Buffalo team (NFL)

History

Buffalo had an early professional football circuit from at least the late 1800s. Predecessor teams included the Buffalo Oakdales, whose peak years were 1908 and 1909 and which ceased operations around 1915; the Cazenovias, considered New York's best team in 1910 and 1911; and the Lancaster Malleables from neighboring Lancaster, New York, the region's top team in 1913 and 1914. These teams competed against each other and against clubs from nearby cities such as the Rochester Jeffersons.

The All-Stars operated from 1915 to 1917 under Eugene F. Dooley; in 1917, Dooley and star player Barney Lepper took the team on a barnstorming tour of midwestern professional teams. In 1918, city teams were restricted from playing outside the area due to the flu pandemic, and Dooley and Lepper disbanded the All-Stars. Shoe salesman Warren D. Patterson then formed the Buffalo Niagaras, signing former Youngstown Patricians quarterback Ernest "Tommy" Hughitt.

The Niagaras won a citywide championship in 1918 with a 6–0–0 record, including a forfeit, and allowed only one touchdown all season. Because many top-level teams like the Patricians, Canton Bulldogs, and Massillon Tigers had suspended operations due to the pandemic and World War I player shortages, Buffalo gained an advantage by signing unemployed players, helping elevate the region to parity with the Ohio League and contributing to the eventual formation of the NFL.

The Professional Football Researchers Association dismisses any claim that Buffalo was the national champion that year, instead awarding a mythical national title to the undefeated Dayton Triangles. In 1919, the team reorganized as the Prospects and defeated the Rochester Jeffersons for the New York Pro Football League title in a two-game Thanksgiving weekend tournament, tying the first game and winning the second 20–0.

Players of note

As of 2022, no player from the All-Americans, Bisons, or Rangers had been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, making the franchise the longest-existing team without a Hall of Fame player after the Jacksonville Jaguars' Tony Boselli was inducted in 2022. Notable players included Benny Boynton, Eddie Casey, Walter Koppisch, Elmer Oliphant, Jim Ailinger (the oldest surviving NFL alumnus at his death in 2001), Ockie Anderson, Walt Brewster, Pete Calac, Tommy Hughitt, Heinie Miller, Paul Robeson, Gus Sonnenberg, and Lud Wray.