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The '''Buffalo Bills''' are a professional [[American football|football]] team based in [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]], [[New York]]. They are members of the [[AFC East|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 (town), New York|Orchard Park]], and since the [[2008 NFL season]] through the [[2012 NFL season]], play one home game per season and three pre-season games in [[Toronto]] as part of the 5-year [[Bills Toronto Series]]. 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|AFL-NFL merger]] in 1970.
The '''Buffalo Bills''' are a professional [[Hand-egg]] team based in [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]], [[New York]]. They are members of the [[AFC East|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 (town), New York|Orchard Park]], and since the [[2008 NFL season]] through the [[2012 NFL season]], play one home game per season and three pre-season games in [[Toronto]] as part of the 5-year [[Bills Toronto Series]]. 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|AFL-NFL merger]] in 1970.


The Bills won two consecutive American Football League titles in 1964 and 1965, but the club has not won a league championship since then. Buffalo is also the only team to win four consecutive [[AFC Championship Game|American Football Conference Championships]], the only team in either conference to play in four consecutive [[Super Bowl]] games, and the only team ever to lose four consecutive [[Super Bowl]]s.
The Bills won two consecutive American Football League titles in 1964 and 1965, but the club has not won a league championship since then. Buffalo is also the only team to win four consecutive [[AFC Championship Game|American Football Conference Championships]], the only team in either conference to play in four consecutive [[Super Bowl]] games, and the only team ever to lose four consecutive [[Super Bowl]]s.

Revision as of 03:49, 17 February 2012

For the American bison hunter, see Buffalo Bill. For other uses, see Buffalo Bills (disambiguation).
North tonawanda Bills
Current season
North tonawanda Bills logo
North tonawanda Bills logo
Logo
Established 1959
Play in and headquartered in Ralph Wilson Stadium
Orchard Park, New York
League / conference affiliations
American Football League (1960–1969)
  • Eastern Division (1960–1969)

National Football League (1970–present)

Uniforms
File:AFCE-Uniform-BUF.PNG
Team colorsRoyal Blue, Red, White      
MascotBilly Buffalo
Personnel
Owner(s)Ralph Wilson
CEORuss Brandon
General managerBuddy Nix
PresidentRalph Wilson
Head coachChan Gailey
Team history
  • North tonawanda Bills (1960–present)
Championships
League championships (12)
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
Playoff appearances (17)
  • AFL: 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966
  • NFL: 1974, 1980, 1981, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999
Home fields

The Buffalo Bills are a professional Hand-egg team based in Buffalo, New York. They are 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 the 2008 NFL season through the 2012 NFL season, play one home game per season and three pre-season games in Toronto as part of the 5-year Bills Toronto Series. 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.

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

The Bills were named as the result of the winning entry in a local contest by Michael Doucas, 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 was named after the historic "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.

They are the only New York NFL team to play their home games within New York state proper. Both the New York Giants and the New York Jets play in East Rutherford, New Jersey, nine miles from their headquarters in New York City. With the inception of the 5-year Bills Toronto Series deal in 2008, that is good through 2012, they are the only NFL team to play a home game in Canada. The Bills conduct summer training camp at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, New York, an eastern suburb of Rochester.

History

Main article: History of the Buffalo Bills
Main article: List of Buffalo Bills seasons

Logos and uniforms

File:AFC-Throwback2-Uniform-BUF.PNG
Buffalo Bills uniform: 1975-1983
*solid red socks were worn from '82-'83
File:AFC-Throwback-Uniform-BUF.PNG
Buffalo Bills uniform: 1987-2001
File:AFCE-Uniform-jersey pants combination-BUF.PNG
Buffalo Bills uniform 2002-2010

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.

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, primarily to help Bills quarterback Joe Ferguson 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. Ferguson said that "Everyone we played had white helmets at that time. Our new head coach Kay Stephenson just wanted to get more of a contrast on the field that may help spot a receiver down the field."[4] (The Patriots now use a silver helmet, the Colts have since been realigned to the AFC South, and the New York Jets, who switched to green helmets after the 1978 season, 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 featured red side panels. The white jerseys included a dark blue shoulder yoke and royal blue numbers. The helmet remained primarily 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 helmet logo adopted in 1974—a charging royal blue bison, with a red streak, white horn and eyeball—remained unchanged.

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

The Bills usually wore the all-blue combination at home and the all-white combination on the road when not wearing the throwback uniforms. They stopped wearing blue-on-white after 2006, while the white-on-blue was not worn after 2007.

For the 2011 season, the Bills unveiled a new uniform design, an updated rendition of the 1975–83 design. This change includes a return to the white helmets with "charging buffalo" logo, and a return to royal blue instead of navy.

Buffalo sporadically wore white at home in the 1980s, but stopped doing so before their Super Bowl years. On November 6, 2011 against the New York Jets, the Bills wore white at home for the first time since 1986.

Players of note

O.J. Simpson, Jack Kemp, Joe Ferguson, Marv Levy, Joe DeLamielleure, Jim Kelly, Fred Smerlas, Kent Hull, Darryl Talley, Jim Ritcher, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, Steve Tasker, Bruce Smith, Booker Edgerson, Phil Hansen.


Current players

Buffalo Bills roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad

Reserve


As of December 7, 2024. Rookies in italics.

53 active, 6 reserve, 16 practice squad (+1 exempt)

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[8]

Unofficially retired

  • 32 O.J. Simpson, RB, 1969–77
  • 34 Thurman Thomas, RB, 1988–99; Cookie Gilchrist, RB, 1962–64
  • 78 Bruce Smith, DE, 1985–99 (although guard Ruben Brown used 78 as his practice jersey; he wore 79 on the field)

Reduced circulation[9]

Since the earliest days of the team, the number 31 was not supposed to be issued to any other 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. Byrd had used number 32 in college, but switched to 31 because the team does not issue Simpson's former number 32.[9]

All-time first round draft picks

1960s[10]

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 USC Running Back

1970s[10]

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[10]

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[10]

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

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

2010s

Year Player College Position
20101 C.J. Spiller Clemson Running Back
2011 Marcell Dareus Alabama Defensive Tackle

Recent Pro Bowl selections

  • 2011 Season - No selections
  • 2010 Season - Kyle Williams (Defensive Tackle - Injury Replacement) [11]
  • 2009 Season - Jairus Byrd (Safety)
  • 2008 Season - Jason Peters (Starting Offensive Tackle), Marshawn Lynch (Running Back - Injury Replacement)[12]
  • 2007 Season - Jason Peters (Offensive Tackle), Aaron Schobel (Defensive End - Injury Replacement)[13]
  • 2006 Season - Aaron Schobel (Defensive End), Brian Moorman (Punter)[14]
  • 2005 Season - Brian Moorman (Punter), Mike Schneck (Need Player)[15]
  • 2004 Season - Takeo Spikes (Linebacker), Ruben Brown (Offensive Guard)[16]
  • 2002 Season - Drew Bledsoe (Quarterback), Ruben Brown (Offensive Guard), Eric Moulds (Wide Receiver), Travis Henry (Running Back - Injury Replacement)[17]

Coaches of note

Head coaches

Main article: List of Buffalo Bills head coaches

Current staff

Buffalo Bills staff
Front office
  • Owner/CEO/president – Terry Pegula
  • Owner – Kim Pegula
  • General manager – Brandon Beane
  • Assistant general manager – Brian Gaine
  • Director of player personnel – Terrance Gray
  • Senior advisor to the GM/football operations – Jim Overdorf
  • Senior executive – Lake Dawson
  • Senior personnel advisor – Malik Boyd
  • Co-director of pro scouting – Chris Marrow
  • Co-director of pro scouting – Curtis Rukavina
  • Assistant director of pro scouting – Asil Mulbah
  • Vice president of football administration – Kevin Meganck
  • Director of football operations – Brendan Rowe
  • Director of college scouting – Matt Bazirgan
Head coach
Offensive coaches
  
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
  • Special teams coordinator – Matthew Smiley
  • Assistant special teams – Cory Harkey
  • Director of team administration – Matt Worswick
Strength and conditioning
  • Head strength and conditioning – Eric Ciano
  • Assistant strength and conditioning/performance development – Will Greenberg
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Hal Luther
  • Strength and conditioning assistant – Nick Lacy
  • Strength and conditioning assistant – Jason Oszvart

→ Coaching staff
→ Front office
→ More NFL staffs

Radio and television

Main article: List of Buffalo Bills broadcasters

The Buffalo Bills Radio Network is currently flagshipped at WGR, AM 550 in Buffalo. 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 approximately seventeen affiliates in upstate New York and one affiliate, CJCL 590AM (The Fan) in Toronto. As of early 2012, it is composed mostly of WGR, Entercom's sister stations WCMF (96.5 FM) and WROC-AM 950 in Rochester, and a fleet of independent AM and FM stations across upstate New York from Jamestown east to Albany. Previous flagship Cumulus Media ceased carrying Bills games at the end of the 2011 season, leaving the network without affiliates in Syracuse, Binghamton, and Erie.

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

During the 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

[18]

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 known as 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 Entercom.

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. The Marching Band performs yearly pregame.

In the bone-chilling winter, it is not uncommon to see shirtless fans painted with Bills decals, especially the "B-I-L-L-S" lettering.

Howard University's mascot, the Bison, is designed identically to the Buffalo Bills' "charging buffalo" logo.

In the 1996 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. The Buffalo Bills are mentioned in the 1995 movie Heavyweights. The character Josh (Shaun Weiss) says, "Perkis caved like the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl", referring to their string of four straight Super Bowl losses in the early 1990s.

In the 1996 Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman episode S04E01, "Lord of the Flies", Clark picks up a blue Buffalo Bills hat with the Charging Buffalo emblem in the center and uses it to help disguise himself. Dean Cain, who played Clark Kent/Superman, had previously tried out for the Bills. In a later episode, he lets it be known that the Metropolis Mammoths were playing the Bills.

The Bills are one of the favorite teams of ESPN announcer Chris Berman, who picked the Bills to reach the Super Bowl nearly every year in the 1990s. Berman often uses the catchphrase "no one circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills!" Berman gave the induction speech for Bills owner Ralph Wilson when Wilson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009. The Bills were also a favorite of late NBC political commentator Tim Russert, a South Buffalo native, who often referred to the Bills on his Sunday morning talk show, Meet the Press.

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Elbert Dubenion - 1960". Hometown.aol.com. 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. ^ "Untold uniform stories: Fergie behind helmet color change". Buffalo Bills. Retrieved 2011-06-24.
  5. ^ By Mark Gaughan (2010-08-06). "The billboard: A daily dose from Bills training camp - Bills & NFL". The Buffalo News. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  6. ^ New Wall of Famer named
  7. ^ Steady Hansen will go on Bills' Wall of Fame
  8. ^ Buffalo Bill Retired Numbers
  9. ^ a b Brown, Chris (2011-06-17). The untouchable numbers. BuffaloBills.com. Retrieved 2011-06-17.
  10. ^ a b c d NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Edited by Randall Liu, pp. 393, Workman Publishing, 2001, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2
  11. ^ Maiorana, Sal (Jan 7, 2011). "Buffalo Bills DT Kyle Williams named to Pro Bowl". rocnow.com. Retrieved 2011-01-09.
  12. ^ Brown, Chris (Jan 29, 2009). "Lynch headed to Pro Bowl". Buffalo Bills.com. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
  13. ^ "2008 Pro Bowl rosters". Nfl.com. 2008-02-04. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  14. ^ 3:37 a.m. ET (2007-02-10). "2007 Pro Bowl rosters". MSNBC.com. Retrieved 2010-12-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ "2005 AFC Pro Bowl roster". ESPN. 2006-02-07. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  16. ^ "2004 Pro Bowl Roster - AFC". Football.about.com. 2010-06-14. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  17. ^ "AFC Pro Bowl squad". ESPN.com. 2003-01-31. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  18. ^ Buffalo Bills Training Camp History
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