a g-OL-den anniversary

[Jim Gehman]

Much has been said about Buffalo’s inexperienced offensive line as they get ready to open the regular season on Sunday. But 50 years ago the Bills fielded a line that was even less experienced.

 

It was made of up two rookies, a third from the 1961 draft would join them a year later, and the trio of Billy Shaw, Al Bemiller, and Stew Barber would become reliable mainstays, two-time AFL champions - and in Shaw’s case, earn a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame - during their nine-year Bills careers.

 

 

The (Almost) Natural

 

The NFL’s Dallas Cowboys had one idea. Billy Shaw, an All-America offensive tackle at Georgia Tech where he also played defensive end, had another. And after selecting him in the second round of the 1961 AFL draft, the Bills smartly sided with Shaw.

 

"[The Cowboys] wanted me to play at linebacker! I never played linebacker before, and I just didn’t want to try to play a new position," Shaw said. "The AFL drafted first, and [buffalo] drafted me and told me that I would either play defensive end or they would possibly try me on the offensive side of the ball at guard. So I signed with the Bills before the NFL draft because they were going to play me at positions that I was used to playing. But because of the infancy of the AFL at the time, the Cowboys went ahead and drafted me, although I had signed with the Bills, in the anticipation or hopes that the AFL would fold."

 

While the Cowboys would be incorrect, Shaw showed up at Buffalo’s training camp and came across as if he had been playing guard all his life. But in fact, he had only taken up the position a month earlier while practicing for the annual College All-Star Game in Chicago.

 

"I was playing defensive end and not really doing a good job at it," admitted Shaw. "My nemesis all the way through my career in Buffalo was a defensive tackle in Boston by the name of Houston Antwine. Houston was one of those players that might have been six feet tall, if he stretched. But Houston weighed about 280 and had a really low point of gravity. He was extremely quick and gave me fits. But at the All-Star Game, about halfway through the practice session, Houston was playing offensive guard and not doing a real good job at it. I was playing defensive end and not doing a real good job at it, so Otto Graham, who was our coach, swapped us. That was his salvation and mine as far as football was concerned. When I came to Buffalo, they played me at guard immediately."

 

Having to wait until his second year before being selected to play in the AFL All-Star Game, Shaw would end the next seven consecutive seasons with the same acknowledgement. Later chosen for the All-Time All-AFL team, in 1999 he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

 

"It is certainly an honor that I cherish, but not so much individually. Being the only Hall of Famer to be inducted who played his whole career in the AFL, there was a love affair in the AFL. It was made up of guys that had spent a great deal of time in the NFL, and then there were guys that had shunned the NFL and chose the AFL, which I was a part of. I kind of look at my induction as a person there representing those guys that toiled for so many years in the AFL, mostly in obscurity. It’s an honor to represent them."

 

 

Dropping the Anchor

 

Beginning in 1961 and through the next eight seasons, the Bills played 126 regular-season games; 42 preseason games; and four postseason games, including for the 1964, 1965, and 1966 AFL championships. Some games they won, some they lost, and some they even tied. But what was by and large the same regardless of the outcome was that No. 50, Al Bemiller, would be anchoring the offensive line at center. And when he was not there, he was just one step away and playing at guard. What does he attribute that dependability to?

 

"The big L! Luck! A lot of luck," said the modest and humorous Bemiller. "And also I tell people that I always tried to stay away from the big boys [on opposing defensive lines] because I did all the line calls. I’d see big Ernie Ladd sitting off to my left and I was supposed to get him, I’d sic [billy] Shaw on him. I’d go the opposite direction." All kidding aside, Bemiller proved to be as reliable and as tough as a 10-penny nail. Without question, he had his share of injuries, but pain was not going to sideline the Syracuse alumnus.

 

"Back then we only had 33 ballplayers. You had to play," Bemiller said. "It wasn’t like today where you take off a couple days off, a couple weeks off, or a month off. You come back and you get your job back. It wasn’t that way! If you got injured, unless you were a superstar, you’re gone! So I played through injuries, sure. Not major ones. I was very, very lucky."

 

That was until the 1969 season finale in San Diego, a 45-6 loss to the Chargers. Bemiller tore a ligament in his knee that required surgery. Still, it was not the injury that put him on the sideline.

 

"No, I was in very good shape. I came back [for the 1970 season] and there were no problems with my knee. Then [John] Rauch came in [as head coach] and cleaned house," said Bemiller. "Of course, I was in pretty good company. Guys like [Ron] McDole, who later on became an all-time great in Washington. And he got rid of [booker] Edgerson. He got rid of a bunch of us. I could have gone on and played. I was picked up by Detroit, and at the time, I had just opened a nightclub out in Hamburg, and it was going great guns. So I thought, ‘No, I’m going to stay here with the club,’ and that’s what I did.

 

"Now years and years and years later, you think, ’Jeez, why didn’t I go for that?’ I had another two, three, four years in me. I know I did. I was very lucky in the sense that my body at that time was very young. It didn’t bother me. It got easier for me. The training camps, believe it or not, got easier for me. You know when to run, when to sit, when to take a drink of water, all that kind of stuff. Of course, then you think back, if I would have gone then I could have really got hurt. So I had a great career."

 

 

Switch Back to Where You Were

 

An All-America offensive tackle at Penn State, Stew Barber was switched to outside linebacker as a rookie with the Bills in 1961. He made the transition from blocking to tackling and showed that he could catch the ball as well. Collecting three interceptions, he found the end zone in Denver with one after picking off Broncos quarterback Frank Tripucka and motoring 21 yards for the score.

 

However, when Lou Saban succeeded Buster Ramsey as the head coach in 1962, one of the moves he made was returning Barber back to the offensive line. "[Following the 1961 season] I’d gone on a six-month program in the military. I worked my butt off to get my weight down because I weighed about 240," said Barber. "I came out of the service at about 220 and went to training camp. Saban, on about the second or third day, came to me and said, ‘We’re going to make an offensive tackle out of you.’"

 

The svelte Barber’s reaction? "So be it. I gained 20 pounds in about two weeks and got my butt beat by everybody, blocking guys that were 270, 280. By the end of training camp, I’d gained about 20, 25 more pounds and still had all the quickness that was necessary for pass-blocking and all the other stuff. I’m glad that it worked out."

 

Excerpts from “Then Levy Said to Kelly…”

[Bob in STL]

Much has been said about Buffalo’s inexperienced offensive line as they get ready to open the regular season on Sunday. But 50 years ago the Bills fielded a line that was even less experienced.

 

It was made of up two rookies, a third from the 1961 draft would join them a year later, and the trio of Billy Shaw, Al Bemiller, and Stew Barber would become reliable mainstays, two-time AFL champions - and in Shaw’s case, earn a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame - during their nine-year Bills careers.

 

 

The (Almost) Natural

 

The NFL’s Dallas Cowboys had one idea. Billy Shaw, an All-America offensive tackle at Georgia Tech where he also played defensive end, had another. And after selecting him in the second round of the 1961 AFL draft, the Bills smartly sided with Shaw.

 

"[The Cowboys] wanted me to play at linebacker! I never played linebacker before, and I just didn’t want to try to play a new position," Shaw said. "The AFL drafted first, and [buffalo] drafted me and told me that I would either play defensive end or they would possibly try me on the offensive side of the ball at guard. So I signed with the Bills before the NFL draft because they were going to play me at positions that I was used to playing. But because of the infancy of the AFL at the time, the Cowboys went ahead and drafted me, although I had signed with the Bills, in the anticipation or hopes that the AFL would fold."

 

While the Cowboys would be incorrect, Shaw showed up at Buffalo’s training camp and came across as if he had been playing guard all his life. But in fact, he had only taken up the position a month earlier while practicing for the annual College All-Star Game in Chicago.

 

"I was playing defensive end and not really doing a good job at it," admitted Shaw. "My nemesis all the way through my career in Buffalo was a defensive tackle in Boston by the name of Houston Antwine. Houston was one of those players that might have been six feet tall, if he stretched. But Houston weighed about 280 and had a really low point of gravity. He was extremely quick and gave me fits. But at the All-Star Game, about halfway through the practice session, Houston was playing offensive guard and not doing a real good job at it. I was playing defensive end and not doing a real good job at it, so Otto Graham, who was our coach, swapped us. That was his salvation and mine as far as football was concerned. When I came to Buffalo, they played me at guard immediately."

 

Having to wait until his second year before being selected to play in the AFL All-Star Game, Shaw would end the next seven consecutive seasons with the same acknowledgement. Later chosen for the All-Time All-AFL team, in 1999 he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

 

"It is certainly an honor that I cherish, but not so much individually. Being the only Hall of Famer to be inducted who played his whole career in the AFL, there was a love affair in the AFL. It was made up of guys that had spent a great deal of time in the NFL, and then there were guys that had shunned the NFL and chose the AFL, which I was a part of. I kind of look at my induction as a person there representing those guys that toiled for so many years in the AFL, mostly in obscurity. It’s an honor to represent them."

 

 

Dropping the Anchor

 

Beginning in 1961 and through the next eight seasons, the Bills played 126 regular-season games; 42 preseason games; and four postseason games, including for the 1964, 1965, and 1966 AFL championships. Some games they won, some they lost, and some they even tied. But what was by and large the same regardless of the outcome was that No. 50, Al Bemiller, would be anchoring the offensive line at center. And when he was not there, he was just one step away and playing at guard. What does he attribute that dependability to?

 

"The big L! Luck! A lot of luck," said the modest and humorous Bemiller. "And also I tell people that I always tried to stay away from the big boys [on opposing defensive lines] because I did all the line calls. I’d see big Ernie Ladd sitting off to my left and I was supposed to get him, I’d sic [billy] Shaw on him. I’d go the opposite direction." All kidding aside, Bemiller proved to be as reliable and as tough as a 10-penny nail. Without question, he had his share of injuries, but pain was not going to sideline the Syracuse alumnus.

 

"Back then we only had 33 ballplayers. You had to play," Bemiller said. "It wasn’t like today where you take off a couple days off, a couple weeks off, or a month off. You come back and you get your job back. It wasn’t that way! If you got injured, unless you were a superstar, you’re gone! So I played through injuries, sure. Not major ones. I was very, very lucky."

 

That was until the 1969 season finale in San Diego, a 45-6 loss to the Chargers. Bemiller tore a ligament in his knee that required surgery. Still, it was not the injury that put him on the sideline.

 

"No, I was in very good shape. I came back [for the 1970 season] and there were no problems with my knee. Then [John] Rauch came in [as head coach] and cleaned house," said Bemiller. "Of course, I was in pretty good company. Guys like [Ron] McDole, who later on became an all-time great in Washington. And he got rid of [booker] Edgerson. He got rid of a bunch of us. I could have gone on and played. I was picked up by Detroit, and at the time, I had just opened a nightclub out in Hamburg, and it was going great guns. So I thought, ‘No, I’m going to stay here with the club,’ and that’s what I did.

 

"Now years and years and years later, you think, ’Jeez, why didn’t I go for that?’ I had another two, three, four years in me. I know I did. I was very lucky in the sense that my body at that time was very young. It didn’t bother me. It got easier for me. The training camps, believe it or not, got easier for me. You know when to run, when to sit, when to take a drink of water, all that kind of stuff. Of course, then you think back, if I would have gone then I could have really got hurt. So I had a great career."

 

 

Switch Back to Where You Were

 

An All-America offensive tackle at Penn State, Stew Barber was switched to outside linebacker as a rookie with the Bills in 1961. He made the transition from blocking to tackling and showed that he could catch the ball as well. Collecting three interceptions, he found the end zone in Denver with one after picking off Broncos quarterback Frank Tripucka and motoring 21 yards for the score.

 

However, when Lou Saban succeeded Buster Ramsey as the head coach in 1962, one of the moves he made was returning Barber back to the offensive line. "[Following the 1961 season] I’d gone on a six-month program in the military. I worked my butt off to get my weight down because I weighed about 240," said Barber. "I came out of the service at about 220 and went to training camp. Saban, on about the second or third day, came to me and said, ‘We’re going to make an offensive tackle out of you.’"

 

The svelte Barber’s reaction? "So be it. I gained 20 pounds in about two weeks and got my butt beat by everybody, blocking guys that were 270, 280. By the end of training camp, I’d gained about 20, 25 more pounds and still had all the quickness that was necessary for pass-blocking and all the other stuff. I’m glad that it worked out."

 

Excerpts from “Then Levy Said to Kelly…”

 

 

Cool stuff.

 

It took a few years for this line to jell but they were a strong group playing along with Joe O'Donnell, Dave Berman, Dick Hutson and Paul Costa.