26CornerBlitz Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 @HammersLot @TheBillsMafia @BillsMafiaHouse @twobillsdrive @NewsRadio930 @BradleyGelber @RyanTalbotBills The transition begins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy10 Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 Let's not feel too sorry for Ralph and his memory. His estate received $1.4 Billion. I will always appreciate Ralph for all he did for Buffalo and the Bills . . . and appreciate the terms of the lease. Nevertheless, because the sale was such that the team had to go to the highest bidder, the Pegulas paid a lot of freaking money to make sure that the team stayed in Buffalo. Which the estate promptly turned around and gave away the majority of, to the tune of ~$1 Billion. It was the largest charitable transaction in the nation that year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 New Era isn't paying for "Ralph Wilson Field at...." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 Which the estate promptly turned around and gave away the majority of, to the tune of ~$1 Billion. It was the largest charitable transaction in the nation that year. As I said earlier, I appreciate the charitable aspect. Nevertheless, someone still paid the $1.4 B (that allowed them to do that) and has to operate the football team. P.S. Good faith question: How much of the $1.4 B went back to Buffalo and WNY? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 'New Era Field' at Ralph Wilson Stadium is the only way this should be Nah, need to remove the taint. Just go New Era Stadium and be done with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 I would imagine that the Pegulas had an indication from Mary Wilson that she and the family would have no issue with the renaming, and thus went forward with negotiations on that basis. I heard on the radio or somewhere something about Ralph giving the go ahead to change the name a couple of years after he passes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdand12 Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 Anytime you'd like to have a battle of wits with me, just let me know. I'll have one of the fine posters on this board hit me in the head with a sledge hammer so we start off even. That is pretty hilarious Good Sir ! Regardless of opinions, sometimes they are best left unsaid. And never speak ill of the deceased. That is simply and plainly wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 I heard on the radio or somewhere something about Ralph giving the go ahead to change the name a couple of years after he passes. @ByTimGraham About a year before Ralph Wilson died, he gave Bills front office permission to sell naming rights. When he died, team kept it to honor him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
May Day 10 Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 I wonder if they will increase the crown of the field. Putting on a new era cap is like putting a circus tent on my head Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdand12 Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 Yep. The same guy who included a padlock provision in the last lease that essentially kept the Bills in Buffalo, which many hail as Ralph's last gift to Buffalo. Well done for missing the point, jon bon jovi. good luck with the new album. I bet it sucks. jw one of your finest efforts !! Chuckled heartily ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy10 Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 (edited) As I said earlier, I appreciate the charitable aspect. Nevertheless, someone still paid the $1.4 B (that allowed them to do that) and has to operate the football team. P.S. Good faith question: How much of the $1.4 B went back to Buffalo and WNY? No idea. I know the RCW Foundation's focus will be primarily on making charitible grants in Detroit and Buffalo. I get what you're saying though. I'm certainly not putting Ralph on a cross over this. Keeping his name on the place for a year-plus was a nice period of respect, but business is business. Edited August 15, 2016 by jimmy10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 Twitter is having fun with this: https://twitter.com/hashtag/RejectedBuffaloStadiumNames?src=hash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 Twitter is having fun with this: https://twitter.com/hashtag/RejectedBuffaloStadiumNames?src=hash Tony Ioviero @MrMomforNow 44m44 minutes ago Cheektowaga, NY Jimmy Vesey Stadium #RejectedBuffaloStadiumNames 0 retweets 3 likes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uticaclub Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 Will they put a New Era hat on Ralph's statue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDS Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 There goes the font I used for the banner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 Twitter is having fun with this: https://twitter.com/hashtag/RejectedBuffaloStadiumNames?src=hash Those are great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 @ByTimGraham About a year before Ralph Wilson died, he gave Bills front office permission to sell naming rights. When he died, team kept it to honor him. That's it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaaadThingsMan Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 It's about time. Ralph Wilson Jr., despite the man love of the folks that run this website, was, without question, the worst owner in the history of the NFL. He ran a mostly disfunctional organization for decade after decade. The ONLY owner in the history of the NFL to lose the #1 draft choice in the draft to the Canadian Football league. An organization so dysfunctional that Jim Kelly fled to the USFL. READ HIS BOOK. A man so greedy that he gives up home field advantage by selling two games to Toronto, because the one billion dollar profit he made in franchise appreciation just wasn't enough. A meddling owner who substituted the judgement of his daughter for that of great coach Chuck Knox. Too cheap too resign Amad Radhad and Joe Cribbs. The incompetence and outright greed of this loser go on and on. Hey guys, rather than censor this post, how about actually answering, point by point, the facts presented here. Start with being the only owner in NFL history to lose a #1 pick to the CFL. And then go from there. Good luck. Probably easier to censor. Right?why are you even here? Gtfo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 why are you even here? Gtfo! A bit harsh in tone, but he has a point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsxfirefighter Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 (edited) Cousineau wanted to return to the NFL, and in 1982 the Houston Oilers attempted to sign him, but the Bills (who still held Cousineau's NFL rights) matched the offer. He was then traded from the Bills to the Cleveland Browns for a first-round draft choice (14th overall) in the 1983 NFL Draft.[4] That pick was used on future Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Cousineau Without Ralph Wilson would Buffalo have a AFL or NFL team ? Wait...so let me get this straight. Buffalo was the only team who drafted a player #1, who choose to play for the CFL instead. We then blocked his attempt to play in the NFL by matching the offer he signed elsewhere. In turn we shipped him off to Cleveland in exchange for their 1983 1st round pick at #14. We then use that pick on a QB who choose to go to the USFL for more money but after the USFL folds he comes back and leads this team to its greatest years ever. And if he never went to the USFL, we probably would never have had the #1 pick in 1985 to grab another generational talent.. Yeah..I will gladly accept that title of losing the #1 player to the CFL. Because without that distinction, we would never have had Jim Kelly and Bruce Smtih here in Buffalo. And without those years, the fandom would probably not have grown into the proportion it has. Things work out in mysterious ways!! Edited August 15, 2016 by rsxfirefighter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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