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Buffalo Bills
AmericanFootball current event svg Current season
Established 1959
Play in and headquartered in Ralph Wilson Stadium
Orchard Park, New York
Buffalo Bills helmet
Buffalo Bills logo
Helmet Logo
League/conference affiliations

American Football League (1960–1969)

  • Eastern Division (1960–1969)

National Football League (1970–present)

Current uniform
AFCE-Uniform-BUF
Team colors Red, Royal Blue, Navy Blue, White

                   

Mascot Billy Buffalo
Personnel
Owner(s) Terry Pegula
CEO Russ Brandon
President Ralph Wilson
General manager Buddy Nix
Head coach Sean McDermott
Team history
  • Buffalo Bills (1960–present)
Championships
League championships (2)
Conference championships (4)
  • AFC: 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993
Division championships (10)
  • AFL East: 1964, 1965, 1966
  • AFC East: 1980, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995
Home fields
Buffalo Bills helmet rightface

The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). They play their home games in the suburb of Orchard Park, and since 2008 have played one home game per season in Toronto. The Bills began competitive play in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League and joined the NFL as part of the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.


PLAYERS COACHES SCORES IMAGES SEASONS

The Bills won two consecutive American Football League titles in 1964 and 1965, but the club has not won a league championship since the merger. Buffalo is also the only team to win four consecutive American Football Conference Championships, and the only team in either conference to play in (and lose) four consecutive Super Bowl games.

The Bills were named as the result of the winning entry in a local contest, which named the team after the AAFC Buffalo Bills, a previous football franchise from the All-America Football Conference that merged with the Cleveland Browns in 1950. That team, in turn, was named after William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody. The Bills' cheerleaders are known as the Buffalo Jills. The official mascot is Billy Buffalo; Cody is not used in the team's iconography at all.

The Bills conduct summer training camp at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, New York, a suburb of Rochester.

They are the only NFL team to play their home games within New York state. Both the New York Jets and the New York Giants play in East Rutherford, New Jersey, nine miles outside of their headquarters in New York City. The Bills actually play their home games further away (11 miles) from their headquarters in the city of Buffalo. On October 2, 2005, the Bills played the New Orleans Saints in the first NFL regular-season game held in San Antonio, Texas. With the inception of the 5-year Bills Toronto Series deal in 2008 that is good through 2012, they are also the only team to play a home game in Canada.

History[]

Logos and uniforms[]

AFCE-Uniform-jersey pants combination-BUF

Buffalo Bills uniform combination

AFC-Throwback2-Uniform-BUF

Buffalo Bills uniform: 1975-1983
*solid red socks were worn from '82-'83

AFC-Throwback-Uniform-BUF

Buffalo Bills uniform: 1987-2001

File:BuffaloBillsOldLogo.png

The Bills logo from 1962 to 1973; still used as an alternate logo today.

In 1962, the standing red bison was designated as the logo and took its place on a white helmet.[1] In 1962, the team's colors also changed to red, white, and blue. The team switched to blue jerseys with red and white stripes on the shoulders. the helmets were white with a red center stripe.[2] By 1965, red and blue center stripes were put on the helmets.[3]

The Bills introduced blue pants worn with the white jerseys in 1973, the last year of the standing buffalo helmet. The blue pants remained through 1985. The face mask on the helmet was blue from 1974 through 1986 before changing to white. Buffalo sporadically wore white at home in the 1980s, but has not since 1986.

In 1974, the standing bison logo was replaced by a blue charging one with a red slanting stripe streaming from its horn. In 1984, the helmet's background color was changed from white to red, reportedly in part to distinguish them more readily from three of their division rivals at that time, the Indianapolis Colts, the Miami Dolphins, and the New England Patriots, who all also wore white helmets at that point. (The Patriots now use a silver helmet, the Colts have since been realigned to the AFC South, and the New York Jets, who wore white helmets until 1978, have since switched back to white helmets.)

In 2002, under the direction of general manager Tom Donahoe, the Bills' uniforms went through radical changes. A darker shade of blue was introduced as the main jersey color, and nickel gray was introduced as an accent color. Both the blue and white jerseys feature red side panels. The white jerseys include a dark blue shoulder yoke and royal blue numbers. The current helmet is red with one navy blue, two nickel, two royal blue, two white stripes, and white face mask. A new logo, a stylized B consisting of two bullets and a more detailed buffalo head on top, was proposed and had been released (it can be seen on a few baseball caps that were released for sale), but fan backlash led to the team retaining the running bison logo. The current helmet logo adopted in 1974- a charging royal blue bison, with a red streak, white horn and eyeball- remains unchanged.

In 2005, the Bills revived the standing bison helmet and uniform of the mid-1960s as a throwback uniform.

The Bills usually wear the all-blue combination at home and the all-white combination on the road when not wearing the throwback uniforms. They have not worn blue on white since 2006, while the white on blue has not been worn since 2007.

Players of note[]

Current players[]

Buffalo Bills current rosterview · talk · edit
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists
  • Currently vacant

Unrestricted FAs

Restricted FAs

Exclusive-Rights FAs

Rookies in italics

Roster updated January 4, 2011
Depth chartTransactions
53 active, 0 inactive, 16 FAs

AFC rostersNFC rosters


Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Distinguished Service Award Recipients[]

Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame[]

Pro Football Hall Of Fame[]

Retired numbers[]

  • 12 Jim Kelly, QB, 1986–96[6]

Unofficially retired

  • 32 O.J. Simpson, RB, 1969–77
  • 34 Thurman Thomas, RB, 1988–99
  • 78 Bruce Smith, DE, 1985–99 (although guard Ruben Brown used 78 as his practice jersey; he wore 79 on the field)

Since the earliest days of the team, the number 31 was not supposed to be issued to any player. The Bills had stationery and various other team merchandise showing a running player wearing that number, and it was not supposed to represent any specific person, but the 'spirit of the team.' The tradition was broken in 1969 when reserve running back Preston Ridlehuber was issued number 31 for one game while his normal number 36 jersey was repaired by equipment manager Tony Marchitte. The number 31 was not issued again until 1990 when first round draft choice James (J.D.) Williams wore it for his first two seasons. The number has since been released for use by any player and is currently being worn by starting free safety Jairus Byrd.

All-time first round draft picks[]

1960s[7]

Year Player College Position
1960 Richie Lucas Penn State Quarterback
1961 Ken Rice, 1st Overall Auburn Tackle
1963 Dave Behrman Michigan State Center
1964 Carl Eller Minnesota Defensive End
1965 Jim Davidson Ohio State Tackle
1966 Mike Dennis Mississippi Running Back
1967 John Pitts Arizona State Safety
1968 Haven Moses San Diego State Wide Receiver
1969 O.J. Simpson, 1st Overall Southern California Running Back

1970s[7]

Year Player College Position
1970 Al Cowlings Southern California Defensive Tackle
1971 J.D. Hill Arizona State Wide Receiver
1972 Walt Patulski, 1st Overall Notre Dame Defensive End
1973 Paul Seymour Michigan Tight End
1973 Joe DeLamielleure Michigan State Guard
1974 Reuben Gant Oklahoma State Tight End
1975 Tom Ruud Nebraska Linebacker
1976 Mario Clark Oregon Defensive Back
1977 Phil Dokes Oklahoma State Defensive Tackle
1978 Terry Miller Oklahoma State Running Back
1979 Tom Cousineau, 1st Overall Ohio State Linebacker
1979 Jerry Butler Clemson Wide Receiver

1980s[7]

Year Player College Position
1980 Jim Ritcher North Carolina State Center
1981 Booker Moore Penn State Running Back
1982 Perry Tuttle Clemson Wide Receiver
1983 Tony Hunter Notre Dame Tight End
1983 Jim Kelly Miami (FL) Quarterback
1984 Greg Bell Notre Dame Running Back
1985 Bruce Smith, 1st Overall Virginia Tech Defensive End
1985 Derrick Burroughs Memphis State Defensive Back
1986 Ronnie Harmon Iowa Running Back
1986 Will Wolford Vanderbilt Tackle
1987 Shane Conlan Penn State Linebacker
1988 No 1st Rd Pick, Thurman Thomas (2nd Round) Oklahoma State Running Back
1989 No 1st Rd Pick, Don Beebe (3rd Round) Chadron State Wide Receiver

1990s[7]

Year Player College Position
1990 James Williams Fresno State Defensive Back
1991 Henry Jones Illinois Defensive Back
1992 John Fina Arizona Tackle
1993 Thomas Smith North Carolina Defensive Back
1994 Jeff Burris Notre Dame Defensive Back
1995 Ruben Brown Pittsburgh Guard
1996 Eric Moulds Mississippi State Wide Receiver
1997 Antowain Smith Houston Running Back
1998 No 1st Rd Pick, Sam Cowart (2nd Round) Florida State Linebacker
1999 Antoine Winfield Ohio State Defensive Back

2000s

Year Player College Position
2000 Erik Flowers Arizona State Defensive End
2001 Nate Clements Ohio State Defensive Back
2002 Mike Williams Texas Tackle
2003 Willis McGahee Miami (FL) Running Back
2004 Lee Evans Wisconsin Wide Receiver
2004 J.P. Losman Tulane Quarterback
2005 No 1st Round Pick, Roscoe Parrish (2nd Round) Miami (FL) Wide Receiver
2006 Donte Whitner Ohio State Safety
2006 John McCargo North Carolina State Defensive Tackle
2007 Marshawn Lynch California Running Back
2008 Leodis McKelvin Troy Defensive Back
20091 Aaron Maybin Penn State Defensive End/Outside Linebacker
20091 Eric Wood Louisville Center
20101 C.J. Spiller Clemson Running Back

1 In addition to their own pick (11th overall), the Bills received the 28th overall pick, as well as a fourth-round pick (121st overall) in the 2009 NFL Draft and a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, from the Philadelphia Eagles in a trade for OT Jason Peters

Recent Pro Bowl selections[]

  • 2010 Season - Kyle Williams (Defensive Tackle - Injury Replacement) [8]
  • 2009 Season - Jairus Byrd (Safety)
  • 2008 Season - Jason Peters (Starting Offensive Tackle), Marshawn Lynch (Running Back - Injury Replacement)[9]
  • 2007 Season - Jason Peters (Offensive Tackle), Aaron Schobel (Defensive End - Injury Replacement)[10]
  • 2006 Season - Aaron Schobel (Defensive End), Brian Moorman (Punter)[11]
  • 2005 Season - Brian Moorman (Punter), Mike Schneck (Need Player)[12]
  • 2004 Season - Takeo Spikes (Line Backer), Ruben Brown (Offensive Guard)[13]
  • 2002 Season - Drew Bledsoe (Quarterback), Ruben Brown (Offensive Guard), Eric Moulds (Wide Receiver), Travis Henry (Running Back - Injury Replacement)[14]

Coaches of note[]

Head coaches[]

Current staff[]

Buffalo Bills staffv · d · e
Front Office
  • Owner/CEO – Terrence Pegula
  • Owner – Kim Pegula
  • President – Russ Brandon
  • General Manager – Doug Whaley
  • Senior Vice President of Football Administration – Jim Overdorf
  • Special Assistant – Buddy Nix
  • Director of Pro Personel - Jim Monos
  • Director of Pro Personel – Tom Gibbons
  • Director of College Scouting – Kelvin Fisher
Head Coaches
Offensive Coaches
  • Offensive Coordinator – Nathaniel Hackett
  • Quarterbacks – Todd Downing
  • Running Backs – Tyrone Wheatley
  • Wide Receivers – Rob Moore
  • Tight Ends – Greg Adkins
  • Offensive Line – Pat Morris
  • Offensive Quality Control – Kurt Anderson
  • Offensive Quality Control – Jason Vrable
  • Senior Offensive Assistant – Jim Hostler
 
Defensive Coaches
  • Defensive Coordinator – Jim Schwartz
  • Defensive Line – Pepper Johnson
  • Assistant Defensive Line – Jason Rebrovich
  • Linebackers – Fred Pagac
  • Defensive Backs – Donnie Henderson
  • Assistant Defensive Backs – Samson Brown
  • Defensive Quality Control - Thad Bogardus
Special Teams Coaches
  • Special Teams – Danny Crossman
  • Assistant Special Teams – John Anselmo
Strength and Conditioning
  • Head Strength and Conditioning – Eric Ciano
  • Assistant Head Strength and Conditioning – Hal Luther
  • Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Dan Liburd

Coaching Staff
Management
More NFL staffs

AFC East: BUF  · MIA  · NE  · NYJNorth: BAL  · CIN  · CLE  · PITSouth: HOU  · IND  · JAC  · TENWest: DEN  · KC  · OAK  · SD
NFC East: DAL  · NYG  · PHI  · WASNorth: CHI  · DET  · GB  · MINSouth: ATL  · CAR  · NO  · TBWest: ARI  · STL  · SF  · SEA

Radio and television[]

The Buffalo Bills Radio Network is currently flagshipped at WGRF 96.9 FM, with games also available on WEDG 103.3FM. John Murphy is the team's current play-by-play announcer; he was a color commentator alongside and eventually succeeded longtime voice Van Miller after Miller's retirement at the end of the 2003 NFL season. Mark Kelso serves as the color analyst. The Bills radio network has over twenty affiliates in upstate New York and one affiliate, CJCL 590AM (The Fan) in Toronto.

Buffalo is also one of eight teams that is contracted with Compass Media Networks to syndicate selected games nationwide.

During preseason, most games are televised on Buffalo's ABC affiliate, WKBW-TV channel 7, with several other affiliates in western New York. These games are simulcast on sister stations WTVH in Syracuse, WICU in Erie, WHAM-TV in Rochester, and beginning in 2008, CITY-TV in Toronto. Ray Bentley, a former Bills linebacker and current AFL on ESPN analyst, does play by play, while CBS analyst and former Bills special teams player Steve Tasker does color commentary on these games. WHAM-TV sports anchor Mike Catalana is the sideline reporter. Since 2008, preseason games have been broadcast in high definition.

In the event that regular season (or preseason) games are broadcast by a cable outlet (ESPN or NFL Network), WKBW-TV carries the ESPN or NFL Network feed.

Training camp sites[]

  • 1960-1962 Roycroft Inn, East Aurora, New York
  • 1963-1967 Camelot Hotel, Blasdell, New York
  • 1968-1980 Niagara University, Niagara Falls, New York
  • 1981-1999 State University at Fredonia, Fredonia, New York
  • 2000–present St. John Fisher College, Pittsford, New York[15]

Mascots, cheerleaders and marching band[]

The Bills' official mascot is Billy Buffalo, an eight-foot tall, anthropomorphic blue American bison who wears the jersey number BB.

The Bills' cheerleaders are the Buffalo Jills. The Jills are not owned by the Bills, but instead are a separate organization funded primarily by the Buffalo Bills Radio Network, a subsidiary of Citadel Broadcasting.

The Attica High School Marching Band is the official marching band of the Buffalo Bills. Along with the Baltimore Ravens and the Washington Redskins, the Bills are one of only three teams in the NFL to designate an official marching band.

In popular culture[]

In the X-Files episode "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man", the titular character, a member of a shadowy government cabal, states that the Buffalo Bills will not win a Super Bowl while he lives.

The Buffalo Bills were featured on the direct-to-TV movie, Second String and in the Vincent Gallo drama Buffalo 66.

Gallery[]

Notes and references[]

  1. "Elbert Dubenion - 1960". Hometown.aol.com. http://hometown.aol.com/bkbubco/60-Buf.html. Retrieved 2010-12-30.[unreliable source?]
  2. http://hometown.aol.com/bkbubco/62-Buf.html[dead link]
  3. Billy Shaw & Tom Sestak - 1965[dead link]
  4. By Mark Gaughan (2010-08-06). "The billboard: A daily dose from Bills training camp - Bills & NFL". The Buffalo News. http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bills-nfl/article95278.ece. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  5. New Wall of Famer named
  6. Buffalo Bill Retired Numbers
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Edited by Randall Liu, pp. 393, Workman Publishing, 2001, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2
  8. Maiorana, Sal (Jan 7, 2011). "Buffalo Bills DT Kyle Williams named to Pro Bowl". rocnow.com. http://rocnow.com/article/bills/2011101070331. Retrieved 2011-01-09.
  9. Brown, Chris (Jan 29, 2009). "Lynch headed to Pro Bowl". Buffalo Bills.com. http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-1/lynch-headed-to-pro-bowl-/388a14b3-9fca-4148-9415-ac41532f87fc. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
  10. "2008 Pro Bowl rosters". Nfl.com. 2008-02-04. http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d8053b226&template=without-video&confirm=true. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  11. 3:37 a.m. ET (2007-02-10). "2007 Pro Bowl rosters". MSNBC.com. http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/16287024/. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  12. "2005 AFC Pro Bowl roster". ESPN. 2006-02-07. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2267705. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  13. "2004 Pro Bowl Roster - AFC". Football.about.com. 2010-06-14. http://football.about.com/cs/history/a/afcprobowl2004.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  14. "AFC Pro Bowl squad". ESPN.com. 2003-01-31. http://static.espn.go.com/nfl/probowl03/s/afcprobowl03.html. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  15. Buffalo Bills Training Camp History

See also[]

External links[]

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