the Bills' total. In 1965, he scored 115 points and was selected by his peers as The Sporting News' AFL All-League player.
          Gogolak was a prime factor in the "war between the leagues" and the subsequent merger of the NFL with the American Football League. Bills general manager Harvey Johnson recognized a revolutionary trend and gave Gogolak a chance. Bills' owner Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. paid Gogolak $10,000 in 1964 and offered him $13,500 for 1965: exceptional pay, in those days, for a kicker. Gogolak wanted to "play out his option"; so he chose to take a standard pay cut to $9,900. Playing out your option meant that your team could match any other team's offer.
           Other than by "gentleman's agreement", a team in a competing league didn't have to respect that process, and the NFL was ungentlemanly. Their NY Giants (whose incumbent field goal kicker had missed 13 straight kicks after making his first kick attempted) signed Gogolak, ignoring the AFL's rules and trashing the gentleman's agreement. This led to a signing blitz by then-AFL Commissioner Al Davis; of John Brodie, Mike Ditka, Roman Gabriel, and other NFL stars; and it was this that ultimately led to the negotiations for the AFL-NFL merger.

A member of the
American Football League Hall of Fame

One of a series of cards by American Football League fan and artist Jim Fish.

HARRY JACOBS

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Harry Jacobs was a linebacker who played for Bradley University and in the American Football League for the Boston Patriots (where he was called the "baby-faced assassin") from 1960 through 1962.
         The Bills traded an undisclosed amount of cash to the Patriots for Jacobs, who had started for Saban in Boston during the 1960 and ‘61 seasons. He starred for the Buffalo Bills from 1963 through 1969. He played in the playoffs four straight years (1963-1966) with the Bills, and was an AFL All-Star in 1965 and 1969.
          Jacobs relied on intelligence and knowledge of the game to help his team win, and was considered "a coach in shoulder pads". Jacobs called defensive signals and mentored young linebackers such as Marty Schottenheimer.
      With John Tracey and Mike Stratton, he filled out one of Professional Football's best linebacking units, which played together for 67 consecutive games from 1963 through 1967, a Professional Football record.

The linebacking crew helped the Bills' formidable front four hold opposing teams without a 100-yard rusher for seventeen consecutive games in 1964 and 1965, and achieved American Football League championships in both those years. In 1965, Buffalo surrendered only 226 points, which remains a team record. Jacobs has said "I think that the defense was the best in the American Football League and we obviously felt the best in football at that point in time."
Jacobs is one of only twenty players who played in the American Football League throughout its ten-year existence.

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A member of the
American Football League Hall of Fame

One of a series of cards by American Football League fan and artist Jim Fish.

CLICK HERE FOR JEFFREY J. Miller's eulogy for harry jacobs

TOM JANIK

         Tom Janik of TEXAS A & I (now TEXAS A & M - Kingsville) is in the school's Athletic Hall of Fame. In the American Football League, he was a punter and a ball-hawking safety for the Broncos, Bills and Patriots. Janik won an American Football League Championship with the Bills in 1965, and was an AFL All-Star in 1965 and in 1967, when his 10 interceptions led the league.
        One of Janik's biggest games was the September 18, 1968 contest at home against the New York Jets, in which the Bills' defensive backfield picked off Joe Namath seven times, three times for TDs as Butch Byrd and Booker Edgerson had 53 and 45-yard TD interceptions within 1:02, and Janik had one of two picks go for a 100-yard score.
        "All I saw was daylight. Namath came up on the play downfield, and I was getting tired, but I knew he was, too, and that knee of his had to be bothering him, so I just kept going."
        The Bills won a barn-burner, 37-35, which was Buffalo's only win of the season. The Jets went on to finish 11-3, and won the AFL title before going on to defeat the overrated Colts in the Third AFL-NFL World Championship Game.

BOB KALSU

                 Bob Kalsu, after starring as an All-America tackle at Oklahoma, played in the American Football League for the Buffalo Bills. It's often reported that he was 'the only NFL player to have died in the Viet Nam War.', but that's not true. Kalsu played in the AFL, where as an offensive guard, he was the Bills' outstanding rookie in 1968.
        Within a few weeks, Kalsu had worked his way into the lineup, subbing for the injured Joe O'Donnell at right guard and starting nine games that season. No one watched Kalsu more closely than Billy Shaw, Buffalo's left guard and a future Hall of Famer. He saw Kalsu as a future star.
       "Bob had a lot of talent," says Shaw. "He had real good feet, and he was strong, good on sweeps. In those days we had only one backup, and he was Joe's and my backup. Our forte was foot speed, and Bob had it. He really fit in with our style: a lot of running, a lot of sweeps, a lot of traps."

Kalsu had one child and an expectant wife when his unit was called to active duty in 1969, but rather than seeking a deferment, Kalsu chose to serve in Viet Nam as a Second Lieutenant. Lieutenant Kalsu was killed by enemy fire in July 1970, while helping defend Ripcord Base on an isolated jungle mountaintop near Viet Nam's Ashau Valley.
He is a member of the Bills' Wall of Fame.

Click here for Kalsu's story in SI

A member of the
American Football League Hall of Fame
and the
Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame

One of a series of cards by American Football League fan and artist Jim Fish.

TOM KEATING

Tom Keating of Michigan was on the Bills for only two years, but he helped them win the 1964 and 1965 American Football League Championship teams before being traded to Oakland, where he was on the Raiders 1967 AFL Championship team and made the 1966 and 1967 American Football League All-Star Teams. He was a key on both the Bills' and the Raiders' defensive line. He was known for his distinctive four-point stance in which he lined up with both hands on the ground.

Keating was voted by AFL writers to the league's All-Time Team Second Team.

One of a series of cards by American Football League fan and artist Jim Fish.

JACK KEMP

Jack Kemp (Occidental College) won two AFL Western Division championships with the Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers, and played in the first two AFL Championship games in 1960 and 1961, before being picked up by the Bills. He led Buffalo to three straight Eastern Division titles and two American Football League championships, in 1964 and 1965, throwing to Hall of Fame receivers Elbert Dubenion and Ernie Warlick.
           Kemp was the first 3,000 yard passer in the American Football League (1960, 14-game schedule) and the league's Most Valuable Player in 1965.
           He was the first and only Professional Football player to pass for three touchdowns in the first quarter of a game, against the Kansas City Chiefs in the first game of the 1964 American Football League season, until the record was tied but not broken, 57 years later in 2011.
       Kemp had the most career passes attempted, most completions and most yards gained passing in the history of the American Football League, although he sat out 1968 with an injury.

Jack Kemp was an American Football League All-Star six consecutive years and for seven of the league's ten years, and the only American Football League quarterback to be a starter in five AFL Championship Games. Kemp held the Professional Football record for career touchdowns scored by a quarterback (forty) for thirty years, until it was broken in 1999, and he still ranks second in the category. Kemp co-founded the American Football League Players Association and was elected its president five times.
During his Professional Football career, he sustained a dozen concussions, two broken ankles and a crushed hand — which Kemp insisted a doctor permanently set in a passing position so that he could continue to play. He was one of only twenty players who were in the American Football League for its entire ten-year existence. Kemp was selected by the NCAA during its centennial celebration as one of America's '100 Most Influential Student-Athletes', and he is a member of the Bills' Wall of Fame.

A member of the
American Football League Hall of Fame
and the
Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame
Kemp's obituary and More about Kemp

One of a series of cards by American Football League fan and artist Jim Fish.

DARYLE LAMONICA

         After a 20 for 28, 349 yard performance in the 1962 East-West Shrine Game played at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco, Notre Dame's Daryle Lamonica was drafted by the Buffalo Bills, where he went on to be the "relief pitcher" for their two American Football League championship seasons in 1964 and 1965, where he was part of a "quarterback controversy" (in the minds of fans) with veteran QB Jack Kemp.
         His trademark became 'saving' games in which he would enter late in the game and lead the team to victory, often bringing them from behind.    In a trade that still rankles Bills fans, he went to the Raiders with Glenn Bass in 1967, for Hall of Famers Art Powell and Tom Flores.
         With the Raiders, he continued his 'long-ball' tactics, earning the title 'the Mad Bomber'.
         In his first year with the Raiders, he threw for 30 touchdowns and ran for four more. In 1969, he threw for 34 touchdowns and over 3,300 yards. His AFL Raiders teams won three straight Western Division titles and one American Football League Championship.
         Lamonica was a three-time American Football League All-star and twice was selected as the American Football League's Most Valuable Player, in 1967 and 1969.

His regular season record as a starter in the AFL was a phenomenal 40-4-1, winning 90% of his starts. He went 66-16-6 for his overall career as a starter, good for a 78.4% winning percentage, second in Professional Football history.

A member of the
American Football League Hall of Fame

One of a series of cards by American Football League fan and artist Jim Fish.

PAUL MAGUIRE

Paul Maguire, a Hall of Fame tight end at The Citadel, led the nation in touchdown receptions in 1959.   In 1960, he was selected as an original Los Angeles Charger, where he was a punter and linebacker. Maguire joined the Buffalo Bills in 1963 and was an ace at the "coffin corner" punt.
          He contributed to three Bills' Eastern Division titles, and their American Football League championships in 1964 and 1965.
          He was involved in one of the most spectacular plays in Bills' history in the 1965 American Football League Championship game against the Chargers. Butch Byrd took a John Hadl punt and with outstanding blocking, took it 74 yards for a TD. The last two blocks were by Maguire, crushing two Chargers - Hadl and Dave Kocourek.
          Paul Maguire played in six of the AFL's ten title games - three with the Chargers and three with the Bills, and he was the league's all-time punter in punts and yardage.
         Maguire went on to a long career as a television network personality and broadcaster of college and professional football.

He is a member of the Youngstown, Ohio Sports Hall of Fame and the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. One of only twenty players who were in the American Football League for its entire ten-year existence.

A member of the
American Football League Hall of Fame

One of a series of cards by American Football League fan and artist Jim Fish.

RON McDOLE

       Ron McDole was nicknamed "the Dancing Bear" because he was nimble-footed despite his size.
        The defensive end from Nebraska came to the Bills after spending the 1962 season with the Houston Oilers. McDole went on to anchor the left side of the Bills' great defensive line for the next eight seasons. The Bills finished tied with the Boston Patriots for the AFL's Eastern Division title in 1963, losing the playoff game to the Pats.
       They would win the division for the next three years, winning two American Football League championships, in 1964 and in 1965.   He and his defensive team-mates held the opposition without a rushing touchdown in 17 straight games over 1964-1965. McDole was the defensive team captain during those years, and an AFL All-Star in 1965 and 1967.   He was selected to the All-Time All-AFL second team.

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A member of the
American Football League Hall of Fame

One of a series of cards by American Football League fan and artist Jim Fish.

ED RUTKOWSKI

        A running back and defensive back at Notre Dame, where he was a teammate of a fellow Bill, Daryle Lamonica, Ed Rutkowski went un-drafted in 1963, but became a valuable member of the two-time AFL Champion Bills. He played defensive back, punt and kickoff return man, and backup quarterback from 1963 to 1968. He was selected to play in the 1965 American Football League All-Star game.
         In 1968, Rutkowski played qb in an emergency, even though he hadn't played the position in 8 years. In all, he rushed for 250 yards, had 63 catches for 981 yards, returned 53 kickoffs for 1,270 yards, and returned 68 punts for an additional 514 yards, including a 73-yard punt return, a team record, for a td against the Chiefs in 1966.
        In a noted Topps football card mix-up, Rutkowski was shown on two 1964 Topps cards: his own, and mistakenly on the card for Ray Abruzzese. Click HERE to see both cards.   Rutkowski started his pro career with jersey number 46, but later wore number 40.

Rutkowski takes a handoff from Lamonica

More about Rutkowski

GEORGE SAIMES

An All-American at defensive back and fullback for Michigan State, the Spartan MVP in 1961 and 1962 and a member of their all-time defensive team, George Saimes joined the Buffalo Bills in 1963. He quickly developed into an outstanding safety and became a key member of the outstanding Bills defensive squads, which produced American Football League Championships in 1964 and 1965. In 1964 he had a career-high six interceptions and earned the first of his five American Football League All-Star game appearances. He achieved All-American Football League honors five times' A member of the American Football League All-time Team. (Click HERE for more.) ,

A member of the American Football League Hall of Fame and the Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame

One of a series of cards by American Football League fan and artist Jim Fish.

TOM SESTAK

        In 1962, the Buffalo Bills drafted Tom Sestak as a tight end in the 17^th round from McNeese State. It was one of the Bills' best draft picks ever. Sestak never played end for the Bills, but became one of the greatest defensive tackles in the history of the game.
         At 6-4, Tom Sestak had the size, speed and strength to handle any offensive lineman.    He was a starter in his rookie year and, until a series of knee injuries slowed him down, he played without parallel in the American Football League. His great physical strength separated him from other linemen.
         More than once Sestak amazed the opposition and his fans by reaching up, while sprawled on the turf behind the line of scrimmage, and tackling a running back in full stride, for a loss! Twice during his outstanding career he realized the 'defensive lineman's dream', returning interceptions for touchdowns.
          Sestak was an American Football League All-Star and unanimous All-AFL defensive tackle in three consecutive years; 1963, 1964 and 1965. He was the cornerstone of a defense that took the Bills to the AFL championships in 1964 and 1965, while holding opposing rushers without a touchdown for 17 straight games, a Pro Football record that still stands.

Sestak is a member of the All-Time American Football League Team. During the sixties, only six defensive linemen were unanimous All-League selections for three or more years. Sestak was one of them. The other five have already been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Click here for a 2012 article about Sestak, and HERE for another one.

AFLHOF.gif (17340 bytes)

A member of the
American Football League Hall of Fame
and the
Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame

One of a series of cards by American Football League fan and artist Jim Fish.

BILLY SHAW

Drafted in 1961 by the Buffalo Bills, Billy Shaw of Georgia Tech was the prototypical "pulling guard" who despite his size held his own against Hall of Fame defensive linemen like Ernie Ladd, Earl Faison and Buck Buchanan. With the Bills, won three straight Eastern Division titles and two American Football League championsips in 1964 and 1965. First-team All-American Football League selection five times (1962 through 1966) and second team All-AFL in 1968 and 1969. Played in eight American Football League All-Star games and was named to the All-Time American Football League Team. Made All-Decade pro football team of the 1960s. Shaw played his entire career in the American Football League, and is the only player ever inducted to the "pro football" hall of fame, without ever playing in the NFL.
In the foreword of Jeffrey J. Miller's book Rockin' the Rockpile, Shaw says "Of course being elected to the pro football Hall of Fame is the highest honor a player can ever hope to achieve. But for me - the only player elected to the Hall of Fame who played his entire career in the American Football League - it was more than personal recognition. I truly felt that day that I was there not just to accept the honor bestowed upon me, but to share my moment in the sun with all my former teammates and with all those who like me grew up in the AFL. My nine seasons with the AFL's Buffalo Bills provided me with the fondest of memories and lasting friendships." (Click here for Behr on Shaw)

(Click here for Shaw mementoes)

A member of the
American Football League Hall of Fame
and the
Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame

One of a series of cards by American Football League fan and artist Jim Fish.

MIKE STRATTON

From TENNESSEE, Mike Stratton had six interceptions for the Buffalo Bills as a rookie in 1962. Stratton was selected as an American Football League All-Star six straight seasons from 1963 through 1968, and was one of the Bills' league-best linebacking crew that helped them achieve American Football League championships in 1964 and 1965. In the 1964 AFL championship game against the San Diego Chargers, he made the memorable "hit heard 'round the world". The Chargers led 7-0 and were marching toward another score when Stratton tackled the Chargers' Hall-of-Famer Keith Lincoln, putting him out of the game. The Bills shut out San Diego for the rest of the game, and won, 20-7. Stratton was selected to the All-Time All AFL second team.
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A member of the American Football League Hall of Fame and the Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame

One of a series of cards by American Football League fan and artist Jim Fish.

The "Hit Heard Around the World": In the 1964 American Football League Championship game, early in the first quarter, the Chargers' Keith Lincoln, who had gained 206 yards on 13 carries in the previous year's title game, had gained 47 yards on three carries, scored a touchdown, and kicked the extra point. Leading 7 - 0, on the next possession, the Chargers were driving again. On this play Tobin Rote (18) is pressured by Tom Sestak (70), Jim Dunaway (78) and Ron Mcdole (72). He gets the pass away to Lincoln (22), who is levelled by Mike Stratton (58). Lincoln suffered broken ribs and could not return to the game. The Bills went on to win 20 - 7.

Courtesy of NFL Films and SHOWTIME, from 'Full Color Football:The History of the American Football League'

Stratton's induction to the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame

JOHN TRACEY

At TEXAS A&M, John Tracey held school records for most receptions and most yards receiving. When he joined the Bills in 1962, Lou Saban liked his speed and agility, and used him at linebacker, where with Harry Jacobs and Mike Stratton he filled out the American Football League's best linebacking crew, playing together for 67 consecutive games from 1963 through 1967. They helped the formidable front four hold opposing teams without a 100-yard rusher for seventeen consecutive games in 1964 and 1965, and achieved American Football League championships in both those years. In 1963 he led the team with five interceptions. Tracey was an AFL All-Star in 1965 and 1966.

Tracey51.gif (1962 bytes) AFLHOF.gif (17340 bytes)
A member of the
American Football League Hall of Fame

One of a series of cards by American Football League fan and artist Jim Fish.

ERNIE WARLICK

(click here for more)

    Ernie Warlick, a tight end from from North Carolina Central University, Played in the Canadian Football League and the U. S. Military before joining the Bills in 1962.   He was the team's leading receiver in his first year.
    For five seasons from 1957 to 1961, Warlick played as a tight end and defensive back for the Calgary Stampeders and was a three-time West Division all-star during that time. He caught 192 passes for 3,332 yards (17.4 yds/catch) including 16 touchdowns. He led the team in catches twice including in 1959 when he had a career best 53 receptions for 909 yards.
     He had an almost identical average of 17.2 yds/catch with the Bills, while the team earned three straight AFL Eastern Division titles and two American Football League championships, with a 20.8 yds/catch average in 1964.
    When Billy Shaw and Dave Behrman were injured for the 1965 American Football League championship game, he helped bolster the Bills' offensive blocking in a double tight end offense. In that game, Warlick also scored the first touchdown in the Bills 23-0 victory over the Chargers, on an eighteen-yard pass from Hall of Fame QB Jack Kemp.

Warlick was selected to the American Football League All-Star Team in 1962, '63, '64, and '65, every year he was in the league. He was the first black sportscaster on Buffalo television, elected to the Buffalo Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame in 1998, received the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Distinguished Service Award in 2000, and was inducted to the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2005.
Ernie Warlick not only had the best yards-per catch average for Bills tight ends, he had one of the best averages EVER, for ANY tight end. His average was 16.5 yds/catch in the CFL, and 17.2 yds/catch in the American Football League. Through 2012, Rob Gronkowski's was 13.0, as was Antonio Gates'; Tony Gonzales' is 11.5; Jason Witten's is 11.1. Here are the averages of three Hall of Famers: Shannon Sharpe's was 12.3; Kellen Winslow's was 12.5, and Mike Ditka's was 13.6!!!!

Warlick84.gif (2463 bytes) AFLHOF.gif (17340 bytes)

A member of the
American Football League Hall of Fame

One of a series of cards by American Football League fan and artist Jim Fish.

LOU SABAN

Lou Saban, a legendary coach in the American Football League, played college ball at the University of Indiana where he was All-Big Ten qb one year, and All-Big Ten fb in another. He began his pro career with the Cleveland Browns of the All America Football Conference. He was the team captain as the Browns dominated the AAFC in all four years of the league’s existence. Saban was twice voted to the league's All-Star team as a linebacker. He went on to be head coach at Case Institute, and assistant coach at Northwestern University. In 1955, Saban was named as the head coach at Northwestern. Two years later, he moved on to Western Illinois University, where he would remain as head coach until he entered the professional football ranks to guide the Boston Patriots of the newly formed American Football League. In his last season at Western Illinois, his team had a perfect 9-0 record.
In the early 1960s the Buffalo Bills enjoyed an era of glory. The driving force behind it was Lou Saban, whose style of coaching won him the respect, love and loyalty of his players. "Trader Lou" came to the Buffalo Bills as head coach in 1962, from the Boston Patriots.

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He set to work building the Bills into a formidable defensive team, with a strong offense as well. In 1964 and 1965 the Bills went 12-2 and 10-3-1, to win the AFL championship in each of those years. He was the only American Football League coach to win two consecutive championships. Saban was named AFL Coach of the Year twice, but one week after winning his second title, he quit to become head coach at the University of Maryland, and then the Denver Broncos. His record at Buffalo during the AFL years was 36-17-3, with winning seasons in each of his four years.

AFLHOF.gif (17340 bytes)

A member of the
American Football League Hall of Fame
and the
Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame

Fifty years after the Bills captured back-to-back American Football League championships under Lou Saban, Bills' management finally saw fit to add him to the Bills Wall of Fame

One of a series of cards by American Football League fan and artist Jim Fish.

RALPH C. WILSON, JR.

Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. was one of the forward-thinking businessmen contacted by Lamar Hunt, when Hunt formed the American Football League. Wilson was a pillar of the league, fielding the only AFL team that went to post-season play for four consecutive years, 1963 through 1966. The Buffalo Bills won the league championship in 1964 and 1965. Wilson made professional football a resounding success in a "small market", signing such stars as Hall of Famers Cookie Gilchrist, Jack Kemp, and Tom Sestak. He was a guiding force in AFL policies that insured success, such as gate and television revenue sharing; his heavy financial backing of the rival Oakland Raiders and loans to Billy Sullivan of the Patriots helped keep those franchises afloat, likely saving the entire league from folding. In November 1963, Wilson lobbied successfully to have American Football League games postponed the Sunday after JFK's assassination, while NFL games went on.

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Wilson consistently supported stability and tradition, uncompromisingly voting against franchise moves and other actions detrimental to continuation of Professional Football in existing cities. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame. His successors, unfortunately, have little respect for the Bills' American Football League heritage.

A member of the
American Football League Hall of Fame
and the
Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame

One of a series of cards by American Football League fan and artist Jim Fish.

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