So where the heck did our team get the name "Bills" from? - BillsZone.com - Buffalo Bills Fan Zone

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Cleve

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#1

So where the heck did our team get the name "Bills" from?

04-24-2010, 04:45 PM

Something I've wondered for many years - what the heck is a "Bill" as relates to a football team?

Every other NFL team has a name that makes 'sense' - either it's geographically relevant or it relates to some sort of aggressive, predatory creature, or it's suggestive of speed or size, or power, etc etc etc.

However, the name "Bills" doesn't really bring any sort of positive mental imagery to mind. Hell, even Buffalo's minor league baseball team - the Bisons - has a better name, IMHO.

So what the deuce is a "Bill" as it relates to this team? Was the first Buffalo football team resplendent with gentlemen of the first name "William"? Or is there some other explanation?

This lowly cart.... it hits harder and has a higher yards
per play average than the Bills' offense!
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imbondz

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#2

04-24-2010, 04:48 PM

Re: So where the heck did our team get the name "Bills" from?

it's just a reference to a dollar bill.

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honey pie

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#3

04-24-2010, 04:48 PM

Re: So where the heck did our team get the name "Bills" from?

Originally posted by imbondz

it's just a reference to a dollar bill.

LMAO. Wilson had a good brain at one time.
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BillsOwnAll

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#4

04-24-2010, 04:51 PM

Re: So where the heck did our team get the name "Bills" from?

wasnt it from that guy "buffalo bill"?
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TacklingDummy

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#5

04-24-2010, 04:56 PM

Re: So where the heck did our team get the name "Bills" from?

Fans picked it over Bullets.
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TacklingDummy

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#6

04-24-2010, 04:57 PM

Re: So where the heck did our team get the name "Bills" from?

The "Bill" came from legendary Indian Scout William "Buffalo Bill" Cody helped trailblaze the American Frontier, the football team (owned by the president of Frontier Oil) was opening a new frontier in Buffalo sports.

Last edited by TacklingDummy; 04-24-2010, 05:04 PM.
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ddaryl

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#7

04-24-2010, 05:00 PM

Re: So where the heck did our team get the name "Bills" from?

Buffalo Bill was the inspiration..
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MidnightVoice

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#8

04-24-2010, 05:12 PM

Re: So where the heck did our team get the name "Bills" from?

It was better than the alternative - Buffalo nine dots and dash

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#9

04-24-2010, 05:13 PM

Re: So where the heck did our team get the name "Bills" from?

. . . -- -- -- . . .

It would look awesome on the helmut.
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Johnny Bugmenot

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#10

04-24-2010, 05:29 PM

Re: So where the heck did our team get the name "Bills" from?

Here's the full story.

The Buffalo Bills name was first adopted by a football team in 1947. When the AAFC Buffalo team wanted to change its name to something different than Bisons (the stock name was already in use by a baseball and hockey team at the time), they decided to make the change to "Buffalo Bills" in an apparent reference to the famous Wild West showman Buffalo Bill Cody. There's a barbershop quartet that used the "Buffalo Bills" name that was founded in the same year (1947), but who used the name first, or if one inspired the other, isn't clear.

In 1950, the Bills made an effort to join the NFL, but were rejected. They were the only AAFC market that didn't get an NFL team. The Cleveland Browns ended up buying the remains of the team.

Then, in 1960, the Browns were up for sale and Ralph Wilson had just gotten the AFL franchise for Buffalo. When Art Modell bought the Browns, apparently he didn't want the Bills trademark rights (either that or he just allowed the trademarks to lapse). Wilson acquired the Buffalo Bills basically for free, after the fans said they wanted a revival of the Bills name.

So there's your story.

Last edited by Johnny Bugmenot; 04-24-2010, 05:30 PM.
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DMBcrew36

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#11

04-24-2010, 05:36 PM

Re: So where the heck did our team get the name "Bills" from?

Is this a joke? People have never heard of 'Buffalo Bill' Cody? Learn your history people...
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chernobylwraiths

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#12

04-24-2010, 06:45 PM

Re: So where the heck did our team get the name "Bills" from?

Naming contest.

Thank God it wasn't the redundant name of the baseball farm team.
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Cleve

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#13

04-24-2010, 07:34 PM

Re: So where the heck did our team get the name "Bills" from?

Ah-ha, I see - Buffalo Bill Cody was the inspiration

Guess I never made the connection because Buffalo Bill was a unique individual - whereas the other NFL team names refer to groups of people, animals, etc. Ahh well....

This lowly cart.... it hits harder and has a higher yards
per play average than the Bills' offense!
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BillyT92679

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#14

04-24-2010, 08:10 PM

Re: So where the heck did our team get the name "Bills" from?

Yeah, the old AAFC team was named after Cody and then they named this iteration of the Bills in a contest.

Buffalo Bill Cody is a legend.

Let's Go BILLS and SU ORANGE![IMhttp://www.billszone.com/fanzone/attachment.php?attachmentid=&stc=1G]
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BillyT92679

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#15

04-24-2010, 08:13 PM

Re: So where the heck did our team get the name "Bills" from?

Buffalo had an NFL team decades before the AAFC team. So did Rochester (the Jeffersons) and even Tonawanda had an NFL team called the Kardex

Let's Go BILLS and SU ORANGE![IMhttp://www.billszone.com/fanzone/attachment.php?attachmentid=&stc=1G]
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