Ralph C. Wilson Jr.
is the only owner the Buffalo Bills have ever known. In 1959, Wilson, Lamar
Hunt, Bud Adams, Bob Howsam, Barron Hilton, Billy Sullivan, Harry Wismer
and Wayne Valley risked portions of their personal fortunes and every once
of their weighty reputations to form the American Football League. Valley
tabbed them "The Foolish Club."
"It was a foolish club," said Wilson, who after a deal to place a team in Miami turned sour, placed his franchise in Buffalo. "It was like starting a new automobile company from scratch and bucking Ford and GM. The NFL was powerfully entrenched. In Detroit, my friends said, 'You have a franchise in the honky-tonk AFL?' They laughed at me at cocktail parties. I was a joke."
Unlike their critics, these eight men had recognized that pro football had grown exponentially in the 1950's and at the end of the decade, sports had become woven into the fabric of the American way of life. With the dawn of the 60's approaching, it was a great time to be an American. The country was free from war, free from recession, and Americans were entering the new decade with a young, vibrant president in John F. Kennedy leading the way. There was room for more pro football and the "fools" knew it.
Wilson, an insurance and trucking magnate from Detroit, was a fan of the Detroit Lions. Wilson and his father regularly attended Lions games until Ralph went away in 1941, to join the Navy during World War II. In 1948, Wilson and his father bought a 4% share in the Lions, to keep the team locally owned. This fueled Wilson's desire to own his own team.
In August of 1959 while in Saratoga for the start of the racing season, Wilson read in the New York Times read of a young oil tycoon named Lamar Hunt, who was starting a new football league. Wilson learned that they were interested in placing a team in Miami. "I had a winter home in Miami," said Wilson. "I wasn't a total stranger down there. I had been going down there since I was a youngster."
To his surprise, Wilson received fierce opposition in trying to work out a lease arrangement with the Orange Bowl, not only from political leaders but from the University of Miami as well. "Well if you couldn't get the Orange Bowl, you had no place to play in Miami in those days," Wilson said. "So I forgot about the whole thing."
A few days later, Hunt called Wilson and told him that he had seven teams lined up and needed an eighth, to balance out the schedule. Hunt told Wilson that there were 5 cities interested; Louisville, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Atlanta and Buffalo and could have his choice of anyone. Wilson knew nothing of either of the cities. Wilson asked Ed Hayes, sports editor of the Detroit Times and Nick Kerbawy, an executive with the Lions, which of the cities they would choose. They both answered, Buffalo.
Though it was built in the 30's, Buffalo also had a functioning stadium in War Memorial Stadium and there were no roadblocks in obtaining a lease for its use. Wilson paid his $25,000 franchise fee and the rest is history.
Since that first season, Wilson and the Buffalo Bills fans have had a love-hate relationship. In the AFL years, when the Bills were winning, Wilson was a beloved figure on the Buffalo sports scene. As the teams fortunes began to wane, however, so did Wilson's popularity among the fans. He was tabbed as a cheapskate, who wouldn't spend enough on a winner, during the 70's. Much of this critisism was deserved, much of it was not. As the Bills once again rose to prominence, Wilson's popularity rose with it.
Recently, Wilson went through tough lease negotiations with politicians
in the Western New York area. Wilson lobbied
for improvements to the stadium and practice facilities, making
Rich Stadium, a state of the art facility. He also bargained to aquire
the naming rights to the stadium and at the start of the 1998 season, Rich
Stadium will have a new name. It is not known what that name will be, as
of yet, but Wilson has stated that he will not sell the name
to corporate sponsors, a modern day, greedy practice that he loathes.
Like him or not, you have to respect his integrity for that.