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There's more than cheering and tailgating at Ralph Wilson Stadium, something that was here long before the stadium ever existed. It's under the stadium lights and behind Gate Seven; The Sheldon Cemetery. And it's been there since the early 1800's.
"Mr. Sheldon and his wife lost a child at three weeks of age and that child was the first person to be buried in this plot," said Sue Kulp, Orchard Park Town and Village Historian.
And for generations, more Sheldons followed to call it their final resting place.
Up until the 1970s, the family burial was surrounded by farmland, few homes and no traffic.
But there was a spark in that magic in 1973 when the Bills' stadium was about to go up. Architects wanted it to go right over the cemetery.
"They were going to move the cemetery to put the stadium here and family members, my mom and aunt Lola Sheldon said no way, you move the stadium, you're not moving the cemetery," said Hartloff.
"There was somebody buried here in 1932," said Susan Phillips. "It was too recent that they could not move the cemetery."
"They changed the position of the stadium," said Gary Phillips, a descendent of the Sheldon Family. "This is not the 50 yard line and the stadium I believe was turned a bit because of this. That's why when you get the wind changes in there you almost think it's the spirits turning the wind. When you see a football kicked and it goes wide right or to the side, it changes just drastically. The wind changes and I believe that's the position of the stadium. So this cemetery probably had something to do with them winning or losing their games. I'm sure it did."
"Mr. Sheldon and his wife lost a child at three weeks of age and that child was the first person to be buried in this plot," said Sue Kulp, Orchard Park Town and Village Historian.
And for generations, more Sheldons followed to call it their final resting place.
Up until the 1970s, the family burial was surrounded by farmland, few homes and no traffic.
But there was a spark in that magic in 1973 when the Bills' stadium was about to go up. Architects wanted it to go right over the cemetery.
"They were going to move the cemetery to put the stadium here and family members, my mom and aunt Lola Sheldon said no way, you move the stadium, you're not moving the cemetery," said Hartloff.
"There was somebody buried here in 1932," said Susan Phillips. "It was too recent that they could not move the cemetery."
"They changed the position of the stadium," said Gary Phillips, a descendent of the Sheldon Family. "This is not the 50 yard line and the stadium I believe was turned a bit because of this. That's why when you get the wind changes in there you almost think it's the spirits turning the wind. When you see a football kicked and it goes wide right or to the side, it changes just drastically. The wind changes and I believe that's the position of the stadium. So this cemetery probably had something to do with them winning or losing their games. I'm sure it did."
j/k
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