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Nowhere Else You’d Rather Be: 50 years of cherished comebacks, concerts and classic moments in Orcha

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NOWHERE ELSE YOU’D RATHER BE 50 YEARS OF CHERISHED COMEBACKS, CONCERTS AND CLASSIC MOMENTS IN ORCHARD PARK


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Table of Contents Buffalo Beginnings �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 7 Building a New Stadium ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 21 Eras in Bills History ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������35 Team Owners ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 91 Phenomenal Players ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 99 Record Books ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������122 Game Day Experience ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 131 Beyond Pro Football �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 145 Stadium of the Future ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 171 Epilogue �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 175 OPPOSITE: Bills fans twirl commemorative Bruce Smith towels as the team takes the field for a Thursday Night Football game against the Jets on Sept. 15, 2016. Smith’s number was retired during halftime of a 37-31 loss.

INTRODUCTION • 5


Eras in Bills History

ERAS IN BILLS HISTORY • 35


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1973–1975

An electric start in the suburbs T

here was a newfound feeling of big-league identity among Western New York sports fans in 1973. Buffalo had joined the big time in both hockey and basketball in 1970 with the founding of the Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Braves, respectively. The opening of the new stadium in Orchard Park — Rich Stadium — now was the crown jewel of the area’s sporting venues. Was Rich Stadium the most extravagant of the NFL’s facilities in 1973? No. But it was such a giant upgrade over War Memorial Stadium — aka the Rockpile — that it was embraced as a modern 1970s palace. And just in time for its grand opening, the Bills were on the rise. Head coach Lou Saban had returned to Buffalo in 1972 and brought a welcome sense of direction to the franchise. O.J. Simpson — “The Juice” — had won the NFL rushing title in 1972 and was recognized

as a budding superstar. When the 1973 schedule came out and the Bills were slated to play their firstever Monday Night Football game — at home — even owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr. was juiced up. “The image of Western New York and the Bills hasn’t been that good throughout the country,” Wilson said, “but we will get a chance Oct. 29 to show the people of the country that our image has changed for the better.” After Simpson opened the 1973 season with an NFL record 250 rushing yards in a game at New England, Bills fans’ enthusiasm went sky high. Two weeks later, a crowd of 77,425 on a glorious sunny day greeted the Bills for their home opener against the New York Jets. Simpson rushed for 123 yards in a 9-7 victory. Then a riotous Monday night crowd saw the Bills thump Kansas City, 23-14, as Simpson crossed the

1,000-yard rushing mark just seven games into the season. Simpson’s roll continued. In the last home game of the season and with 3 inches of snow on the turf, he rushed for 219 yards in a 37-13 victory over the New England Patriots. On the road the next week against the New York Jets, Simpson broke the NFL rushing record and finished with 2,003 yards. The 1974 season also opened with a bang, a 21-20 Monday Night Football victory over the Oakland Raiders. Joe Ferguson drove the Bills to two touchdowns in the last 2 minutes before an electric crowd of 79,876. The Bills broke a seven-year playoff drought in 1974, and the ’75 season dawned with even more optimism. The Sabres had reached the Stanley Cup Final in the spring of ’75 and were led by the most exciting line in the NHL, the French Connection. The Braves were

OPPOSITE: Running behind an offensive line nicknamed the “Electric Company,” O.J. Simpson solidified his superstar status in the Bills’ first seasons at Rich Stadium.

ERAS IN BILLS HISTORY • 37


RIGHT: The return of head coach

Lou Saban, plus the play of star quarterback Joe Ferguson, marked an upswing for the Bills in the early 1970s.

led by the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 1975, Bob McAdoo, and had made the playoffs two years in a row. The Bills started the 1975 season with four straight wins in which they averaged 35 points a game, and included was a 30-21 road win over the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers. Super Bowl visions were dancing in heads for a Week 5 Monday night game against the New York Giants, but it proved to 38 • NOWHERE ELSE YOU’D RATHER BE

be a weird night. A fan crawled out on the steel cable that runs from the north to the south upper decks on the scoreboard end of the stadium. After a few harrowing minutes that distracted many in attendance, he climbed back into the upper deck and disappeared into the crowd. The Bills were upset, 17-14, a sign of bad things to come. With Simpson producing an NFL record 2,243 yards from scrimmage, the Bills had

the No. 1-ranked offense in the NFL. But they were held back by the thirdworst defense in the league. The season ended with a snowstorm game against Minnesota and a 35-13 loss. Little did anyone know at the time, it was the beginning of the end of the Simpson era for the Bills. And Buffalo’s brief renaissance near the top of the North American sports world was about to end. The Braves’ days were numbered, too.


ABOVE: A letter sent by team ticket director Jim Cipriano in March 1973, acknowledging the renewal purchase of season tickets for the debut season in Orchard Park. G REG D. TRANTER COLLECTION AT THE BUFFALO HISTORY MUSEUM

LEFT: Bright days in the Buffalo suburbs was the theme of the 1973

press book. G REG D. TRANTER COLLECTION AT THE BUFFALO HISTORY MUSEUM

ERAS IN BILLS HISTORY • 39


Phenomenal Players

LEFT: Bills Hall of Famers gather at Fawcett Stadium in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 8, 2009,

for owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr.’s Hall of Fame induction. From left: Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas, Marv Levy, Wilson, Joe DeLamielleure, James Lofton, Billy Shaw and Jim Kelly.

PHENOMENAL PLAYERS • 99


RETIRED NUMBER NO. 12

Jim Kelly Quarterback Buffalo career: 1986–1996

J

im Kelly, the catalyst of Buffalo’s run to four straight Super Bowls in the 1990s, is the 17th member of the Bills Wall of Fame and the first player in franchise history to have his number retired. The hero to so many in attendance at Ralph Wilson Stadium the afternoon of Nov. 18, 2001, Kelly needed 20 seconds to compose himself when remembering his own hero during the halftime ceremony of a 23-20 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. “Today,” an emotional Kelly said, voice cracking, “that name up on that wall symbolizes the strength, the courage, the toughness of my son, my soldier, my hero, Hunter. I love you, buddy.” Hunter, 4 years old at the time, suffered from Krabbe disease and had been his father’s inspiration since Kelly retired after the 1996 season as the greatest quarterback in Bills history. “Wow,” said Kelly, whose last name was chanted after he was introduced and again when his number was retired. “I can’t say enough. … This is the greatest day that could have ever happened in my life. It took everybody pulling together in this city. This is one big family. Thank you very much. I love you all.”

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ABOVE: It took a few years for Jim Kelly to warm up to the idea of playing in Buffalo, but once he did, the fans embraced him as he learned to embrace his new city. ABOVE LEFT: Kelly created many notable moments in his 11-year career with Buffalo. His moving halftime speech, nearly five years after his final snap, was another that’s fondly remembered by Bills fans. LEFT: Kelly makes his way to midfield on Nov. 18, 2001, for his Wall of

Fame ceremony with his wife, Jill, and children, from left, Camryn, Erin and Hunter. OPPOSITE: Kelly was the 14th overall selection by the Bills out of the University of Miami in the famed 1983 NFL Draft, which produced fellow Hall of Fame quarterbacks John Elway and Dan Marino.

PHENOMENAL PLAYERS • 101


Beyond Pro Football

BEYOND PRO FOOTBALL • 145


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JAN. 1, 2008

The Winter Classic PITTSBURGH PENGUINS 2, BUFFALO SABRES 1 (SO)

T

he snow. The crowd. An international TV spectacle unlike anything the NHL had seen before. Pro hockey’s return to its outdoor roots was more than just a regular season game. On New Year’s Day in 2008, the Sabres and Penguins set the table for what has become the league’s premier attraction. “I get chills thinking about how much fun that was and what that feeling was like,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman told The Buffalo News 10 years later. “Then you add the snow effect. You couldn’t have scripted a better first Winter Classic. Our teams, our players, the communities we play in, the venues can’t get enough of this, and it goes back to that first game.” From the moment the teams walked

down the tunnel through the epic shootout ending, the inaugural Winter Classic was an event for the history books with a then-NHL record crowd of 71,217. Dubbed the Ice Bowl in the leadup to the game, the party outside Ralph Wilson Stadium was in full swing by 10 a.m. — with blue and gold the colors of choice rather than Bills blue and red. Four Black Hawk helicopters flew overhead following the singing of “O, Canada” and “God Bless America.” The puck dropped just before 1:30 p.m. Temperatures were around freezing and snow fell for much of the next 3 hours, 11 minutes. The on-ice action was staggered and spotty, with plenty of Zamboni, ice repair and snow removal stoppages. Pittsburgh didn’t wait long in striking first, as Sidney Crosby skated around

defenseman Brian Campbell and Colby Armstrong banged home a rebound just 21 seconds into the game. Campbell tied it 1:25 into the second period, taking a cross-ice pass from Tim Connolly and beating former Sabres backup Ty Conklin over his left shoulder. Snow flying and darkness moving in, the shootout began with a snap shot by Ales Kotalik to give the Sabres a quick lead. After a save from each side, Kris Letang roofed a backhander past Ryan Miller to even it at 1-1. Conklin’s ensuing save on Maxim Afinogenov put the game in the hands of Crosby, who pushed the puck from center ice through the snow and between Miller’s legs for the win. Both teams gathered at their blue lines following the game and raised their

sticks to salute the fans, taking in the unforgettable surroundings one last time. “It was definitely worth it,” Sabres forward Jason Pominville said after the game. “Losing the game was the only sad part. From the fans, from the tailgating and everything surrounding it, everything was perfect.” While in Buffalo for Miller’s jersey retirement ceremony in January 2023, Bettman told reporters that the NHL would be “more than happy” to bring the Winter Classic back to Orchard Park when the new stadium is complete. “You have to promise me another snow-globe day,” Bettman said. “This is a great sports town. It’s a great hockey market. Yes, when there’s a new stadium, we’ll be more than happy to bring back an outdoor game.”

OPPOSITE: Jon Williams from Clarence, left, and Mike Bognar of Buffalo take in the sights at Ralph Wilson Stadium during the singing of “God Bless America.” The Winter Classic was the first outdoor regular season game in the U.S. and the second outdoor regular season game in NHL history, following the 2003 Heritage Classic in Edmonton.

BEYOND PRO FOOTBALL • 147


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