Joe Ferguson- QB

Over the past 30 years, only two players have worn No. 12 for the Bills: Jim Kelly and Joe Ferguson. Those two names are also atop most of Buffalo's all-time career passing lists. Ferguson was selected in the third round of the 1973 draft. Named as the starter by the season opener, Ferguson threw only 164 passes during his first year because head coach Lou Saban's strategy was to have the rookie hand the ball off to O.J. Simpson. The plan worked well considering Simpson set an NFL rushing record with 2,003 yards. Ferguson remained the starting quarterback through the Saban days, the Jim Ringo days, and was still there when Chuck Knox became Buffalo's head coach in '78. He developed into something much more than just a guy who could hand off. 4 times in his career he threw for 20 or more TDs in a season. In 1983, in the twilight of his career, he outduelled a brash new rookie starting his very first game in Miami, a guy named Dan Marino. Ferguson set Bills single game records for attempts (55), completions (38) and passing yards (419) in a 38-35 overtime win. It was the Bills 1st victory in the Orange Bowl since 1966.
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O.J. Simpson - RB

Playing for an inept team, the Juice wasn't living up to his expectations. Injuries to his offensive line, lack of talent around him, and misuse by the Bills coaching staff wasted the talents of the first pick of the 1969 NFL draft. Finally, with the re-hiring of Head Coach Lou Saban in 1972, the Bills constructed one of the best offensive lines in the league, which was to be nicknamed "The Electric Company" by none other than O.J. himself because as he described, "it turned on the Juice." In 1972, Simpson finally displayed the speed and the moves that made him the Heisman Trophy winner. He finished first amongst all runners that year with 1,251 yards. The next season would be the year that Simpson set the league on fire. In the very first regular season game of the year, O.J. broke the All-Time single game rushing record when he gained 250 yards. He also went on to break the season rushing record of 1,863 yards set by Cleveland's Jimmy Brown in 1963. Then, on the last game of the season against the New York Jets in Shea Stadium, Simpson broke the 2,000-yard mark by finishing the season with 2,003 yards! O.J. had set a new mark for excellence.
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Reggie McKenzie - G

Drafted by Lou Saban in the second round of 1972 out of the University of Michigan, Reggie McKenzie was instantly inserted as the Bills starting LG and dubbed by O.J.Simpson as; "My Main Man." He was blessed with the athleticism and quickness to keep in front of the Juice, pulling to the outside, to set up massive blocks that would enable O.J. to do his thing. Reggie McKenzie, along with Joe DeLamielleure, Mike Montler, Dave Foley and Donnie Green made up one of the most famous blocking units in the history of the NFL. Nicknamed "The Electric Company" by OJ Simpson himself (because they "turned the Juice on")this unit paved the way for some of the most prolific rushing seasons any running back has had in NFL history. It was Reggie who made the proclamation during the pre season of '73, "O.J. Simpson will rush for 2000 yards this season." his prediction was 3 yards short. OJ ran for 2,003. McKenzie continued to open holes and pave the way for Buffalo running backs long after OJ Simpson was traded to the San Francisco 49er's. Terry Miller (1978) and Joe Cribbs (1980) both hit the 1,000 yard mark in their rookie seasons.
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Joe DeLamielleure - G

"Joe D" as he became known as was selected in the first round of the 1973 draft with a pick obtained from Miami for wide receiver Marlin Briscoe. Bills head coach Lou Saban was happy to put the rookie into the lineup at right guard. DeLamielleure's first season became historic when O.J. Simpson rushed for an NFL record-setting 2,003 yards. He and his linemates were dubbed the "Electric Company" for turning on the "Juice." A consensus All-Pro for five consecutive years, he was named to the NFL Team of the '70s by the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Considering the 1970's was probably the best decade ever for offensive linemen, with the likes of the Patriot's John Hannah, The Raider's Art Still and Gene Upshaw, the Steelers Larry Webster and a host of others, this was quite a feat. The six time pro- bowl selection's work ethic was equaled only by the respect he garnered from his peers. After leaving the Bills to Join Cleveland in 1979, he returned to Buffalo in 1985 for 1 more season. Twelve years later, he was honored by the Bills by being placed on the team's Wall of Fame at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
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Bobby Chandler - WR

He was considered too slow to play in the NFL, yet he averaged 13.6 yds. per catch during his career with the Buffalo Bills. He was said to be too small to take the physical beating that a wide receiver gets in the NFL, but he managed to play 8 seasons with the Bills and 4 more with the Oakland Raiders. Bobby Chandler, year in and year out always seemed to find a way to get it done. The precise route runner to compliment the speedster JD Hill, he was Joe Ferguson's most reliable receiver in the clutch. He finished his career with 370 catches for 5,243 yards and 48 TDs.
Buzzard’s Hall Of Fame - Career stats

J.D. Hill - WR

Thirty-one years ago, wide receiver J.D. Hill led Arizona State to an undefeated season. He was named to the All-America team and was MVP of the Senior Bowl. Yet surprisingly, he didn't spend a lot of time thinking about the NFL and certainly wasn't sitting next to the telephone during that year's draft. In '72, Hill showed why he had been drafted so high. With a team-leading 52 receptions for a career high 754 yards, tying for third in the AFC, he joined Simpson and cornerback Robert James in the Pro Bowl. Hill spent 5 of his 7 seasons in Buffalo, gaining 2,880 yards on 185 receptions, with 21 going for touchdowns.
Where are they now - Career stats

Tony Greene - DB

Connections. Most everyone has them. However, Tony Greene's connection with an assistant coach, Ralph Hawkins, resulted in a nine-year career playing in Buffalo's defensive backfield. An undrafted free agent in 1971, the University of Maryland star was contacted by several NFL teams, but chose to try his luck with the Bills. A fixture in the secondary for the entire decade, Greene picked off a career high 9 interceptions in both 1974 and again in 1977. In 128 career games, Greene finished with 37 interceptions, 2 fumble recoveries, 2 INT's returned for touchdowns, and was credited with 1 safety. His 37 interceptions place him second in team history behind Butch Byrd.
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John Pitts- DB

Since 1990, the Bills have drafted six defensive backs in the first round. During the 30 years prior to that, Buffalo selected only half as many as its top pick - three. The first? John Pitts, in ‘67, the first combined NFL-AFL draft.He remained in that position for the next five seasons. During that time, Pitts collected eight interceptions and didn’t finish many games with a clean uniform. "I remember in 1972, ‘73, I led the Bills in tackles. That means the defense was really weak if you’ve got your strong safety leading the club in tackles. Everyone always used to say I was a vicious tackler because I was so big. I was a good hitter. Like if a Larry Csonka came through the hole, John Pitts would go up and hit Csonka high, right up in his face! You didn’t find guys that were doing that to big backs like Jim Nance and Csonka back then. My size and my speed were probably my greatest assets." During Pitts’ tenure, the Bills didn’t experience great success. Not once during his six full-seasons, did Buffalo ever have better than a 4-9-1 record. That may explain why he played for four different head coaches: Collier, Harvey Johnson, John Rauch and Lou Saban. Where are they now - Career stats

Robert James - DB

In 1972 James had no interceptions as opposing teams realized it wasn't a real good idea to throw the ball his way. That year James had an amazing zero touchdown passes thrown against him and was selected to the Pro Bowl, this in a season where the Bills only won 4 games! In 1973 the Bills intercepted 10 passes with James intercepting none. Again opposing quarterbacks elected to ignore his side of the field when dropping back to pass. James was selected to the Pro Bowl once again. A knee injury prematurely ended his career in a pre-season game in 1975. In 1998, the name "Robert James" was added to the Bills wall of fame in Ralph Wilson Stadium
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Mike Kadish - DL

Miami's top draft choice in '72, Kadish was on the team's taxi squad as a rookie and witnessed the only undefeated season in NFL history. The following preseason, a strong performance by Kadish during a nationally televised game caught Bills coach Lou Saban's attention. And after a telephone call from Saban to Shula, offensive lineman Irv Goode was heading south and Kadish was shuffling off to Buffalo, who were coming off of a 4-9-1 campaign. Kadish anchored the Bills Defensive line for 9 seasons, playing in 127 games. He was credited with 1 touchdown and 1 safety in his career.
Where are they now - Career stats

Dave Foley - OT

Following three seasons with the Jets, offensive tackle Dave Foley Signed five days before the season opener, Foley missed the first two games because of the knee injury, and then moved into the starting lineup at left tackle. The next season as a member of the offensive line that would come to be known as the "Electric Company," Buffalo posted its first winning record (9-5) in seven years. The Bills had more wins than the previous three seasons, combined. Foley was a member of a blocking unit in 1973 that allowed OJ Simpson to become the first running back in league history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a single season. He finished with 2,003 yards, and Jim Braxton added 494 yards as the Bills set a new NFL team rushing record with 3,088 yards. After the ‘74 season he was named to the Pro Bowl roster.
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Walt Patulski-DE

A unanimous All-America defensive end at Notre Dame in ‘71, Patulski earned the Lombardi Award as the nation’s top lineman. A Fighting Irish captain, he finished ninth in that year’s Heisman Trophy balloting. Given those credentials and the fact that the Bills gave up an average of 28 points per game the previous season when they posted a 1-13 record, it was hardly a surprise that Buffalo went for defensive help with its top choice. While shining in spots early in his career, Patulski never lived up to his top pick billing. After his fourth year, Patulski’s Buffalo career came to a close when he was traded to St. Louis for the Cardinals’ second-round draft choice in ‘76. Buffalo would use the pick to select offensive tackle Joe Devlin.
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Merv Krakau- LB

As a senior at Iowa State, defensive end Merv Krakau was named All-Big Eight, and was a third-team All-America. In a game against Nebraska that season, he had 11 unassisted tackles, two sacks, deflected three passes, caused two fumbles and recovered two fumbles. Yet when the 1973 NFL draft took place, no less than 343 players were selected before the Bills took Krakau. In fact, he was the 18th player and fourth linebacker chosen by Buffalo during the two-day draft.The odds of making the team were against Krakau. He knew it. However, his attitude was to simply go with the flow. Krakau continued to impress the coaches during training camp at Niagara University. He not only made the team, but when the regular season opened against New England, he was the starting middle linebacker. He earned his first start when starter Jim Cheyunski went down with an injury in 1974. After starting in nine games during the ‘74 campaign, Krakau was in the lineup for every game the following season and led the Bills with 132 tackles. He also recovered six fumbles.
Where are they now - Career stats

Keith Moody -CB

In only his fifth game, Keith Moody made his mark. At Shea Stadium against the Jets, he returned a punt 67 yards for a touchdown. It was the first time since ‘73 that the Bills found the endzone via a return. The following year, Moody set a team record, which still stands, with a 91-yard punt return against Cleveland. In ‘78, Chuck Knox’s first season as head coach, Moody did it again. Three years in a row! Against the Oilers, he returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown. Moody concluded his playing career in ‘80 with the Super Bowl XV-winning Oakland Raiders. .
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John Skorupan-LB

A consensus All-American as a senior, Skorupan was selected in the sixth round of the 1973 draft by a Buffalo team that had only won five games the previous two seasons, giving up an average of 27.5 points per game. Skorupan’s transition included moving into the starting lineup at outside linebacker where he earned a spot on the UPI All-Rookie team. The following year, the Bills were off to a 5-1 start when they hosted New England in late October. Skorupan, who hadn’t missed a game since arriving in Buffalo, injured his right knee in a pile-up while stopping Patriots’ running back Sam Cunningham, and was lost for the rest of season. In 1976, Skorupan collected 85 tackles, one sack, and seven pass defenses. Skorupan’s final season with the Bills in ‘77 could also be called difficult. Because of injuries, he was moved to the middle for the first time in his career and proceeded to hurt his other knee during the second game of the year, a 26-6 loss in Denver. Surgery sidelined him for the final 12 games. And after going through rehab again, Skorupan was waived by Buffalo less than a week before the start of the following season. He was then claimed by the Giants and spent the next three years in New York.
Where are they now - Career stats

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