Buffalo Bills History and Information
The Bufalo Bills were a charter member of the American Football League in 1960. After a public contest, the team adopted the same name as the former All-America Football Conference team in Buffalo. In the AFL, a predominantly offensive league, the Bills were a great defensive team.
The 1964 Bills allowed just 300 rushing attempts 913 yards rushing during the regular season, a pro football record. The same defense registered fifty quarterback sacks, a team record that stands today, even though it was established in a 14-game season. They were the first American Football League team to win 13 games in a season. The 1964 defense also allowed only four touchdowns rushing all season, and started a string that would extend into the 1965 season: seventeen straight games without allowing an opponent to score a rushing touchdown. Eight members of the 1964 squad were on that year's AFL Eastern Division All-Star Team. Three were eventually named to the American Football League's All-Time Team, and six to the second team. The only professional football player ever inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, without ever playing in the NFL, was a member of the 1964 Bills; guard Billy Shaw.
The Bills won AFL championships in both 1964 and 1965, were one of only three teams to appear in an AFL championship game for three consecutive years, and the only AFL team to play in the post-season for four straight years, 1963 through 1966. In addition to their defensive prowess, the Bills had offensive muscle as well, in stars such as fullback Cookie Gilchrist, quarterbacks Jack Kemp and Daryle Lamonica, and receivers Elbert Dubenion and Ernie Warlick. Tragedy struck the Bills in when Bob Kalsu, an offensive lineman, quit the team after his 1968 rookie season to serve in the Vietnam War, where he was killed in action in 1970.
Before the 1969 season, the Bills drafted running back O.J. Simpson, who would become the face of the franchise through the 1970s. The Bills became part of the NFL when the latter absorbed the AFL in a merger in 1970. In 1971, not only did the Bills finish in sole possession of the NFL's worst overall record at 1-13, but they also scored the fewest points (184) in the league that year while allowing the most (394); no NFL team has since done all three of those things in the same season in a non-strike year. Lou Saban, who had coached the Bills' AFL championship teams, was re-hired in 1972.
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