The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970,when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL),and became the American Football Conference. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence. It was more successful than earlier rivals to the NFL with the same name,the 1926,1936 and 1940 leagues,and the later All-America Football Conference.
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team plays its home games at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park,New York. Founded in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL),they joined the NFL in 1970 following the AFL–NFL merger. The Bills' name is derived from an All-America Football Conference (AAFC) franchise from Buffalo that was in turn named after western frontiersman Buffalo Bill. Drawing much of its fanbase from Western New York,the Bills are the only NFL team that plays home games in that state. The franchise is owned by Terry and Kim Pegula,who purchased the Bills after the death of original owner Ralph Wilson in 2014.
Jack French Kemp was an American politician and a professional football player. A member of the Republican Party from New York,he served as Housing Secretary in the administration of President George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1993,having previously served nine terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1989. He was the Republican Party's vice presidential nominee in the 1996 election,as the running mate of Bob Dole;they lost to incumbent president Bill Clinton and vice president Al Gore. Kemp had previously contended for the presidential nomination in the 1988 Republican primaries.
Daryle Pasquale Lamonica was an American professional football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons,primarily with the Oakland Raiders. He spent his first four seasons mostly as a backup for the Buffalo Bills,who selected him in the 24th round of the 1963 AFL Draft. Lamonica played his next eight seasons as the primary starter of the Raiders,including after they joined the NFL through the AFL–NFL merger.
Thomas Raymond Flores is an American former professional football player in the American Football League (AFL) and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played as a quarterback for nine seasons in the NFL,primarily with the Oakland Raiders. After his retirement as a coach,he was a radio announcer for more than twenty years.
Louis Henry Saban was an American football player and coach. He played for Indiana University in college and as a professional for the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) between 1946 and 1949. Saban then began a long coaching career. After numerous jobs at the college level,he became the first coach of the Boston Patriots in the American Football League (AFL) in 1960. He joined the Buffalo Bills two years later,and led the team to consecutive AFL championships in 1964 and 1965. Saban was the first head coach to win multiple AFL championships,with only Hank Stram passing him. After serving briefly as head coach at the University of Maryland,he was hired as head coach of the Denver Broncos in 1967,where he remained for five years. Saban returned to the Bills—by then in the National Football League (NFL) following the AFL–NFL merger—from 1972 to 1976,reaching the playoffs once but failing to bring Buffalo another championship.
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.
Marlin Oliver Briscoe,nicknamed "the Magician",was an American professional football player who was a quarterback and wide receiver in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). In October 1968,after being drafted by the AFL's Denver Broncos,he became the first black starting quarterback in professional football,and established a Denver rookie record of 14 touchdown passes that season. He played professionally for nine years.
The 1992 NFL season was the 73rd regular season of the National Football League (NFL). Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Andrew,the New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins game that was scheduled for September 6 at Joe Robbie Stadium was rescheduled to October 18. Both teams originally had that weekend off. This marked the first time since the 1966 NFL season and the AFL seasons of 1966 and 1967 that there were byes in week 1.
The Buffalo Bills were an American football team,based in Buffalo,New York,that played in the All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1949. During its first season in 1946,the team was known as the Buffalo Bisons. Unlike the Cleveland Browns,San Francisco 49ers,and Baltimore Colts,the franchise was not one of the three AAFC teams that merged with the National Football League prior to the 1950 season. It was named after Buffalo Bill.
George William Ratterman was an American professional football quarterback who played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football League (NFL).
Stewart Clair Barber is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle for the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League (AFL). He also was an executive in the National Football League (NFL) for the Buffalo Bills. He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Francis Joseph Tripucka was an American football quarterback who played professionally for 15 seasons. He spent four seasons in the National Football League (NFL),eight in the Canadian Football League (CFL),and four in American Football League (AFL). Tripucka achieved his greatest success as the inaugural quarterback for the AFL's Denver Broncos,who he was a member of from 1960 to 1963. During Denver's inaugural year,Tripucka became the first NFL / AFL quarterback to throw for 3,000 yards in a season,earning him All-Star honors. He was inducted to the Broncos Ring of Fame in 1986.
Jeffrey Allan Kemp is a former American football quarterback who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams,San Francisco 49ers,Seattle Seahawks,and Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football at Dartmouth College in the Ivy League,and was not selected in the 1981 NFL Draft. In 1984,Kemp led the Rams with thirteen touchdown passes and a trip to the playoffs. As a back-up to the injured Joe Montana in 1986,he threw eleven touchdown passes for the 49ers.
The history of the Buffalo Bills began in 1960,when the team began play as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL),winning two consecutive AFL titles in 1964 and 1965. The club joined the National Football League (NFL) as part of the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. The Bills have the distinction of being the only team to advance to four consecutive Super Bowls between 1990 and 1993,but also the regrettable distinction of losing all four of them.
The 1962 Buffalo Bills season was the team’s third season in the American Football League. The Bills finished the season with a 7–6–1 record,third place in the AFL East;it was the Bills' first-ever season finishing with a winning record.
The 1968 Buffalo Bills season was the team’s ninth season.
The 2005 Buffalo Bills season was their 46th in the National Football League. The team was unable to improve upon their previous season’s output of 9–7,instead finishing 5–11. This was the sixth consecutive season in which the team missed the playoffs.
Howard Preston Ridlehuber is a former American collegiate and professional football running back in the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). He played one season each for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons and the AFL's Oakland Raiders and Buffalo Bills. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the 11th round,pick 166 overall,in the 1966 NFL draft and by the New York Jets in the 19th round,pick 168 overall,of the 1966 AFL draft.
Daniel Meyer Darragh is a former American football player. He played college football at William &Mary. A quarterback,he played professionally in the American Football League (AFL) for the Buffalo Bills from 1968 through 1969,and for the NFL Bills in 1970. He shared the starting job with Ed Rutkowski,Kay Stephenson and Tom Flores in 1968 while long-time starter and former AFL MVP Jack Kemp was out with an injury. He is now a practicing attorney in Pittsburgh.
