October 17, 1918 – Detroit, Michigan – Ralph C. Wilson Jr. is born into this world. Ralph Wilson is best known for being the owner and founder of the Buffalo Bills franchise.
Mr. Wilson began his ownership journey as a minority owner with the Detroit Lions. Mr. Wilson then sold out of the Lions, became one of the founders of the AFL in 1960, and played a significant role in the AFL/NFL merger in the late 1960s. In the AFL, Ralph Wilson watched on as his team won the AFL Championship in 1964 and again in 1965, according to profootballhof.com. He also saw the Bills make it into an unprecedented four consecutive appearances in Super Bowls XXV, XXVI, XXVII, and XXVIII.
Ralph has gone down in history as being third on the list of NFL owners’ longevity, as his 53 years with the Bills was only surpassed by George Halas’ 63 seasons with the Bears and Art Rooney’s 55 years with the Steelers. The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined Ralph Wilson Jr. in the grand building of legends in 2009. At the enshrinement ceremony, Wilson had one of the most memorable HOF speeches ever when he said, “It shouldn’t take much calculating to decide whether to pay $5 or $50,000 for a seat at a football game. I had just such a choice a few years back and, contrary to what you might expect of a sane man, I chose the higher-priced seat. It wasn’t that I was interested in the view, but the $50,000 entitled me to any seat in the house; I had finally become what I had long wanted to be-the sole owner of a pro football team.”
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