It's the late 1940s, and the Buffalo Bisons are about to change to their name ...

[The Frankish Reich]

14 hours ago, Danger Mouse said:

be like the Colts changing their name to the Indiana Joneses, or the Titans the Tennessee WIlliamses

What's wrong with those? An Indy Jones character vs. a gay mustachioed bon vivant prowling their respective sidelines. More interesting than the actual game.

 

[boyst]

43 minutes ago, The Frankish Reich said:

What's wrong with those? An Indy Jones character vs. a gay mustachioed bon vivant prowling their respective sidelines. More interesting than the actual game.

 

A lasso vs 16 tons of #9 coal

[GASabresIUFan]

15 hours ago, dollars 2 donuts said:

DM, if you dig deeper it would make you sick to think about how the Bills of the AAFL (1946-50) got screwed out of a birth in the NFL.

 

i believe it was also partially due to George Halas, who almost 30 years earlier screwed the Buffalo football team out of a championship in the fledgling NFL.

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1921_NFL_Championship_controversy
 

 

 

I had forgotten the Staley Swindle.  Fits right in with John W Brown destroying the Braves and Hull's foot in the crease.  

[machine gun kelly]

23 hours ago, dollars 2 donuts said:

DM, if you dig deeper it would make you sick to think about how the Bills of the AAFL (1946-50) got screwed out of a birth in the NFL.

 

i believe it was also partially due to George Halas, who almost 30 years earlier screwed the Buffalo football team out of a championship in the fledgling NFL.

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1921_NFL_Championship_controversy
 

 

 

Good catch Donuts.  I never knew why Halas so vehemently blocked the Bills entrance into the NFL in 1949, but now it makes sense.  I know the excuse Halas used was the liquor distributor who owned the then Bills was deemed by Hal’s at the pulpit as not a financially viable owner.  It was crap and way before my time.  What peaked my interest was why Ralph was so steadfast to name the Buffalo team the Bills.

[CNYfan]

22 hours ago, Pete said:

People are obsessed with todays celebrities, but naive when it comes to past American celebrities.  Louie Armstrong was on the cover of a 1950 Time magazine name the most important Americans of the century.  Buffalo Bill was a huge celebrity 75 years ago

Most famous man on earth.

[Gen2]

I would have preferred "the Buffalo Rapids" because the city isn't named after a Bison, but rather is named after a mangled translation of whatever the French for "beautiful river" is.

[behind a post WMS69]

22 hours ago, hondo in seattle said:

I would have been against the "Buffalo Bills" moniker if I had been around back then.  Why name a football team after a cowboy showman?  Makes no sense.    

This. I love the team, but the name is just dumb.

[BMWR100RT]

Go herd!

[BUFFALOBART]

The Rochester Jeffersons, were a thing:

 

https://www.rochesterjeffersons.org/

Edited Saturday at 05:40 PM by BUFFALOBART

[Motorin']

On 1/17/2025 at 5:35 AM, Gen2 said:

I would have preferred "the Buffalo Rapids" because the city isn't named after a Bison, but rather is named after a mangled translation of whatever the French for "beautiful river" is.

 

That turns out to be just one of several possibilities, with historians having competing theories backed with evidence. The Beau Fleau naming origin has been contested. And two of the alternative theories do in fact point to Bison as the origin. 

 

One is the native name of a chief that made his home on the Buffalo river was called a Buffalo in their native language.

 

The other dates back to a supposed miracle during the early French years. During one particularly harsh winter storm, with the company starving, a handful of Frenchmen said their were heading out to hunt Buffalo. They returned quickly with meat for everyone to eat, and all was well and merry! (Though they purportedly lied about the Buffalo meat, and had killed a horse and returned with horse meat).

[harmonkillebrew]

Buffalo Wings would probably be the winner if it was redone today

[Gen2]

5 minutes ago, Motorin' said:

 

That turns out to be just one of several possibilities, with historians having competing theories backed with evidence. The Beau Fleau naming origin has been contested. And two of the alternative theories do in fact point to Bison as the origin. 

 

One is the native name of a chief that made his home on the Buffalo river was called a Buffalo in their native language.

 

The other dates back to a supposed miracle during the early French years. During one particularly harsh winter storm, with the company starving, a handful of Frenchmen said their were heading out to hunt Buffalo. They returned quickly with meat for everyone to eat, and all was well and merry! (Though they purportedly lied about the Buffalo meat, and had killed a horse and returned with horse meat).

 

I didn't think bison were indigenous to the area of the north east in general, and specifically western N. Y.

[Donuts and Doritos]

"Go Bills!"

[ColoradoBills]

Buffalo Soldiers.

 

 

[billsfan714]

On 1/17/2025 at 8:20 AM, behind a post WMS69 said:

This. I love the team, but the name is just dumb.

Im over 60 and have never seen any merchandise related to anything to do with the Bill part of our name.   Our mascot isn't Bill Cody its a Buffalo.   It really does make no sense.   If I was voting back then I would have gone with bombers.

[ComradeKayAdams]

On 1/18/2025 at 1:56 PM, Gen2 said:

I didn't think bison were indigenous to the area of the north east in general, and specifically western N. Y.

 

Actually, WNY is believed to be the farthest northeast extent of the American bison’s original habitat range. It is true that Upstate NY had been heavily forested ever since the glaciers retreated, and that bison prefer open ranges, but they would have been able to roam along the banks of rivers and the coastlines of lakes.

 

IMO, the strongest origin theory behind our city’s name is the one I remember reading in high school that concerned a language translational mix-up between the Haudenosaunee and the Europeans. It happened during one of those treaty signings of the Revolutionary War era that totally screwed over Native Americans. Something along the lines of “Place Where the Basswood Trees Grow” getting translated into “Buffalo Creek.” Perhaps a Haudenosaunee + French language expert is lurking about and can elucidate…??

 

Sometimes history can be a bit more fungible than we’d like to admit! I, myself, am the leading proponent of the idea that our beloved Buffalo Bills are named after a fictional crossdressing serial killer who had it out for “great big fat people.”

[Beach]

I read somewhere that Buffalo Nickels was in play

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

On 1/16/2025 at 6:11 AM, Danger Mouse said:

How do you think it was received by people when it was decided the winner of the new-name contest was the ... Buffalo Bills?

 

(which, without current association, is a strange choice let's be honest - be like the Colts changing their name to the Indiana Joneses, or the Titans the Tennessee WIlliamses)

 

I'd love to have seen this forum had it existed back then.

 

How do you think you'd have responded to the change?

 

 

 

The “Buffalo Bills” rolls off the tongue much better than those names though. Who cares if it doesn’t make sense? The last time I checked there are no Lions in Detroit or Tigers in Cincinnati. As far as Cleveland goes, idk wtf a “Brown” is either. 

Edited 22 hours ago by ChronicAndKnuckles

[Thrivefourfive]

On 1/16/2025 at 5:09 AM, Doc said:

The Buffalo.

And here comes The Buffalo out of the tunnel..! The crowd goes wild 

[Danger Mouse]

1 hour ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

The “Buffalo Bills” rolls off the tongue much better than those names though. Who cares if it doesn’t make sense? The last time I checked there are no Lions in Detroit or Tigers in Cincinnati. As far as Cleveland goes, idk wtf a “Brown” is either. 

 

Oh it's a great name. Don't get me wrong. I just wonder how it would be received if there was no association.

 

I think Brown was the dude who founded them wasn't he? It's a very silly name, though, you're right.