Booker Edgerson To Be 2010 Inductee To Bills Wall of Fame

[BillsGuyInMalta]

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-3...02-d54063b37483

[Lori]

In a vote conducted on Friday, Apr. 23, a panel comprised of local media and team personnel chose cornerback Booker Edgerson as the this year's inductee to the Wall of Fame at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

[Beerball]

Very nice.

[JohnC]

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-3...02-d54063b37483

 

I'm happy for Booker. However, the owner should set aside grudges and put Lou Saban and Cookie Gilchrist on that wall. It is my understanding that Saban has family that still reside in western NY. I also believe that Cookie is still alive but is not very healthy.

 

I'm well aware that both Lou Saban and Cookie Giclhrist were very difficult personalities to deal with. However, they both are very important parts of this franchise's ragged history. It would not only be the right thing to do but also the gracious thing to do.

[Chandler#81]

Congratulations, Booker!

 

I met him at the 50th Anni banquet last year. Great guy and an appropriate choice to lead the Alumni Assoc.

[boyst]

I do not know much about him, and going on the internet and reading a player is totally a hit and miss idea. He is obviously before my time, but can anyone share more info on him? Who in more recent history could he be compared to? What kind of player was he?

[dwight in philly]

i think he is a reach! he is great person, good for the community, but not worthy of being on the wall. he had a slightly above average career with the bills. As stated previously, until cookie and saban go on, in my humble opinion , the wall lacks cred.

[Haven Moses]

Is Butch Byrd on the wall?

[dwight in philly]

Is Butch Byrd on the wall?

no, thanks for helping me make my case, i would rate butch byrd higher than edgerson. this is just a "feel good" pick.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

I'm happy for Booker. However, the owner should set aside grudges and put Lou Saban and Cookie Gilchrist on that wall. It is my understanding that Saban has family that still reside in western NY. I also believe that Cookie is still alive but is not very healthy.

 

I'm well aware that both Lou Saban and Cookie Giclhrist were very difficult personalities to deal with. However, they both are very important parts of this franchise's ragged history. It would not only be the right thing to do but also the gracious thing to do.

I hate to rain on Booker's parade...

 

However, as Bills fans, what other leverage do we have if we want to make our opinions known to the committee which selects players to the Wall of Fame?

 

Kudos, JohnC.

 

Saban and Cookie are long overdue to be honored by the Bills. At this point, until they are on the Wall, it makes this exercise of putting honorees on the Wall, a sham.

 

Arguably, no two Buffalo Bills have been more instrumental in bringing glory and acclaim to the franchise than Lou Saban and Cookie Gilchrist.

 

Even more than Ralph's mediocre winning percentage (the Bills are 24th all time in NFL winning percentage), the thing I hold against him above all is his denial of the recognition that these two men have so richly deserved for so long.

 

The way Ralph operates, Harvey Johnson and Stew Barber are more likely to be Wall honorees than Saban and Gilchrist.

 

Truly a shameful situation.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

no, thanks for helping me make my case, i would rate butch byrd higher than edgerson. this is just a "feel good" pick.

And politicized as well.

 

From Chris Brown's article:

 

"Now 70, (Edgerson) is currently serving as President of the Bills Alumni Association."

 

Edgerson lives in WNY and is part of the Bills heritage. I appreciate that.

 

But his selection does not inspire the belief that the Wall of Fame is a merit-based honor.

[Jim Gehman]

Congratulations Booker!

He collected 23 interceptions during the eight seasons [1962-69] he played for the Bills, and talked about a memorable one in my book, "Then Levy Said to Kelly...".

 

He Could Go All the Way! Or Maybe Not

 

In Booker Edgerson’s first game, the 1962 season opener against Houston, the cornerback intercepted Oilers quarterback George Blanda twice, as did Marv Matuszak and Carl Taseff in the 28-23 loss. Edgerson would finish the year with six picks for 111 yards and would be named to the AFL’s All-Rookie team.

 

Two seasons later, Edgerson was on the receiving end of another Blanda pass. On November 1, 1964, with a perfect 7-0 record, the Bills hosted Houston, a team that had just two victories. They witnessed an Oilers’ offensive attack: 93 plays for 428 yards. But coach Sammy Baugh’s team came up short and only found the end zone once in the 24-10 game.

Edgerson came up short as well. Late in the fourth quarter, he intercepted Blanda’s pass at the Buffalo 1-yard line and returned the ball 91 yards to the Oakland 8. That’s right, a 91-yard return. No touchdown.

 

"I should have run out of bounds in the end zone. I should have kneeled down," laughed Edgerson. "Then they could never say anything about it. It would have just been an interception and that’s it.

 

"Blanda, he threw 68 passes that day. It seemed like 60 of them were to my side. So when I intercepted the ball, I ran it back as best I could. I guess everybody was in pursuit, because I went from one side of the field halfway to the other side, back and forth. And finally, at the 9, [running back] Sid Blanks stepped on my heel and I went down. Everybody said I just pooped out. I said, ‘No, no, no.’ If you really look at the film close enough you’ll see that he stepped on the heel. But nobody accepted that excuse."

 

The good-natured Edgerson continued. "I was laying on the field and Blanks was laying on the sideline, and Saban said, ‘Well, we have to get you in condition.’ I raised up and looked over to the sideline, and that’s when I saw Blanks. I said, ‘What the hell? If he’s tired, what makes you think I wouldn’t be tired? He’s an offensive player. Offensive players are supposed to be in better shape than defensive players.’

 

"Plus, on top of it, I told Lou Saban, ‘I got the ball all the way down to the 8, and you guys couldn’t even score! You couldn’t even get eight yards! You had to kick a field goal, so don’t be telling me why I didn’t score the touchdown. Why didn’t they score the touchdown? They came in fresh!’"

[San Jose Bills Fan]

Nice anecdote, Jim. Glad to see you post and I assume that you still regularly patrol the board.

 

Any thoughts on Lou and Cookie?

 

Any former Bills you think might be more deserving than Booker Edgerson?

 

There are many excellent players who wore the uniform who had the bad fortune to play on terrible teams.

 

Conversely there are some average to better-than-average players who had the good fortune to play on great teams.

 

For instance, does anyone who watched them play think that Booker Edgerson was a better player than Butch Byrd, Tony Greene, Steve Freeman, or Mark Kelso?

[26CornerBlitz]

no, thanks for helping me make my case, i would rate butch byrd higher than edgerson. this is just a "feel good" pick.

 

 

Dude...you are just plain wrong!!! Booker was a true lockdown corner....Teams threw at Byrd instead of him which is why Byrd had so many more picks. Not that Byrd wasn't a really good player, because he was.

[yungmack]

I'm happy for Booker. However, the owner should set aside grudges and put Lou Saban and Cookie Gilchrist on that wall. It is my understanding that Saban has family that still reside in western NY. I also believe that Cookie is still alive but is not very healthy.

 

I'm well aware that both Lou Saban and Cookie Giclhrist were very difficult personalities to deal with. However, they both are very important parts of this franchise's ragged history. It would not only be the right thing to do but also the gracious thing to do.

I'm with you all the way on this one.

[JohnC]

In a vote conducted on Friday, Apr. 23, a panel comprised of local media and team personnel chose cornerback Booker Edgerson as the this year's inductee to the Wall of Fame at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

 

Lori, Is Bill Polian's name on the wall?

 

The most deserving player on the Wall is Bob Kalsu who died in Viet Nam. He left the pro ranks to serve in the military.

[KD in CA]

i think he is a reach!

 

Kiper had him projected to go on the 2d ring, not the 1st.

[Lori]

From Sal Maiorana's "Game of My Life":

One of the reasons why Butch Byrd is the Bills' all-time leader in interceptions with 40, and not Edgerson: Teams were wary of throwing Edgerson's way so they often picked on Byrd, a physical, gambling player who sometimes could be burned by being too aggressive.

 

"Booker had a lot to do with my interception record," Byrd said. "Joe Collier, who was the defensive coach, taught me the strategy, taught all of us the strategy on how to play defense but the game preparation and how to really play cornerback was Booker Edgerson."

Interestingly, Mr. Gehman, Edgerson picked the same game you did for his chapter in Sal's book.

 

My own humble submission: http://www.twobillsdrive.com/buffalo-bills/game-day/1174/

 

Add: forgot to note my own congratulations to Mr. Edgerson -- who, according to the people who watched that '60's team play, is an entirely worthy recipient of this honor in addition to being a heck of a nice guy. I was hoping to get the chance to talk to him for my story, but once the date of the announcement was moved up, that went out the window.

[Lori]

Lori, Is Bill Polian's name on the wall?

It is not, but after talking to several members of the committee, I wouldn't be surprised to see it up there in the next few years.

 

The most deserving player on the Wall is Bob Kalsu who died in Viet Nam. He left the pro ranks to serve in the military.

Props to the late Pete Knaus, a longtime member and former president of the Bills Booster Club, for spearheading the drive to get Kalsu's No. 61 up there.

 

And if someone wanted to rename the stadium in Kalsu's honor, I wouldn't be opposed to that, either.

[Lurker]

However, as Bills fans, what other leverage do we have if we want to make our opinions known to the committee which selects players to the Wall of Fame?

Well, you could just buy the team and do whatever you want...