Albert Delane Bemiller (April 18, 1938 – November 30, 2022) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was an

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

for the

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. ...

of the

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. ...

(AFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

. He was a member of two

AFL championship For its first nine seasons, 1960 through 1968, the American Football League determined its champion via a single playoff game between the winners of its two divisions (although ties in the standings in 1963 (Eastern) and 1968 (Western) necessi ...

s with the Bills and was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Hall of Fame in 2015.

Buffalo Bills

Bemiller was drafted as an

by the

in 1961, when he immediately became their starting center, replacing Dan McGrew, although the latter was the All-AFL 2nd team center in the Bills' inaugural season of 1960. During the 1961 season, Bemiller played in all 14 games, between fellow rookie

Billy Shaw William Lewis Shaw (born December 15, 1938) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive guard for the Buffalo Bills in the American Football League (AFL). After playing college football with the Georgia Tech Yellow Ja ...

at left

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

and second year pro

Chuck Muelhaupt Edward Charles "Chuck" Muelhaupt (December 11, 1935 – March 31, 2012) was a professional American football player who played offensive lineman for three seasons for the Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American fo ...

at right guard, under

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Buster Ramsey Garrard Sliger "Buster" Ramsey (March 16, 1920 – September 16, 2007) was an American football player for the College of William and Mary and Chicago Cardinals. He was the first head coach of the AFL's Buffalo Bills. Playing career After ...

. In 1962, he continued to play center next to Shaw and new right guard Tom Day under new head coach

Lou Saban Louis Henry Saban (October 13, 1921 – March 29, 2009) was an American football player and coach. He played for Indiana University in college and as a professional for the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference between 1946 a ...

. These three linemen would play together up to 1963, when the Bills tied for first place in the AFL east division, but lost a playoff game to the

Boston Patriots Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...

. In 1964, Bemiller was switched to right

, playing between veteran center

Walt Cudzik Walter Jacob Cudzik (February 21, 1932 – December 11, 2005) was an American football center in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins. He also played in the American Football League (AFL) for the Boston Patriots and ...

and right

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

Dick Hudson, when the Bills won their first AFL championship. They repeated in 1965, when Bemiller became an

AFL All-Star The American Football League All-Star game was the annual game which featured each year's best performers in the American Football League (AFL). The game was first played in 1961 and the final AFL All-Star game occurred in 1969, prior to the leagu ...

at right guard, still next to Hudson but with a new center,

Dave Behrman David Wesley Behrman (November 9, 1941 – December 9, 2014) was an American football offensive lineman who played in the American Football League for the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos. He was the fourth overall pick in the 1963 AFL Draft by ...

. In 1966, under new head coach

Joe Collier Joel Dale Collier (born June 7, 1932) is an American former football coach who was the head coach of the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League (AFL) from 1966 through part of 1968, compiling a 13–16–1 record. College career Coll ...

, Bemiller switched back to center, playing between Shaw and right guard Joe O'Donnell. From 1967 to 1969, he remained the starting center but also played left

in 1967. In 1968, he played between Shaw and

Bob Kalsu James Robert Kalsu (April 13, 1945 – July 21, 1970) was an American American football, football player who was an All-American tackle at the 1967 Oklahoma Sooners football team, University of Oklahoma and an 1968 NFL/AFL draft#Round eight, eig ...

and in 1969, his final year, between Shaw and O'Donnell. Bemiller was replaced the following year by

Frank Marchlewski Frank Marchlewski (October 14, 1943 – October 27, 2016) was a professional American football player who played offensive lineman for six seasons for the Los Angeles Rams, Atlanta Falcons, and Buffalo Bills. Buffalo Bills As a member of the ...

. In his nine-year career with the Bills, he never missed a game.

Post NFL

After playing for the Bills, Bemiller became a

substitute teacher A substitute teacher is a person who teaches a school class when the regular teacher is absent or unavailable; e.g., because of illness, personal leave, maternal leave and so on. "Substitute teacher" (usually abbreviated as "sub") is the most co ...

for the

Buffalo Public Schools Buffalo Public Schools serves approximately 34,000 students in Buffalo, New York, the second largest city in the state of New York. It is located in Erie County of western New York and operates nearly 70 facilities. History The Buffalo Public S ...

and could be seen on occasion at

Hutchinson Central Technical High School Hutchinson Central Technical High School, informally known as Hutch-Tech, is a high school in the City of Buffalo, New York. Its founding on September 14, 1904 under the name ''Mechanics Arts High School'' marked the beginning of technical educatio ...

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

. Bemiller also worked 33 years as a high school wrestling official for the Niagara Frontier Wrestling Officials Association of section 6 (NYS), from 1970-2003 and was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. Bemiller also worked 25 years as a recreation coordinator at Wyoming Correctional Facility in Attica. Bemiller's grandson,

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Jake Dolegala, was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

in 2019. Bemiller died on November 30, 2022, at the age of 84.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bemiller, Al 1938 births 2022 deaths American football centers Buffalo Bills players Syracuse Orange football players American Football League All-Star players People from Hanover, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania American Football League players Schoolteachers from New York (state)

Buffalo Bills

Post NFL

See also

References