Kemp, who played with the AFL Los Angeles and San Diego Chargers from 1960-62, came to the Buffalo Bills via waivers from San Diego. All Kemp did for Buffalo from 1962-69 was propel the Bills among the elite in AFL, a league that would merge with the NFL in 1970. Kemp had the distinction of being the only quarterback to start at quarterback from the start of the AFL to its legal end in the AFL-NFL merger. He led his team in five of the AFL's ten championship games, winning two of his three with the Bills. In 1965, Kemp was awarded the AFL's Most Valuable Player Award in a season culminated by the Bills 23-0 Championship game victory over Kemp's old team, the San Diego Chargers. Kemp retired as the AFL's leading QB in Attempts (3,005) Completions (1,428), Yards (21,130) and also led all QBs by a wide margin in rushing TDs (40).
Chester Carlton "Cookie" Gilchrist was, along with San Diego's Lance Alworth, the American Football League's first super star. Before the 1962 season, Cookie Gilchrist bolted the Canadian Football League to join the Buffalo Bills. That year Cookie became the Bills and the AFL's first 1000 yard rusher totalling 1096 yards in 214 attempts for a whopping 5.1 yard average per carry. After the '62 season Gilchrist was honored by the Associated Press as the AFL player of the year. Cookie was as volitile on the field as he was off the field. In his only 3 seasons and 42 games in a Buffalo Bill uniform, Gilchrist gained 4,031 yards from scrimmage (3,056 rush, 975 rec) and scored 35 touchdowns, with 29 TDs coming in his first 28 games! His temper led to a feud with head coach Lou Saban. While the Bills went on to claim their first AFL Championship vs San Diego, Gilchrist and Saban's rift could not be mended. Cookie was traded to the Broncos in the off season. One could only wonder what dynasty the Bills could have built with Gilchrist had he stayed in Buffalo.
Unable to come to terms with the Philadelphia Eagles, the team that had selected him in the 1959 NFL draft, running back Wray Carlton came to the Bills via the CFL. Carlton was a steady fixture in the Buggalo backfield througout the decade. In Buffalo's home opener, a 27-21 loss to Denver, he made history in the second quarter when he scored the team's first touchdown on a one-yard run. Carlton gained exactly 1,000 yards from scrimmage (533 rush- 477 rec) and 11 TDs in the Bills first season. A steady contributor (minus two injury plagued seasons in 1963-64 as Cookie Gilchrist's backup) Carlton averaged over 500 ruhing yards and 200 receiving yards for 6 of the 8 seasons he was with the club. He finished his career after the 1967 season with 3,368 rushing yards, 1,329 receiving yards, and 34 TDs.
As a rookie, Dubenion quickly proved his worth. He scored seven touchdowns and racked up 752 receiving yards on 42 catches, a 17.9 yards per catch average. In addition he ran the ball 16 times for 94 yards and one touchdown, a 5.6 yards per carry average. The following season defensive backs paid him much greater respect. So, facing tighter and deeper coverages, he upped his production as a runner, rushing for 173 yards and one touchdown on just 17 carries, a 10.3 per carry average. In addition, he had 31 catches for 461 yards and six touchdowns.
During his nine-year career with the Bills -- a career that earlier this year was finally rewarded its just due when he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame -- you could point to any play of any game to see just how good a player Billy Shaw was. Shaw leading Cookie Gilchrist around the corner, moving would-be tacklers like a snow plow on the streets of Buffalo in January, was one of the most enduring sights in Buffalo sports history.
Shaw’s skills were excellent, his technique was perfect and his composure never wavered.
Shaw's speed, strength, and natural ability made him the driving force of the offensive unit. Especially effective on short-yardage scoring plays, Shaw would pull out from his left guard position followed by heavy-duty runners Cookie Gilchrist and Wray Carlton. Bills' quarterback Jack Kemp or his super-sub Daryle Lamonica would follow the powerful trio of blockers - often untouched - into the end zone. The Bills of 1962, 1963, and 1964 still rank second, third and fourth in the team record book for most rushing touchdowns scored in a season.
Over 850 players have suited-up for the Buffalo Bills. Eight men have been the team's general manager. However, only one has done both. Stew Barber. Barber also holds the distinction of playing bith sides of the ball, playing both linebacker and tackle. Barber shined during his rookie year, but not at offensive tackle where he was All-East in college. The Bills had him at outside linebacker where he collected three interceptions. One off of Denver’s Frank Tripucka which Barber returned 21 yards for a touchdown. That was the last time he was in the endzone or played defense, for that matter. In ‘62, first-year head coach Lou Saban decided that Barber should return to his college position. Settling on the tackle spot with Al Bemiller at Center and HOF guard Billy Shaw, this trio were the cornerstones of one of the best offensive lines in football. In the late 1970's Barber became a scout forthe club, eventually ascending to the General Manager's position in 1979.
The Buffalo Bills have had a history of great quarterbacks, and great quarterback back-ups. Marv Levy had Hallof Fame QB Jim Kelly and his supurb backup Frank Reich. In the late 1998 a second string QB by the name of Doug Flutie came off the bench to lead Buffalo to ther playoffs. In the 1960's it was no different. While Jack Kemp was the Bills undisputed leader under center, his understudy was more than compitent. Lamonica earned his nickname "Mad Bomber" by making big plays at big times. His first big play came in his rookie season, as he came off the bench in releif of Jack Kemp in the 1963 Bills Patriots playoff game. He connected on a 93 yard strike to Elbert Dubenion, witch is still a Bills playoff record today. After 4 seasons, 4 playoff runs, 2 Championship rings, 2,499 passing yards, 333 rushing yards, and a combined 24 TDs Passing/Rushing, the Mad Bomber was traded to Oakland for QB Tom Flores. The Mad Bomber would flourish under Al Davis' vertical passing game, averaging 3,000 yards a season over the next 4. Lamonica piloted the Raiders to Super Bowl II and a loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Dunaway was drafted by the Bills in the second round in '63. In the fifth game of that season Saban inserted the rookie Dunaway into the starting lineup would go on to record their first shutout, a 12-0 win against the Oakland Raiders, since the third game of the 1960 season. The Bills had been winless on the season up until that game and would go on to win their next four out of six games to tie with the Boston Patriots for first place in the Eastern Division. Dunaway considered enormous in his day possessed the speed of a fullback. He and Tom Sestak formed an impenatratable wall in the middle of the Bills' defense that was the cornerstone for three straight AFL Championship game appearances. No one had any success running up the middle on the Bills in those days.
During the early stages of his football career, Ron McDole was either one of the most persistent players in the NFL or AFL, or he was one of the unluckiest. Migrains and bad luck threatened to end his career before it got started. Once he cracked the Buffalo Bills starting line up, he remained a fixture on the defensive line for the rest of the decade.
Solidifying his starting spot in 1964, Mcdole became a leader on a unit that suffocated teams with defense in a league known for offense. Two championships later and one game short of a Super Bowl in 1966, McDole slowly saw the great defensive unit arounfd him begin to erode. McDole left the Bills following the 1970 season for the Washington Redskins, where he joined George Allen's "Over the Hill Gang" that made a Super Bowl apperance against the Miami Dolphins in 1972. He retired in 1978 after 19 seasons and 240 games.
Drafted in the 17th round of the AFL draft in 1962, out of McNeese State, Sestak defied the odds and in his rookie season became the cornerstone of the dominating Bills defenses of the '60's. His tenacious, hard-nosed play earned him the respect of all his peers throughout the league. He won consensus All-AFL first team honors in 1963, 1964 and 1965 and he was the cornerstone of a top-rated defense that took the Bills to the AFL championships in 1964 and 1965. Though his career ended prematurely because of chronic knee problems, Sestak made such a lasting impression that today the experts who study the game rate him along side Mean Joe Greene and Bruce Smith as among the best defensive linemen ever to play pro football. Sestak possessed the size, power and the speed of a running back to dominate games and intimidate opposition linemen. A testement to his athleticism, he scored 2 touchdowns on interceptions- as a defensive tackle! Unfortunatly, the AFL did not record QB sacks as a statistic. Many beleive he would have rivaled Bruce Smith's numbers 20 years later. He died prematurly in 1987.
Buffalo's thirteenth-round draft choice in 1962 out of the University of Tennessee, Stratton played in the AFL All-Star Game six times and finished his career with 21 interceptions, 18 as a Bill. Blessed with tremendous speed for a man 6-3 and 230 pounds, Stratton would have been a star in today's NFL, according to many of his former teammates, because he wasn't one-dimensional. He could rush the passer, play the run, and play pass coverage against backs or tight ends. Stratton's tackle is what most fans remember, but he made big plays almost weekly during his 11 seasons (1962-1972) in Buffalo.
This hit was instrumental in delivering the Bills their 1st. AFL Championship in 1964. It was the play that turned the game in the Bills' favor and keyed their 20-7 victory, which gave Buffalo its first pro football championship. In the 37 years since, it has become known around western New York as "The Hit Heard Round the World." Long-time Bills fans who were there that cold December day or saw it on television still call it the play that changed the course of Buffalo's football history.
Former Bills head coach Lou Saban may have a reputation for being a vagabond, however, he’s also been recognized for his ability to spot talented players. An example of that occurred 40 years ago when the Bills traded an undisclosed amount of cash to the Patriots for linebacker Harry Jacobs, who had started for Saban in Boston during the 1960 and ‘61 seasons. Buffalo may have gotten a better bargain than you’d ever find nowadays on eBay. In 1962 Lou Saban brought Harry Jacobs with him to Buffalo from Boston. The Bills looked for Jacobs to step in for Archie Matsos, who was traded a month earlier to the Raiders. Jacobs became the defensive leader, calling out the adjustments for the AFL’s best defense. The following 1964 season, Buffalo’s defense gave up an average of 17.3 points per game, helped compile a 12-2 record and win its first of back-to-back AFL championships. A two-time AFL All-Star, Jacobs concluded his football career in 1970 with the Saints. And even though he spent that season in New Orleans..
George Saimes was arguably the best safety to strap on a Buffalo Bills helmet. Originally drafted in the sixth round by both the Kansas City Chiefs of the AFL and the Los Angeles Rams of the NFL back in 1962. An All American RB drafted for his offense. Saimes signed with the Chiefs and was traded a year later to the Bills who needed a back up for Cookie Gilchrist. Saimes played the first two games for the Bills on offense that season until he was switched to safety in the third game where he made his first career interception against of all teams, the Chiefs. He quickly developed into an outstanding safety and became a key member of the outstanding Bills defensive squads, which produced AFL Championships in 1964 and 1965. In that 1964 season, George had a career-high six interceptions and earned the first of his five AFL All-Star Game appearances. George achieved All-AFL honors five times, and he is a member of the all-time AFL Defensive Team.
From 1964 to 1970 more than a few quartebacks had wished they hadn't thrown the ball in the direction of defensive back George "Butch" Byrd. It was during those years that Byrd managed to snare 40 interceptions, still a Buffalo Bills record. The Deion Sanders of the AFL, Byrd totaled a Bills record 666 yds and 5 TDs on returns. Byrd also handled the punt return duties for the Bills during their championship seasons, and was just as deadly a threat to score. His 74 yard punt return during the 1965 AFL Championship game broke the game open and broke the backs of the Chargers, who managed to hold the potent Bills offense to 1 TD all day. Always having instincts to be in the right place at the right time, Byrd was quite the hawk. On top of his 40 interceptions, he added 10 more fumble recoveries.
After being overlooked in the 1962 AFL draft, Booker signed as a free agent with the Buffalo Bills. He stepped into a starting role that season at left cornerback, made a career-high six interceptions (including two in his first game, against Hall of Fame quarterback George Blanda), was named to the AFL All-Rookie team. And was a finalist for league Rookie-of-the-Year.That defense propelled the team to great heights, and provided Booker the opportunity to play in three consecutive AFL Championship games. The Bills prevailed in the first two of those contests, whipping the San Diego Chargers in 1964 and 1965.Edgerson had 23 interceptions in his eight-year career in Buffalo. And scored on two (including one against Joe Namath). He also returned a fumble (actually, a stolen football) for the deciding score in a 1969 game against the Bengals played in blizzard conditions. He followed coach Lou Saban to Denver in 1970, his last in the league. 
Lou Saban knew a few things about Ernie Warlick, a three-time all-star tight end with the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders, when he took over as Buffalo’s head coach in 1962. He knew Warlick could catch. He knew Warlick could block. And he knew Warlick’s telephone number. During Saban and Warlick’s first year, the Bills went 7-6-1, their first winning season, ever. Buffalo’s leading quarterback Warren Rabb completed 67 passes, and 35 of them were to Warlick. He was a good counter-punch to another first-year Bill - running back Cookie Gilchrist. Quarterback Jack Kemp also joined the Bills that season after being claimed on waivers from San Diego.Two years later, Warlick totaled 23 catches and earned his third consecutive trip to the AFL All-Star Game. Meanwhile, the Bills compiled a 12-2 record and earned their first league title.In the 1965 Championship game, Warlick’s final game with the Bills began with an 18 yard TD pass from Kemp. It would be al the points needed, as the Bills blanked the Chargers 23-0. In four seasons, he had 90 receptions for a 17.2 yards per catch average and four touchdowns. He added five more catches for 76 yards in the two AFL title games.
Paul McGuire was as versatile an athlete as there was. Playing WR in college (The Citadel), Paul led the nation with eleven touchdown receptions, and was an All-Southern Conference selection. Maguire landed in the American Football League in 1960 as an original member of the Los Angeles (later San Diego) Chargers.
The 1963 trade that brought Paul to the Buffalo Bills was significant, not only for the player but also for the city. Following as exceptional eight-year stint as a linebacker and punter for the Bills (and a key component of AFL championship teams in 1964 and 1965),From 1964 through 1970, Maguire became arguably yhr best punter in team history, averaging 42.4 yards per kick while in Buffalo. In 1969 he averaged a team record 44.5 yards on 78 attempts. This was in an age without specialty players, as McGuire played and practiced each week in the demanding position of linebacker.
A former all-star linebacker with the Cleveland Browns, "Trader Lou" came to Buffalo from Boston as a head coach for the first time in 1962 and set to work building the Bills. In 1964 and 1965 the Bills went 12-2, and 10-3-1, enroute to consecutive AFL championships. He was named Coach of the Year twice, but one week after winning his second title, he quit to become head coach at Maryland.
In 1971, Saban returned to Buffalo inheriting a 1-13 team. During his second stint, he doubled the number of carries per game for O.J. Simpson and assembled the "Electric Company," the offensive line that "turned on the juice." The Bills improved to 4-9 in 1972 and soared to 9-5 in 1973, the same year Simpson became the first pro back to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season. After building a team on the brink of greatness, player contract disputes, hold outs, injuries , and trades unravelled Saban's squad. He quit 4 games into the 1976 season. He is still the second winningest coach in team history behind Marv Levy, with only 1 losing season in the 8 he completed in Buffalo.
Ed Rutkowski could have been labeled with the nickname "Slash" nine years before Pittsburgh's Kordell Stewart was born. His six-year, multi-position career with the Bills began in 1963, when he came to Buffalo along with two University of Notre Dame teammates, Daryle Lamonica and Ed Hoerster.
Rutkowski was all over the field on the Buffalo offense. In his rookie season he lined up as a backup RB to Cookie Gilchrist when Wray Carlton went down, getting 48 carries and 19 receptions for 408 combined yards. In 1964-65 he became the Bills backup WR grabbing 31 receptions for 481 yards. He also moved to special teams as the Bills primary kick returner, a position he held for 4 seasons. In the 1968 campaign, his last, the Bills were desperate for a healthy QB. Jack Kemp, Dan Darraugh, Kay Stephenson, and Tom Flores all succomed to injuries. Desperate, the Bills turned to their "Jack of all trades" in Ed Rutkowski. It wasn't pretty, but neither were the 1-12-1 Bills. 
Native of Oklahoma City…was an All-America tackle at the University of Oklahoma and an eighth-round draft pick by Buffalo in 1968… started eight games as a guard in ’68 and was voted the team’s top rookie…began fulfilling his ROTC obligation with the United States Army following the ’68 season and started his tour of duty in Vietnam in November of 1969…was killed by mortar fire on July 21, 1970 while defending Ripcord Base on an isolated jungle mountaintop near Vietnam’s Ashau Valley…is the only professional football player killed in Vietnam…selection to the Wall of Fame took place on what would have been his 55th birthday, April 13, 2000.
Schottenheimer began his professional football career on the playing field. After a career as an All-America linebacker at the University of Pittsburgh, he was selected in the fourth round of the 1965 NFL draft by the Baltimore Colts and in the seventh round of the AFL draft by the Buffalo Bills. He signed with the Bills, playing in Buffalo from 1965-68. As a rookie, Schottenheimer got his first taste of a professional football championship when the Bills won the AFL Championship with a 23-0 victory over the San Diego Chargers on Dec. 26, 1965.
After his stint with the Bills, he joined the Boston Patriots in 1969, playing two seasons before being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1971. After spending the 1971 training camp with the Steelers, Schottenheimer was traded to the Colts, and he retired shortly thereafter.
Schottenheimer’s head coaching break began midway through the ‘84 season, when Schottenheimer replaced Sam Rutigliano as head coach of the Browns. And from 1985-88, he led Cleveland to four playoff berths and three division titles. The Browns played in the AFC Championship Game twice. He began a 10-year tenure as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs in ‘89 and made the post-season seven times. Schottenheimer returned to the sideline in 2001 with the Redskins. Last season, he became the head coach in San Diego and is now preparing for his second campaign with the Chargers. During his 16 and a half seasons as a head coach in the NFL, Schottenheimer has posted a 161-101-1 record. His 161 regular-season victories places him 10th on the league’s all-time list. 
His finest day came in week 6 against the Raiders. In one of his best games as a pro, “Earthquake” led all running backs in the game with 68 yards on a mere 10 carries. His touchdown came on a 30 yard pass play from Jack Kemp. He finished with 3 receptions for 69 yards, and led all players with 137 total purpose yardage. It was in vain, as Lamonica threw for six TD passes in the first half, en route to a 50-21 rout.. Enyart’s only other score for the year was a 1 yard plunge against Miami in week 10. The 28-3 victory marked Buffalo’s last win against the Dolphins for a decade.
Bill Enyart would finish with 191 yards rushing and 186 receiving in his inaugural season. His 4.1 rushing average was higher than his more celebrated team mate, as Simpson garnered only 3.9 YPC.
An All-America center, Behrman was chosen No. 4 overall. A backup on the offensive line as a rookie, Behrman played on the special teams and had high hopes for the ‘64 season. However, during the preseason schedule, he tore a cartilage in his right knee and spent the year on the sideline. What made matters worse was that he could only watch as his teammates won the AFL championship. Starting at center the following season, Behrman played well as Buffalo compiled a 10-3-1 record and for the second straight year faced San Diego for the league title. But unfortunately for Behrman, he also faced a season-ending injury for the second straight year. Because of that injury, Behrman was unable to play the next season. Lou Saban, Buffalo’s head coach during Behrman’s first three years, brought the center to Denver when he took over the coaching reins of the Broncos for the ‘67 season, the final one of his career. 
After two seasons in the NFL with the Browns and Vikings,Charlie Ferguson only had 16 career receptions- but 7 went for touchdowns. Playing behind Elbert "Golden Wheels" Dubenion and Glen Bass, he still retained his big play ability off the bench. His first opportunity came in 1963, when one of Buffalo’s starting receivers, Bill Miller, was out with an injury. Ferguson helped beat the Patriots by hauling in a 72-yard touchdown pass from Jack Kemp with only 28 seconds left on the clock. Buffalo beat Boston 28-21. Injuries would plague Ferguson's career in Buffalo. A knee surgery sidelined him for the 1964 Championship campaign.Fully recovered for the ‘65 campaign, through 11 games, Ferguson had a career-high 21 receptions for 262 yards. However, during the season’s 12th game against Houston, he suffered a pulled hamstring that would sideline him for the remainder of the year. That included the 1965 AFL Championship Game. Ferguson’s playing days came to an end following the ‘69 season with 62 career receptions and 13 touchdowns, six while with the Bills.
Flint arrived in Buffalo the same season as head coach Lou Saban. In 1964 and ‘65, Flint and the other players who still had gear in their lockers won 22 of 28 regular season games and back-to-back AFL championshipsIn the ‘65 title game against San Diego, Flint proved that Buffalo’s depth was anything but weak. "I got knocked out on the opening kickoff and didn’t come back until the start of the third quarter," said Hall of Fame guard Billy Shaw. "The opponent that day was Ernie Ladd, and Ernie was the biggest player in football at the time at almost 6’10". And he weighed 330 pounds. He was so big and so strong, he outweighed George by 100 pounds. But George played a tremendous first half against him. Every time he was called on, George Flint was ready to play." 
Howard Kindig played in the 1964 and ‘65 AFL Championship Games. However, as a defensive end with the Chargers, he would watch the Bills win the title both times. But as the old saying goes - if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em! Midway through the ‘67 season, Kindig didn’t exactly appreciate his head coach Sid Gillman, and couldn’t wait to get out of San Diego. "He and I just didn’t see eye to eye. It was just one of those things. I had a no-cut contract, but I told him, ‘You just go ahead and cut me.’ And so, anyway, that’s what he did. Of course, I could have gone to several other places, but I wanted to go to Buffalo," said Kindig. "I always had a lot of friends in Buffalo. When Buffalo would come to San Diego, we’d get together and have a few beers and laugh and all that stuff. I knew (Ron) McDole and (Tom) Sestak, Paul Maguire and Paul Costa. I just wanted to get to Buffalo. So when I got up there, I thought, ‘This is great!’"
