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Pat McGroder
Patrick J. McGroder, Jr. (1904–1986) was an American football executive. He served as the interim general manager of the Buffalo Bills in 1983. McGroder was instrumental in bringing the Bills to Buffalo. After the previous Bills franchise in the All-America Football Conference was denied membership in the NFL, McGroder continued to lobby the NFL to bring a team to the city; such was his renown that it was McGroder, and not Ralph Wilson, who was Lamar Hunt's first choice to own the Buffalo American Football League franchise (Wilson was instead to own a team in Miami). McGroder had the resources to buy the team (at the time he owned a successful liquor store) but declined, thinking that the threat of the AFL would be enough for the league to expand to Buffalo. At the time, Buffalo had been a regular site for NFL neutral-site contests for two decades, and McGroder reasoned that the league's relative success in the city would make it a prime candidate for quick expansion in the f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with possession of the oval-shaped football, attempts to advance down the field by running with the ball or passing it, while the defense, the team without possession of the ball, aims to stop the offense's advance and to take control of the ball for themselves. The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs or plays; if they fail, they turn over the football to the defense, but if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs to continue the drive. Points are scored primarily by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins. American football evolved in the United States, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Manager (American Football)
In the National Football League, the general manager (GM) of a team typically controls player transactions and bears the primary responsibility on behalf of the team during contract discussions with players. The general manager is also normally the person who hires and fires the coaching staff, including the head coach. The general manager will in many cases have oversight of the entire football department, typically reporting to the team president/CEO and/or owner. However, some teams have the GM act in advisory role with the head coach having oversight of the football operations (including the GM). Some teams do not have official general managers, but instead have a ''de facto'' GM. Similar positions include President of Football Operations. Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots is an example of a coach who is the de facto general manager; he has never been officially named or granted the title of general manager but he has the final say in football operations. Responsibi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team plays its home games at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. Founded in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL), they joined the NFL in 1970 following the AFL–NFL merger. The Bills' name is derived from an All-America Football Conference (AAFC) franchise from Buffalo that was in turn named after western frontiersman Buffalo Bill. Drawing much of its fanbase from Western New York, the Bills are the only NFL team that plays home games in that state. The franchise is owned by Terry and Kim Pegula, who purchased the Bills after the death of original owner Ralph Wilson in 2014. The Bills won consecutive AFL Championships in 1964 and 1965, the only major professional sports championships from a t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
All-America Football Conference
The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation's best players, and introduced many lasting innovations to the game. However, the AAFC was ultimately unable to sustain itself in competition with the NFL. After it folded, three of its teams were admitted to the NFL: the San Francisco 49ers, the Cleveland Browns and the original Baltimore Colts (not to be confused with the later Baltimore Colts team, now the Indianapolis Colts). The AAFC was the second American professional football league (the first being the third American Football League of 1940–1941) to have its teams play in a double round robin format in the regular season: each team had a home game and an away game with each of the other AAFC teams. The Cleveland Browns were the AAFC's most successful club, winning ever ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ralph Wilson
Ralph Cookerly Wilson Jr. (October 17, 1918 – March 25, 2014) was an American businessman and sports executive. He was best known as the founder and owner of the Buffalo Bills, a team in the National Football League (NFL). He was one of the founding owners of the American Football League (AFL), the league with which the NFL merged in 1970, and was the last of the original AFL owners to own his team. At the time of his death he was the oldest owner in the NFL, at age 95, and the third-longest tenured owner in NFL history (over 54 years, behind the 63 years George Halas owned the Chicago Bears and almost equal to the 55 years Art Rooney owned the Pittsburgh Steelers, although Rooney's ownership and team operations were interrupted in the 1940s due to some complicated dealings). He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009. Career Wilson grew up in Detroit, Michigan, the son of salesman Ralph Wilson Sr. and his wife Edith Cole.Gaughan, MarkFather's example inspired ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lamar Hunt
Lamar Hunt (August 2, 1932 – December 13, 2006) was an American businessman most notable for his promotion of American football, soccer, and tennis in the United States. He was the principal founder of the American Football League (AFL) and Major League Soccer (MLS), as well as MLS's predecessor, the North American Soccer League (NASL), and co-founder of World Championship Tennis. He was also the founder and owner of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL), the Kansas City Wizards of MLS, and at the time of his death owned two other MLS teams, Columbus Crew and FC Dallas. In Kansas City, Hunt also helped establish the Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun theme parks. The oldest ongoing national soccer tournament in the United States, the U.S. Open Cup (founded 1914), now bears his name in honor of his pioneering role in that sport stateside. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1972; into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1982; and i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Football League
The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence. It was more successful than earlier rivals to the NFL with the same name, the 1926, 1936 and 1940 leagues, and the later All-America Football Conference (which existed between 1944 and 1950 but only played between 1946 and 1949). This fourth version of the AFL was the most successful, created by a number of owners who had been refused NFL expansion franchises or had minor shares of NFL franchises. The AFL's original lineup consisted of an Eastern division of the New York Titans, Boston Patriots, Buffalo Bills, and the Houston Oilers, and a Western division of the Los Angeles Chargers, Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders, and Dallas T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
War Memorial Stadium (Buffalo, New York)
War Memorial Stadium, colloquially known as The Rockpile, was an outdoor football, baseball and soccer stadium in Buffalo, New York. Opened in 1937 as Roesch Memorial Stadium, the venue was later known as Grover Cleveland Stadium and Civic Stadium. The stadium was home to the Canisius Golden Griffins (NCAA), Buffalo Indians-Tigers (AFL), Buffalo Bills ( AAFC), Buffalo Bulls (NCAA), Buffalo Bills (AFL/ NFL), Buffalo Bisons ( IL), Buffalo White Eagles ( ECPSL), Buffalo Blazers ( NSL), Buffalo Bisons ( EL/ AA) and Canisius Golden Griffins (NCAA). It also had a race track and hosted several NASCAR events. The venue was demolished in 1989 and replaced with the Johnnie B. Wiley Amateur Athletic Sports Pavilion, which retains entrances from the original stadium. History Planning and construction Roesch Memorial Stadium was built on the East Side of Buffalo for $3 million as a Works Progress Administration project in 1937. It was built on a large, rectangular block that had once hous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Era Field
Highmark Stadium is a stadium in Orchard Park, New York, in the Southtowns of the Buffalo metropolitan area. The stadium opened in 1973 as Rich Stadium and is the home venue of the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). It was known as Ralph Wilson Stadium from 1998 to 2015, New Era Field from 2016 to 2019, and Bills Stadium in 2020. History Finding a new place to call home An original franchise of the American Football League in 1960, the Buffalo Bills played their first thirteen seasons at War Memorial Stadium, a multi-use WPA project stadium that opened in 1938, located on Buffalo's East Side. While suitable for AFL play in the 1960s, the "Rockpile" (as the stadium came to be nicknamed), was in disrepair and with a capacity of under 47,000, undersized for a National Football League team. The league mandate instituted after the AFL–NFL merger of 1970 dictated a minimum of 50,000 seats. In early 1971, owner Ralph Wilson was exploring options to relocate the te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Football League
The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be played in the autumn/winter, directly competing against the long-established National Football League (NFL). However, the USFL ceased operations before that season was scheduled to begin. The ideas behind the USFL were conceived in 1965 by New Orleans businessman David Dixon, who saw a market for a professional football league that would play in the summer, when the National Football League and college football were in their off-season. Dixon had been a key player in the construction of the Louisiana Superdome and the expansion of the NFL into New Orleans in 1967. He developed "The Dixon Plan"—a blueprint for the USFL based upon securing NFL-caliber stadiums in top TV markets, securing a national TV broadcast contract, and controlling ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buffalo Bills Executives
Buffalo most commonly refers to: * Bubalina, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York Buffalo or buffaloes may also refer to: Animals * Bubalina, a subtribe of the tribe Bovini within the subfamily Bovinae ** African buffalo or Cape Buffalo (''Syncerus caffer'') ** ''Bubalus'', a genus of bovines including various water buffalo species ***Wild water buffalo (''Bubalus arnee'') *** Water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis'') **** Italian Mediterranean buffalo, a breed of water buffalo *** Anoa *** Tamaraw (''Bubalus mindorensis'') ***''Bubalus murrensis'', an extinct species of water buffalo that occupied riverine habitats in Europe in the Pleistocene * Bison, large, even-toed ungulates in the genus ''Bison'' within the subfamily Bovinae **American bison (''Bison bison''), also commonly referred to as the American buffalo or simply "buffalo" in North America **European bison is also known as the European buffalo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Football League General Managers
National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, census-designated place * National, Nevada, ghost town * National, Utah, ghost town * National, West Virginia, unincorporated community Commerce * National (brand), a brand name of electronic goods from Panasonic * National Benzole (or simply known as National), former petrol station chain in the UK, merged with BP * National Car Rental, an American rental car company * National Energy Systems, a former name of Eco Marine Power * National Entertainment Commission, a former name of the Media Rating Council * National Motor Vehicle Company, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA 1900-1924 * National Supermarkets, a defunct American grocery store chain * National String Instrument Corporation, a guitar company formed to manufacture the first resonator gu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
