billsfan1959 Posted July 8, 2021 Posted July 8, 2021 1 hour ago, Bobby Hooks said: I mean, I guess you can start your own thread minus baseball. But the creator of the thread added baseball so it’s 100% relevant to the discussion. Because, you know, the OP made it relevant. Don't need to start a new thread. The OP referenced Boston's four major sports teams - as in professional sports teams - and the players he mentioned all represented the city of Boston on those teams. For me, Buffalo didn't have those four major professional teams and they didn't have a professional baseball player representing the city. So, the OP can include baseball if he wants. I can choose not to. Because, you know, it's just my opinion ...and last I checked, having a differing opinion was allowed.
SoCal Deek Posted July 8, 2021 Posted July 8, 2021 Bruce Smith Gil Perrault Bob McAdoo or Calvin Murphy Baseball? (Not relevant in WNY) 1
billsfan1959 Posted July 8, 2021 Posted July 8, 2021 2 hours ago, chongli said: Well, technically speaking, all minor league teams are considered professional, so the Bisons should count; but I understand your point. If we are talking about all pro teams from WNY and not just Buffalo, for baseball, the Rochester Red Wings, the Syracuse Mets, the former Jamestown Jammers, and Batavia Muckdogs when they were Minor League Baseball (MiLB) should be considered. Am I forgetting any baseball team? You are right, minor league teams are part of the professional system. But, for me, a player passing through on a minor league team just isn't the same as a player representing the city at the major league level - for the purposes of a "Mount Rushmore" discussion. JMO. 1
oldmanfan Posted July 8, 2021 Posted July 8, 2021 Football: Jim Kelly Baseball: Luke Easter Basketball: Randy Smith Hockey: Gilbert Perreault 1
Bleeding Bills Blue Posted July 8, 2021 Posted July 8, 2021 13 minutes ago, oldmanfan said: Football: Jim Kelly Baseball: Luke Easter Basketball: Randy Smith Hockey: Gilbert Perreault I like the Easter choice - he played in rochester too i believe.
Haslett_Stomp Posted July 8, 2021 Posted July 8, 2021 1 hour ago, oldmanfan said: Football: Jim Kelly Baseball: Luke Easter Basketball: Randy Smith Hockey: Gilbert Perreault Randy Smith was my favorite Brave as a kid. I was ecstatic when he won the MVP at the NBA all star game (don't remember the year).
The Jokeman Posted July 8, 2021 Posted July 8, 2021 Buffalo did infact have a major league baseball team. They were part of the Federal League in 1914/1915. The BufFeds/Blues had a player lead the league in HRs in 1915 named Hal Chase who was considered one of best fielding first baseman in his era.
Chandler#81 Posted July 8, 2021 Posted July 8, 2021 Braves: Randy Smith Sabres: Gilbert Perrault Bills: Tom Sestak
billybrew1 Posted July 9, 2021 Posted July 9, 2021 11 hours ago, bighorn_zilla said: I recently read an article on how Larry Bird, during the National Anthem, would look at Bobby Orr’s banner and think how great Orr was and what Orr meant to Boston. Which got me thinking of Boston’s Mount Rushmore of the Four Major Sports – Baseball, Basketball, Football and Hockey. So it could be argued that the following are Boston’s Mount Rushmore: Baseball – Ted Williams Basketball – Bill Russell Football – Tom Brady Hockey – Bobby Orr But who would be Buffalo’s representatives? Baseball – Connie Mack? Basketball – Bob Lanier? / Christian Laettner? Football – Jim Kelly? Hockey – Dominic Hasek? Thoughts? Ouch....
RobbRiddick Posted July 9, 2021 Posted July 9, 2021 (edited) Here's what I'd like to do to Boston's Rushmore (that's Brady at the end) Edited July 9, 2021 by RobbRiddick
SoCal Deek Posted July 9, 2021 Posted July 9, 2021 I still find it hard to believe that most would pick Kelly over Bruce Smith. Don’t get me wrong, Jim is right there but objectively I’d have to say Bruce’s longevity, consistency and LEAGUE record make him the pick. He was the first pick in the entire draft and lived up to all the hype that comes with that status.
Greg S Posted July 9, 2021 Posted July 9, 2021 4 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said: I still find it hard to believe that most would pick Kelly over Bruce Smith. Don’t get me wrong, Jim is right there but objectively I’d have to say Bruce’s longevity, consistency and LEAGUE record make him the pick. He was the first pick in the entire draft and lived up to all the hype that comes with that status. If we were to have a Bills only Mount Rushmore then I would have Kelly on it. For me it would be.... 1. Ralph - without him the Bills don't exist. 2.OJ - best offensive player the Bills ever had and arguably the best player in team history along with Bruce. 3.Bruce - best defensive player the Bills ever had and ditto above with OJ. 4Jim - face of the franchise for a long time and best QB the Bills ever had. Was the key in turning the Bills around from the horrible 84 and 85 seasons. 1
SoCal Deek Posted July 9, 2021 Posted July 9, 2021 5 minutes ago, Greg S said: If we were to have a Bills only Mount Rushmore then I would have Kelly on it. For me it would be.... 1. Ralph - without him the Bills don't exist. 2.OJ - best offensive player the Bills ever had and arguably the best player in team history along with Bruce. 3.Bruce - best defensive player the Bills ever had and ditto above with OJ. 4Jim - face of the franchise for a long time and best QB the Bills ever had. Was the key in turning the Bills around from the horrible 84 and 85 seasons. All good points. I sort of discount Ralph as he wasn’t a player, which to me was the criteria, and looking back I’d put Bruce above OJ on both longevity and league wide status over those many years. (It’s been so long since we’ve had a pass rusher like Bruce that I think many have forgotten what a truly dominant force he was.)
Greg S Posted July 9, 2021 Posted July 9, 2021 Just now, SoCal Deek said: All good points. I sort of discount Ralph as he wasn’t a player, which to me was the criteria, and looking back I’d put Bruce above OJ on both longevity and league wide status over those many years. (It’s been so long since we’ve had a pass rusher like Bruce that I think many have forgotten what a truly dominant force he was.) To me Bruce and OJ were 1 and 1A as far as the best players in team history. Even though Ralph wasn't a player I would still put him up there since he brought pro football to WNY. If I were to replace him then I would put Thurman up there. He was the key to those offensive teams in the late 80's/early 90's.
SoCal Deek Posted July 9, 2021 Posted July 9, 2021 22 minutes ago, Greg S said: To me Bruce and OJ were 1 and 1A as far as the best players in team history. Even though Ralph wasn't a player I would still put him up there since he brought pro football to WNY. If I were to replace him then I would put Thurman up there. He was the key to those offensive teams in the late 80's/early 90's. It’s interesting that you bring in Thurman. I don’t recall seeing anyone else listing him. He was always that utility knife player and his overall production numbers were amazing. He’s often overlooked as he was not considered elite at any one thing but rather was really really good at just about everything.
Greg S Posted July 9, 2021 Posted July 9, 2021 18 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said: It’s interesting that you bring in Thurman. I don’t recall seeing anyone else listing him. He was always that utility knife player and his overall production numbers were amazing. He’s often overlooked as he was not considered elite at any one thing but rather was really really good at just about everything. Thurman was the heart and soul of the no-huddle offense. I remember reading comments from opposing players/coaches back then and they all said the #1 key was stopping Thurman. Then you can get after Kelly, Reed, Lofton etc etc.
buffaloaggie Posted July 9, 2021 Posted July 9, 2021 18 hours ago, billsbackto81 said: Agree with the first 3 but don't see the Johnny Bench connection? Click on "Show Minors" next to Standard Batting Bench played in 1966 and 1967 for the Bisons 1
Mark80 Posted July 9, 2021 Posted July 9, 2021 I'm putting Tavares from the Bandits on a Buffalo Mt Rushmore over minor league baseball players. And Basketball is McAdoo. 1
Irv Posted July 9, 2021 Posted July 9, 2021 (edited) Football: Bruce Smith Basketball: Bob McAdoo Hockey: Gilbert Perreault Lacrosse: John Tavares Baseball: N/A Edited July 9, 2021 by Irv
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