The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a major professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation's best players, and introduced many lasting innovations to the game. However, the AAFC was ultimately unable to sustain itself in competition with the NFL. After it folded, three of its teams were admitted to the NFL: the San Francisco 49ers, the Cleveland Browns and the original Baltimore Colts.
Paul Leo Maguire is an American former professional football player and television sportscaster. He played as a punter and linebacker in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL).
Bruce Bernard Smith is an American former football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football for the Virginia Tech Hokies, where he was a twice All-American, and was selected with the first overall pick by the Bills in the 1985 NFL draft.
Throughout its history, the National Football League (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national champion.
For its first nine seasons, 1960 through 1968, the American Football League determined its champion via a single playoff game between the winners of its two divisions.
The 1949 Cleveland Browns season was the team's fourth and final season in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). The Browns finished the regular season with a 9–1–2 win–loss–tie record and beat the San Francisco 49ers to win their fourth straight league championship. In the season's sixth game on October 9, the 49ers stopped the Browns' professional football record unbeaten streak at 29 games. It began two years earlier on October 19, 1947, and included two league championship games and two ties.
The 1964 AFL season was the fifth regular season of the American Football League.
The 1964 AFL Championship Game was the American Football League's fifth championship game, played at War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo, New York, on Saturday, December 26.
James Robert Smith was an American football defensive back, halfback and punter. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions from 1949 to 1954. He played for NFL championship teams in Detroit in 1952 and 1953 and was selected as a first-team All Pro after the 1952 season. He also played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) for the Buffalo Bills (1948), Brooklyn Dodgers (1948), and Chicago Hornets (1949). Smith played college football for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, the Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks (1944), and the Iowa Hawkeyes (1946–1947).
Richard Gale Rifenburg was an American football player and a pioneering television broadcaster for the forerunner to WIVB-TV in Buffalo. He played college football for the University of Michigan Wolverines in 1944 and from 1946 to 1948. He was a consensus selection at end on the 1948 College Football All-America Team. Rifenburg played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) with the Detroit Lions for one season in 1950. After retiring from football he settled in Buffalo and became a sports broadcaster. He worked as a color commentator and as a play-by-play announcer for the Buffalo Bulls. He hosted various television and radio sports shows and was eventually inducted into the Buffalo Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
The 1973 Buffalo Bills season was the 14th season for the team and their 4th season in the National Football League (NFL). The Bills finished in 2nd place in the AFC East division and finished the 1973 NFL season with a record of 9 wins and 5 losses, the team's first winning record since 1966.
The 1969 Buffalo Bills season was the team’s tenth season, and was the final season of the American Football League before the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger. The Bills played an AFL-record seven games against opponents that went on to reach the postseason; Buffalo lost all seven of these games.
The 1963 Buffalo Bills season was the team’s fourth season in the American Football League. Winless after their first four games, Buffalo won seven of the final ten games, including the final two over the New York Jets, to finish with their second-consecutive 7–6–1 record, tied with the Boston Patriots atop the Eastern division. In this era, this required a tiebreaker playoff, the AFL's first. The Patriots and Bills had split their season series, each team winning at home, and the Bills were slight favorites as playoff hosts.
The 1979 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 10th season in the National Football League, and 20th overall.
The 1969 Miami Dolphins season was the team's fourth season, and their final season in the American Football League (AFL). This was the final season for George Wilson as head coach, as Don Shula was hired next season and coached the team for the next 25 seasons until 1995. The team looked to improve on their 5–8–1 record from 1968. However, the Dolphins struggled from the season's start, losing their first 3 games before tying the Oakland Raiders and losing their next 2 games to start the season 0–5–1. After their week 7 win over the Buffalo Bills, the Dolphins would end the season with a 3–10–1 record. Their week 10 loss to the Buffalo Bills would be the last time the Dolphins lost to the Bills until 1980, as the Dolphins won 20 straight against Buffalo from 1970–1979. This became known as "The Streak", as it set an NFL record for the longest winning streak for one team against one opponent, which, as of 2023, is still an NFL record that has not been seriously threatened.
The Bills–Patriots rivalry is an American football rivalry between the Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Both teams are members of the East division of the American Football Conference (AFC) and play two games against each other annually. The series debuted in 1960 when both were charter members of the American Football League (AFL). The two clubs have combined for seventeen AFL or AFC championships, the most of any two teams in the AFC East. In addition, either the Patriots or Bills have won the AFC East division in 28 out of 35 seasons since 1988.
Buffalo, New York and its greater metropolitan area is currently home to two major league sports teams, the Buffalo Sabres & Buffalo Bills. Buffalo is also home to several other major and minor league sports teams, including the Buffalo Bandits, Buffalo Bisons, Buffalo eXtreme and FC Buffalo. Local colleges active in NCAA Division I athletics include Canisius University, Niagara University, St. Bonaventure University and University at Buffalo.
Levi Wallace is an American football cornerback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, and signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2018. He has also played for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The 1946 AAFC season was the first season of the All-America Football Conference, a new professional league established to challenge the market dominance of the established National Football League. The league included eight teams, broken up into Eastern and Western divisions, which played a 14-game official schedule, culminating in a league championship game.
The 1949 Buffalo Bulls football team was an American football team that represented the University of Buffalo as an independent during the 1949 college football season. In its second and final season under head coach Frank Clair, the team compiled a 6–3 record. The team played its home games at Civic Stadium in Buffalo, New York.
