LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION celebrating the life and accomplishments of
legendary Buffalo Bills founder and owner Ralph C. Wilson, Jr.

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to pay tribute to the
lives of those esteemed individuals of world renown who distinguished
themselves through their life's work; and
WHEREAS, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr., founder and owner of the Buffalo Bills,
died on Tuesday, March 25, 2014, in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, at the age
of 95; and
WHEREAS, In 1959, along with seven other men, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr.
started the American Football League at a time in America when baseball
was the number one sport and the country's self-described national
pastime; and
WHEREAS, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. chose Buffalo for the home of the Bills
for having good attendance in the All-America Conference, a league which
played from 1946 until 1949; he believed it was a good football city, an
industrial city similar to Detroit on a smaller scale, and because
Buffalo had been without football for 10 years and wanted it back; and
WHEREAS, In 2009, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. was inducted into the Pro Foot-
ball Hall of Fame; of the eight original Foolish Club members, Ralph C.
Wilson, Jr. was the only one who kept his team in its original city;
remaining true to Buffalo, his dedication to the city is one reason why
he was inducted into the Hall of Fame; and
WHEREAS, Born in Columbus, Ohio, on October 17, 1918, Ralph C. Wilson,
Jr. moved to Detroit when he was a youngster; he attended the University
of Virginia and later attended law school at the University of Michigan;
and
WHEREAS, He served his country as a member of the United States Navy
during World War II; within a year, he earned his commission and served
aboard minesweepers in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters; and
WHEREAS, After the war, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. took over his father's
successful insurance business and invested in Michigan-area mines and
factories; eventually, he purchased several manufacturing outlets,
construction firms and radio stations, and founded Ralph Wilson Indus-
tries; and
WHEREAS, Although he was an extremely successful businessman, the
Buffalo Bills were always Ralph C. Wilson, Jr.'s number one love; for
most of his tenure as owner, he attended all of the games, home and
away; and
WHEREAS, During the AFL years, Ralph C. Wilson was one of the most
influential men in the league; not only did he build one of its strong-
est teams, he also played a vital role behind the scenes in some of the
most important of pro football's history-shaping events such as helping
the AFL procure its first big-time television contract in 1964, a deal
in which NBC paid each club $900,000 annually; and
WHEREAS, The NFL began to consider a merger with the AFL and, in 1970,
Ralph C. Wilson, Jr.'s dream of owning an NFL franchise was realized
when the Buffalo Bills and the other seven AFL teams began playing in
the NFL; and
WHEREAS, Over the next forty years, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. was an active
member of the ownership group and he chaired committees relating to
issues on pensions, labor, Super Bowl sites, expansion and realignment;
and
WHEREAS, Voted by THE BUFFALO NEWS as western New York's "Top Sports
Figure" in the past millennium, and described once by a writer as the
"conscience of the NFL," Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. leaves behind a legacy
nearly unrivaled in professional sports franchise ownership; and

WHEREAS, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. successfully operated the Bills out of
Buffalo, New York, for more than 50 years, even when the economic
climate in the league, as well as the country, made it difficult; and
WHEREAS, During his ownership, the franchise won two American Football
League championships (1964-65) and, after the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, four
consecutive American Football Conference championships (1990-93); and
WHEREAS, Today, the Buffalo Bills continue to draw sellout crowds to
the stadium in Orchard Park which bears Ralph C. Wilson, Jr.'s name; and
WHEREAS, A valued and involved member of his community, this remark-
able man established the Ralph Wilson Medical Research Foundation, which
has contributed to high-risk/high-impact biomedical research; contrib-
uted to the development of Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Athletic Field for the
NFL Youth Education Town Center in Detroit; and helped procure grants
for Buffalo-area athletics fields; and
WHEREAS, Ralph C. Wilson's selfless humanitarian spirit benefitted
food banks of Buffalo and Rochester, Ronald McDonald House, the United
Way, the S.P.C.A., the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Shea's Performing Arts
Center and the Hospice Center of Western New York; and
WHEREAS, Furthermore, his generosity supported education by establish-
ing scholarship programs at a number of colleges such as St. John Fisher
College, home of the Bills' summer training camp since 2000, where he
helped fund a building that houses the College of Education which is
named in his honor; and
WHEREAS, Armed with a humanistic spirit and imbued with a sense of
compassion, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr.'s life was a portrait of service, a
legacy which will long endure the passage of time and will remain as a
comforting memory to all he served and befriended; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
celebrate the life and accomplishments of legendary Buffalo Bills found-
er and owner Ralph C. Wilson, Jr.; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the family of Ralph C. Wilson, Jr.