From the archives...Fredonia Training Camp Days

[BillsPride12]

 

I never went to camp at Fredonia but have been to St. John Fisher a couple times.  Looks like a much simpler setup back in those days

[Ga boy]

Throwing a football must be like a golf swing in the sense that each one is so unique.  Jim’s release with the forward lunge of the right shoulder is identifiable without having a jersey on, and the trajectory is pure Jim Kelly, like a rainbow into the receiver’s hand. He was different than Marino, Montana, Elway, whomever.  We should’ve won a SB with those skills.

[Draconator]

The only training camp I've ever gone to was at, Niagara University. I still have memories of JD Hill saying, "Yo" after I said Hi to him. And of OJ running on to the field at full speed. 

[I'm Spartacus]

I used to go to Fredonia to see training camp (went to college there). I recall seeing Larry Kinnebrew the running back. Had the biggest calf muscles I ever saw on a human being! Got pictures of my kid sitting in the famous red helmet colf cart.

[chongli]

1 hour ago, BillsPride12 said:

 

I never went to camp at Fredonia but have been to St. John Fisher a couple times.  Looks like a much simpler setup back in those days

 

Thanks for showing this!

 

You didn't miss much at Fredonia. I went the first or second year they were there in 1980 of 81. They one or two small bleachers for fans to watch in the hot sun and that's it. No concessions, IIRC. I am not even sure if there were port-a-potties.

 

The good thing is you could walk around campus though and run into players walking from the dorms to practice. That's how I got some random autographs from camp bodies. I had to ask if they were football players when I approached them, lol, since they weren't too big.

 

The players sometimes went to the local Aldrich's Dairy down the road for a milkshake and burger (as did the Iron Sheik and Hacksaw Jim Duggan of WWF fame one time).

Edited Friday at 01:37 PM by chongli

[chris heff]

I remember one afternoon seeing Joe Ferguson and a couple of other players at Mulligan’s Beach Club in Sunset Bay. Just up the road from Fredonia.

[EasternOHBillsFan]

4 hours ago, BillsPride12 said:

 

I never went to camp at Fredonia but have been to St. John Fisher a couple times.  Looks like a much simpler setup back in those days

 

That's where my Mom went to college... too bad they had to go and change the location.

[Kornfed]

Had a cigarette while sitting on a golf cart after practice with Isiah Robertson. Talk about fan interaction! Still makes me laugh. 

[BigPappaPump]

Loved Fredonia! Was just about football, no marketing, no merchandise tents, no concession stands. Just orange snow fence between you and the players. So many great memories. Met Thurman Thomas & he talked to me for about 5 minutes one day along that fence. Caught Bruce Smith in the parking lot on another occasion. Unfortunately selfies didn’t exist back then. lol Times were different then & I’m glad I was able to experience it ( just not glad that it’s telling of how old I’m getting lol). Not taking anything away from St John Fisher, I took my children there every year until they grew up and moved away. It’s a great experience also, just different than Fredonia. Thanks for making me reminisce about those times, they were special 

[BigAl2526]

4 hours ago, I'm Spartacus said:

I used to go to Fredonia to see training camp (went to college there). I recall seeing Larry Kinnebrew the running back. Had the biggest calf muscles I ever saw on a human being! Got pictures of my kid sitting in the famous red helmet colf cart.

Me too, on both counts.  Class of '74.

[B more B Rad]

4 hours ago, Draconator said:

The only training camp I've ever gone to was at, Niagara University. I still have memories of JD Hill saying, "Yo" after I said Hi to him. And of OJ running on to the field at full speed. 

I was ten and rode my bike to NU. We snuck into the players dorm when they were at practice; only to be caught and yelled at by kicker John Leypolt. Then we rode to practice, got to shake hands with OJ before practice. After practice we got a little too close to a back door to the locker room. It opened and I was ten feet away from the HUGE and naked Reggie McKenzie. He gave me a mean look and I was scared for the next day or two. No Security anywhere. Those were better times...

 

[stevewin]

Yeah - the great thing about Fredonia is it used to be so unstructured and you used to be able to be so close to the players and move so easily around to where different groups/players were

[Codger]

Took my son to a practice in the 90’s.  LB Sam Rogers tossed him one of his gloves as he was leaving the field.  One of those lifetime memories for a youngster. We lived just across the NY/PA border and Fredonia was an easy drive “up” I-90 compared to driving to Rochester.

[US Egg]

At Niagara after watching practice I’d hurry, father trailing behind, getting autographs hassle free.

 

It was a kids thing. Didn't have to deal with a$$#### "grown ups" plowing through kids. 

Edited Friday at 07:30 PM by US Egg

[Bongo]

Maybe it should go back there. Four straight Super Bowls. Hmmmm. 😉

 

Actually, maybe it should go to Jamestown.

 

Goodell - Jamestown

Sirianni - Jamestown

 

Maybe Jamestown is the epicenter of the NFL and the closer camp is to it, the better our Super Bowl odds. 😮

 

Who’s jumping on my conspiracy bandwagon with me? Tinfoil hat required.

[atlbillsfan1975]

My grandfather worked for the Bills in the 70’s and 80’s and we would always go to Fredonia to watch practices even after he passed. Lots of cool memories. One that sticks out is seeing James Lofton running a go route and barely missing a ball, he started to say “son of a b****” but saw me and my cousins and changed to pup! Good dude. We got to go into training rooms and had Jimbo yell at us once, then he autographed a couple of practice balls for us. Wish I had all those still today. 

[ChevyVanMiller]

Funny Fredonia camp story: I attended camp one day in the late ‘80s, when my oldest son was just a toddler. I brought a Wilson NFL football to get signatures as a keepsake for my son. In those days there were maybe 100 fans at the camp on any given day. Nothing like today. I was having great success getting quite a few signatures on the ball. Fred Smerlas was walking towards me as the players were headed in for lunch. He looked really intimidating, but I decided to take a chance and ask him if he would sign the ball.

 

Without saying a word he took the ball and my sharpie away from me and continued to walk toward the dining hall. There was a gate in a fence that the players went through that the fans were not allowed to cross. He went through with the ball and kept walking. I figured at that point the ball was gone. Then he stopped, signed it, and walked back over and threw it up over the fence to me and handed me the sharpie through the chain link. And just for a second he broke character and with a quick smile said, “Gotcha!”

 

Full circle moment, decades later when I started the Go Fund Me for Darryl Talley, once it went viral, Smerlas went on Twitter and tweeted out that he loved me. 😀

Edited Saturday at 10:55 AM by ChevyVanMiller

[Mikie2times]

7 hours ago, Ga boy said:

Throwing a football must be like a golf swing in the sense that each one is so unique.  Jim’s release with the forward lunge of the right shoulder is identifiable without having a jersey on, and the trajectory is pure Jim Kelly, like a rainbow into the receiver’s hand. He was different than Marino, Montana, Elway, whomever.  We should’ve won a SB with those skills.

I don't think Jim had that great of a motion. I remember watching a really good breakdown on Youtube and they agreed. He could put some English on it, no doubt, but it wasn't overly efficient or quick. He obviously did a lot of other things well. I do agree, as far as how unique his motion is, you would know it's him from anywhere. Very deliberate and over the top. Totally unique. I will always miss those teams.

Edited Friday at 08:56 PM by Mikie2times

[SoonerBillsFan]

I miss that team.

[BillsfaninSB]

Man I would kill to go back in time and spend a day there.  So low key and accessible.   Miss those days.  Everything now is such a rat race.   Now get off of my lawn!!!!