For all the players, coaches and coordinators that came through this city and wore the Bills logo on their helmets, hoodies and polos, I've got attached and inevitably let down. I was happy that these people wanted to come to the city that I was born in, the city that I loved so much, and turn our football team into a winner. Many people have come and gone, rarely making a dent, never chipping into making my dreams a reality of one day being a championship city, sometimes doing no better than the people before them.
Yet as all the years flew by, all these players came and went, all these coaches were hired and fired, all of our hopes and dreams building and breaking, and many moons before I was born, there was a man who has been here from the start. A man that has been through the ups, the downs, the trials and the tribulations. He's seen big wins, heartbreaking losses, underrated free agent signings, disappointing draft day selections. No matter how attached you are to this team, it pales in comparison to the attachment that Ralph Wilson had to the Buffalo Bills.
Without Ralph Wilson Jr., none of this would be possible. Who is this man that we owe so much to? Think of all the great tailgates where you met new friends, maybe even a future husband or wife. Drinking beers, grilling food and being among friends with one thing in common, the love for a professional football team. The day of bonding you had with your dad when you went to your first game and threw the football around, asking him the rules and which player was which. The Sunday games that got you through a long work week or a tough week of finals while you were in college. No matter how tough your Monday-Saturday was, you had the Buffalo Bills on Sunday to look forward to. This team united a city. When things were good, the city was buzzing with hugs and high fives, when things were rocky, you had the shoulders of your fellow fans to cry on. You were never alone in this city as long as you were a Bills fan. You don't appreciate it until you think what you would have done or who you would be without it. Once you start thinking of that, you start thinking of Ralph and how it was all possible because of him.
Ralph Wilson was born on October 17th, 1918. He was born in Columbus, Ohio but grew up in Detroit, Michigan which is the main reason why we play the Detroit Lions every year in the preseason. Wilson graduated from the University of Virginia and then attended the University of Michigan Law School. Before we delve into his football profession, I want to point out something even more admirable than what he did as an NFL owner. From 1941-1946, Wilson served in the United States Navy during World War II.
After a successful post-war career in the insurance business parlayed with good personal investments, Wilson was in a great position financially. Wilson set his sights on professional football and his dream of owning a franchise. That dream became a reality in 1959 at the ripe age of 41. Not only was Ralph the owner, but he was also the founder of the Buffalo Bills. At this time the Buffalo Bills were playing in the AFL (American Football League), where they played for 11 years before merging with the National Football League in 1970. In their time in the AFL under Wilson, the Bills won 2 AFL Champions, back to back in 1964 and 1965. Wilson was the AFL president who helped make the merger happen showing one of the many hats he wore within the scope of professional football.
Ralph Wilson will be forever known as the owner of the NFL franchise who went to and lost 4 straight Super Bowls. Instead, he should be known as the owner who led his franchise to 4 straight Super Bowls. Ugh, that's what my fan-hood has come to. Brainwashing myself into putting a positive spin on some of the darkest days this city has experienced. I can't act like I'm too bummed, I was only 2, 3, 4 and 5 so I wouldn't quite consider myself a 'die-hard Bills fan' at the time even though I was probably rocking some pretty sweet Bills gear at the time. However, I do feel bad for the people who were die-hard fans at the time because if that happened to me now, following the team as religiously as I do, I'd probably be locked up in a psych ward somewhere due to emotional instability. Anyway, moving on.
The stadium we so religiously attend on Sundays is named after Ralph Wilson Jr. and has donned the name, Ralph Wilson Stadium, since 1998. After the Rich Stadium lease expired, he turned down several offers and large sums of money to keep it in his name. He did a lot for the league, outside of the Bills organization, lobbying to keep other teams in their respective cities, helping settle lockouts and collective bargaining agreements. One chink in his armor however is negotiating a deal that would force our beloved Bills to play one home game a year in Toronto. Hopefully those days are in the past Ralph because it's not a home game unless its at 'The Ralph'.
Ralph watched his team win two championships, neither of them being in the modern day NFL and that stings. That's something Ralph would have really liked, even moreso than any fan who claims they are the biggest Bills fan. I can assure you, there is no bigger Bills fan than Ralph Wilson Jr. and there never will be. Ralph Wilson Jr. is proudly honored on the Buffalo Bills Wall-of-Fame where we will constantly be reminded of all the great things he's done for not only this organization but also for our city. The biggest honor though may have came in 2009 when he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. An honor that was well deserved for such a great guy. Ralph Wilson donated millions of dollars to the league in various capacities. His heart was in football and his footprints have been left on the city of Buffalo; the best damn city in the United States of America. The Bills will win the Super Bowl one day soon and Ralph will be smiling down on the city of Buffalo because without him, none of it would have been possible.
R.I.P. to Ralph Cookerly Wilson Jr. who died on March 25th, 2014 at the age of 95, as the NFL's oldest and longest tenured owner.
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