Dec. 26 – Bills’ AFL Championship Days

[Jim Gehman]

Both times that the Bills finished a season as the league champion occurred on December 26.

 

On this date in 1964, Buffalo beat San Diego for the AFL title. In 1965: same opponent, same result. Some players who helped contribute to those championships shared their memories in my book about the Bills, “Then Levy Said to Kelly…”.

 

 

"We’d beaten [san Diego] in Buffalo the first year and the second year, we’d gone out there. The time frame we were in, Sports Illustrated didn’t even recognize our [first] championship. That [the 1965 title game] was the first game they covered. They went out to San Diego and talked with the Chargers about the individuals they were going to play against. The magazine came out on the Thursday or Friday before we played that weekend, and to a man, just about, not very bright, these guys. They ended up talking about how they were going to kick everybody’s butt! So we ended up with all kinds of motivation because of what we were reading, what they said they were going to do to us on the field come the game. That was a great, great effort by our team."

- Stew Barber, offensive tackle

 

"We were all concerned about each other. It was a good mixture of blue collar, white collar, black and white. It never was a race issue that I knew of. You hear a lot of coaches and players talk about being family, but it’s hard to be family more than two or three years. The egos seem to get in the way. And then people start thinking about their own salary, etc. But it seemed to me in the ‘64 and ‘65 championship group, the chemistry was just good."

- Glenn Bass, wide receiver

 

"It was great. We were a family. We had a great time together. We all jelled. And then, of course, with everything else, through it all, you’ve got to have a lot of luck. A lot of luck."

- Al Bemiller, guard, center

 

"Well, let’s see, number one, we were truly a great defensive team. Even though we had Cookie [Gilchrist] and Elbert Dubenion and Jack Kemp, I think anybody will tell you that the strength of the Buffalo Bills team was its defense those years. It’s very interesting because the two teams that we beat were both the San Diego Chargers. On paper, I didn’t see how we could beat them. They had [Keith] Lincoln and [Paul] Lowe and [Lance] Alworth and [John] Hadl, [Dave] Kocourek, Ron Mix. And that was offense! Then they had Ernie Ladd and Earl Faison. I could almost repeat both sides of the ball verbatim because they were that good, that talented. So anyway, on paper, they looked to be very strong. But on game day, we were just very good, very confident. We just felt that our defense could play with anybody. I don’t think we were favored in either one of the games, but we were just absolutely confident that we could beat the Chargers. And we did."

- Butch Byrd, cornerback

 

"We were more of a solid football team. We just didn’t have any weaknesses. We weren’t glamorous or anything. The key for us, and I’m sure all the guys would say that we were a ball-control offense. Just run the clock, get the first downs, get down there close enough that if you don’t score a touchdown, kick a field goal and leave it up to our defense to give us the ball. We were a strong special teams. Paul Maguire was a great punter. We were just solid. We didn’t have any spectacular players except Cookie. Most of our guys were just blue-collar guys that just went out and beat you. Just very methodical, mistake-free football. Ball-control, solid defense, great special teams, a good field-goal kicker with [Pete] Gogolak. We were just solid. There’s nothing like winning."

- Wray Carlton, running back

 

"We had a great defense and we had a heck of a running back, Cookie Gilchrist. And we had a real good offensive line. We controlled the ball; we would just move down the field. And then the defense would come in there and one, two, three, out! On one occasion, we told the defense, ‘Don’t get out so fast! We’re tired!’ They didn’t allow anything. The defense was just great."

- Elbert Dubenion, wide receiver

 

"I think we played as a team and had some good talent to go with it. It just seemed that we worked together from ‘63 on and just seemed to jell. And I didn’t think a coach was as important as they really are until [Lou] Saban left. When he left, Joe Collier was a fine defensive coordinator, a good man, and I liked him very much. But a difference in philosophy and the way you handle certain things in a ballgame, Saban just had a knack for that. I don’t think we won but three or four games the next year after that year that Saban left."

- Jim Dunaway, defensive tackle

 

"The key was, every time we ran on the field, we knew we were going to win. That type of a feeling. Plus Saban believed in a very cohesive veteran offensive line. We had a very good offensive line and also a pretty good defensive line. These guys – Billy Shaw and Al Bemiller and Ernie Warlick and Dave Costa, the tight ends – these guys were playing together and were kind of the heart of the team. And of course, Cookie Gilchrist was excellent. Every position, we had some strength and we just kind of blossomed. We just had a very good team, and we beat San Diego twice."

- Pete Gogolak, kicker

 

"I think that the defense was the best in the American Football League and we obviously felt we were the best in football at that point in time. The stable performance of our offense was just fantastic. The best defense is having the offense on the field. They did a great job for us. Jack [Kemp] was really a stable quarterback who did a great job. He was a super leader. So I would say it was a combination of both those things. The biggest part of it was that we had a great team that worked together and made things happen. We were supported tremendously by a great offense. We all played as a team. We didn’t really care who got the credit for it just as long as we got the job done. And we got the job done. Everybody on the team was a hardworking type of personality who did their job."

- Harry Jacobs, linebacker

 

"In ‘64, we were successful because we had an all-around team. We had offense with Cookie and my passing. Good running and good blocking. And we had the greatest defense in the AFL with Tom Sestak and Butch Byrd and the guys. Saban was absolutely on fire. We went into Boston to play the Pats in a snowstorm, and we beat them [to clinch the Eastern Division title] and just jelled offensively and defensively. And I can’t overestimate the contribution of Cookie Gilchrist, even though we had a flare-out when he got mad at me for throwing too many passes. But we really were good friends and we are today, believe it or not. He just tore into the Pats at Fenway Park, and then we played the Chargers, and I think we felt we could beat anybody.

 

"The next year, Cookie was gone. We didn’t quite have the offensive weapons, but we had a great defense. And we beat the heck out of the Chargers! They were so overconfident. I think they were two-touchdown favorites, and we whipped them convincingly. It was really, if not the capstone of my 10 years in the AFL, close to it."

- Jack Kemp, quarterback

 

"I had a lot of confidence in Lou Saban. I think he was an excellent coach. He treated everybody as men. We only had 36-man rosters then, and the chemistry was right with the guys. We played really well as a team. We worked hard, and the camaraderie we had as a team, it just jelled. We didn’t care whether the offense won it, the defense won it, or special teams won it. We always seemed to pull it out. We were a physical team. We took a lot of pride in ourselves. We played just as hard in the fourth quarter as we would in the first quarter. I think that made a difference. We just felt that we could win and nobody could beat us, and we played that way. Our chemistry was just perfect. Nobody dogged it. It didn’t matter what the situation was or what the weather was; our defense could hit with the best of them. You knew you were going to be in a game because we fought for four quarters."

- Daryle Lamonica, quarterback

 

"The same thing that’s the key today: no injuries. We had very few. In fact, when we went to the Chargers in ‘65, the only injury we had was Billy Shaw, who’s now in the Hall of Fame. Billy was hurt, and George Flint took over playing in his spot and did a hell of a job on [defensive end] Ernie Ladd. We played so well out there, we shut them out! "

- Paul Maguire, punter

 

"We were following Lou Saban. He kept saying we could win. We just had a lot of good ballplayers. We didn’t have that one person. There were guys like (Tom) Sestak that I’m sure should be in the Hall of Fame. We had a good defense. We had a good offense. It seemed like every week, somebody else would step up and get the job done one way or another. Whether it’d be Elbert Dubenion or Jack Kemp or Cookie Gilchrist or Wray Carlton, it was just an all-around good team. In fact, the ‘64 and ‘65 championship teams, there weren’t that many different ballplayers on those teams. I think that was the big success. We just played well together, and the coaching was good, assistant coaches like Joe Collier and people like that. We were just a good team."

- Ron McDole, defensive end

 

"Well, I don’t know how you get the right chemistry, but we had the right chemistry for a couple years there. The right players came along. I don’t know what caused the chemistry, but it was there. I could say a lot of things, but who knows? Everything clicked. We had a lot of good players, and everything fell into place. We went [into the championship games] with the mind-set that we could win. We had a lot of confidence. We had no doubt that we could win the first year, and then the second year, we felt the same way."

- George Saimes, safety

 

"We were successful because of two things. One was that we had the best defensive team in football during that period of time. We were led by our defense. They were dominant! They gave up seven points in two [championship] games! The other point was that the offense was good enough to capitalize on the opportunity that the defense gave us. But when we talk about the Bills of that era, I’m proud that the offense was just good enough to get the job done, but our defense was awesome."

- Billy Shaw, guard

 

"I think it really started the year before. We finally got on a good track and started winning some games. Although we did lose a playoff game for our division to Boston in ‘63, ‘64 was when everybody sort of came together. It was what I consider more of a team effort than anything else. We had a good mixture. We had some folks that had played with other teams and other leagues and everything. And then we had some younger folks, too. I think Paul Maguire added quite a bit to our team as a punter and being able to see from the Chargers, who had a good run. Of course, he was telling everybody that we had more talent than the Chargers did. So I think he did a lot to build up the confidence of the team. Besides, all of his wisecracks and everything kept the team very loose. I think it was sort of a special time where we had a nice group of players that sort of came together and played with a lot of heart for each other. It was just more of a team effort than anything else."

- Mike Stratton, linebacker

 

"We just had an awful lot of talent. We had a great offensive line with Billy Shaw and Stew Barber and [Al] Bemiller. A tremendous defense! Our defense sometimes was our best offense! We had a nice, friendly rivalry between the offense and defense. If we got stalled on offense and couldn’t do anything, when we were coming off the field, the defense would say, ‘Don’t worry guys. We’ll score for you if you guys can’t score a touchdown.’ And they did! They’d intercept passes and run them back for touchdowns. We just had some great guys and great coaches. That’s what it was all about."

- Ed Rutkowski, wide receiver

 

"We had the horses, number one. That was an excellent team. Cookie Gilchrist running the ball, Bass and Dubenion at wide receivers, we had speed and an excellent offensive line. And defense. The defense was really great. But I think we finally jelled as a unit and, as they say, we went out there and kicked butts!"

- Ernie Warlick, tight end

[Greybeard]

Thanks for the post. If the NFL network or any other network ran a schedule where they replayed the Bills' entire game from week to week of the 63, 64, 65 and 66 seasons, I would be more than willing to subscribe.

[chaccof]

This really brings back memories....My mom and dad went to the Championship game at the Rock Pile in '64 - I remember it because my mom turned her ankle running on to the field after the game, and 49 years later she still tells the story every time I talk to her about the Bills..

Edited December 26, 2013 by chaccof

[Chandler#81]

Thanks! Love this stuff. While the Bills were household names, it was went we stole Kemp from the Chargers waiver wire, that they really took off in our neighborhood. He and Saban were the missing pieces and everything went from there. The playoff game vs Boston, we got trounced, but Byrd was the big rookie contributor in '64 and I recall we made the cover of SI after beating Boston the finale to clinch the East. We remained the best team in the AFL until Dawson and the Chiefs derailed us at home for the right to play in SBI.

 

To this day, I'm convinced we'd have beaten Cleveland with our '64 team, had the SB started 2 years ealier..

[littlelouie]

Tapes of all the games from the early 60s were destroyed or lost. No copies of those games exist. The Bills lost all of that stuff when they moved from 69 Mohawk St. Leave it to the Bills to mess up their history. I know what else is new. Sorry

Edited December 27, 2013 by littlelouie

[rockpile]

Tapes of all the games from the early 60s were destroyed or lost. No copies of those games exist. The Bills lost all of that stuff when they moved from 69 Mohawk St. Leave it to the Bills to mess up their history. I know what else is new. Sorry

 

The NFL does not have a complete copy of the first "Super Bowl".

Blame the Bills?

[littlelouie]

That's probably the around the same time Ralph had a part time job at NFL films. What a coincidence.

Edited December 27, 2013 by littlelouie

[26CornerBlitz]

@buffalobills

Today in 1964 AND 65:#Bills beat @chargers to win back-to-back AFL Championships. PHOTOS: Today in '64 and '65: AFL Champions Crowned

 

On Saturday, December 26, 1964, the Bills beat the San Diego Chargers to win the AFL Championship. On the same lucky date in 1965 - this time a Sunday - the Bills repeated as AFL Champions after again beating the Chargers.

 

Edited December 27, 2013 by 26CornerBlitz

[San Jose Bills Fan]

This was such an amazing time in our country's history and a very interesting time in the history of American football.

 

I never realized that both AFL Championships fell on the same date. Great trivia question.

 

I always wonder if winning the AFL Championship the following season against the Kansas City Chiefs would have changed the organization's karma.

 

Thanks for the great post, Jim.

[Chandler#81]

 

 

The NFL does not have a complete copy of the first "Super Bowl".

Blame the Bills?

 

Which is bizarre, given both CBS & NBC televised the game!

[San Jose Bills Fan]

The NFL does not have a complete copy of the first "Super Bowl".

 

Rockpile, that is an amazing fact.

 

(Is it true?)

 

 

This really brings back memories....My mom and dad went to the Championship game at the Rock Pile in '64 - I remember it because my mom turned her ankle running on to the field after the game, and 49 years later she still tells the story every time I talk to her about the Bills..

 

Tapes of all the games from the early 60s were destroyed or lost. No copies of those games exist. The Bills lost all of that stuff when they moved from 69 Mohawk St. Leave it to the Bills to mess up their history. I know what else is new. Sorry

 

GREAT stuff. A slice of family history and a slice of Bills history, both very rich in flavor.

 

Kudos to you both.

 

Which is bizarre, given both CBS & NBC televised the game!

 

Just amazing.

[Nitro]

I am surprised no tapes survive. Teams, back then, woulld send out tapes to social clubs and church groups for things like sports nights. Maybe a few survive, hidden in a basement or attic. Too bad if they are lost to the ages. It was great being a kid in Buffalo at that time. Seeing Al Bemiller or George Saimes walking out of AM&As downtown was a thrill. Meeting Jack Kemp at a Boy Scout function was the ultimate. He was kind and patient with us boys in answering our questions. It cemented me as a life long Bills fan.

[chris heff]

Some random thoughts. My father had season tickets from these first year. One of my brothers friends was Pat McGroder, they went to St. Joe's together, his father was one of Ralph's original partners. They had a Lincoln Continental with the Bills Logo painted on the sides. I remember after a game at the Rock Pile, going to a smorgasbord at The Lord Amherst (I think) and meeting all the players. I got all their autographs on a football. I played with it so much all the autographs wore off. We use to go to the Goalpost restaurant on Egart Rd. It was owned by Glenn Bass and I can't remember who else. It all had such a small town feel, that team belonged to the community. What a great fan base it was and still is.

 

First dumb move was trading Cookie, I was twelve and even I knew it was stupid.

Edited December 27, 2013 by chris heff

[WotAGuy]

I am surprised no tapes survive. Teams, back then, woulld send out tapes to social clubs and church groups for things like sports nights. Maybe a few survive, hidden in a basement or attic.

 

Copies of the Bills' annual highlight films dating back to 1960 are still out there; many can be found on YouTube. Complete broadcasts of regular season and playoff games prior to the 1970s are very rare, but some exist (none for Bills to my knowledge), but are worth checking out on YouTube.

 

There is a condensed video version of the 1965 AFL Championship game floating around; i have a copy and it's pretty cool. It was also broadcast by Channel 7 (I think) in the early 1990s when the Bills were making their first Super Bowl runs.

 

There are radio broadcasts of the 1964 and 1965 AFL Championship games around; I have both and they are also very cool. The big hit by Stratton on Lincoln in the 1964 game was not portrayed as significantly as it has become in Bills lore. That one also seems to have been recorded by someone listening to the game on the radio with a tape recorder next to the radio...you can hear the family noises in the background!

Edited December 27, 2013 by WotAGuy

[BackInDaDay]

thanks for posting this, Jim.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

I am surprised no tapes survive. Teams, back then, woulld send out tapes to social clubs and church groups for things like sports nights. Maybe a few survive, hidden in a basement or attic. Too bad if they are lost to the ages. It was great being a kid in Buffalo at that time. Seeing Al Bemiller or George Saimes walking out of AM&As downtown was a thrill. Meeting Jack Kemp at a Boy Scout function was the ultimate. He was kind and patient with us boys in answering our questions. It cemented me as a life long Bills fan.

 

Some random thoughts. My father had season tickets from these first year. One of my brothers friends was Pat McGroder, they went to St. Joe's together, his father was one of Ralph's original partners. They had a Lincoln Continental with the Bills Logo painted on the sides. I remember after a game at the Rock Pile, going to a smorgasbord at The Lord Amherst (I think) and meeting all the players. I got all their autographs on a football. I played with it so much all the autographs wore off. We use to go to the Goalpost restaurant on Egart Rd. It was owned by Glenn Bass and I can't remember who else. It all had such a small town feel, that team belonged to the community. What a great fan base it was and still is.

 

First dumb move was trading Cookie, I was twelve and even I knew it was stupid.

 

Copies of the Bills' annual highlight films dating back to 1960 are still out there; many can be found on YouTube. Complete broadcasts of regular season and playoff games prior to the 1970s are very rare, but some exist (none for Bills to my knowledge), but are worth checking out on YouTube.

 

There is a condensed video version of the 1965 AFL Championship game floating around; i have a copy and it's pretty cool. It was also broadcast by Channel 7 (I think) in the early 1990s when the Bills were making their first Super Bowl runs.

 

There are radio broadcasts of the 1964 and 1965 AFL Championship games around; I have both and they are also very cool. The big hit by Stratton on Lincoln in the 1964 game was not portrayed as significantly as it has become in Bills lore. That one also seems to have been recorded by someone listening to the game on the radio with a tape recorder next to the radio...you can hear the family noises in the background!

 

Priceless stuff.

 

Thanks!