klos63 Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 You don't want to bash Ralph Wilson? Okay I will do it for you. Long before Tom Donahue or GM Levy, good old Ralph was running this franchise into the ground. He is the only owner in NFL history to lose the number one pick in the NFL draft to the CFL, for christsakes. Ralph owned the team for 20+ years by the time he drafted Jim Kelly; at which point Kelly saw what a mess this franchise was and jumped to USFL. Read Kelly's autobiography. They had to sneak the hiring of Bill Polian past Ralph, who opposed it. After hall of famer Polian constructed the best teams Buffalo ever had, Ralph fired him. He paid $25,000 for this franchise, which appreciated in value to over 1 billion dollars, and that wasn't enough for Mr Wilson. After realizing a significant profit every year, in addition to his billion dollar + windfall, he decided he needed an extra 10 million so he gives up competitive advantage by moving games to Toronto. The players hated it. John Murphy railed against it. For most of the years he owned this team, their win/loss record has been horrendous. The notion that most Bills fans have,m that is that Ralph deserves hero worship because he kept the team in Buffalo, ignores the huge financial award he received for keeping the team here. And conviently ignores the fact that good old Ralph, in the early 70s, threatened to move the franchise to Seattle, unless the taxpayers of Erie County built him a stadium. For which he paid nothing for. And named it after himself, despite the fact he contributed zero to it, and despite the fact that for all his whining about lack of revenue, he was willing to give up the 5 million plus per year in naming rights to have the stadium named after him, that stadium everybody here but him paid for. The great Ralph Wilson indeed. I agree he was a poor owner. But what's the sense in going through this again? Let's see if the Pegula's could ever figure this thing out. Not off to a good start, but the preseason is hardly the time to critique the franchise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 You don't want to bash Ralph Wilson? Okay I will do it for you. Long before Tom Donahue or GM Levy, good old Ralph was running this franchise into the ground. He is the only owner in NFL history to lose the number one pick in the NFL draft to the CFL, for christsakes. Ralph owned the team for 20+ years by the time he drafted Jim Kelly; at which point Kelly saw what a mess this franchise was and jumped to USFL. Read Kelly's autobiography. They had to sneak the hiring of Bill Polian past Ralph, who opposed it. After hall of famer Polian constructed the best teams Buffalo ever had, Ralph fired him. He paid $25,000 for this franchise, which appreciated in value to over 1 billion dollars, and that wasn't enough for Mr Wilson. After realizing a significant profit every year, in addition to his billion dollar + windfall, he decided he needed an extra 10 million so he gives up competitive advantage by moving games to Toronto. The players hated it. John Murphy railed against it. For most of the years he owned this team, their win/loss record has been horrendous. The notion that most Bills fans have,m that is that Ralph deserves hero worship because he kept the team in Buffalo, ignores the huge financial award he received for keeping the team here. And conviently ignores the fact that good old Ralph, in the early 70s, threatened to move the franchise to Seattle, unless the taxpayers of Erie County built him a stadium. For which he paid nothing for. And named it after himself, despite the fact he contributed zero to it, and despite the fact that for all his whining about lack of revenue, he was willing to give up the 5 million plus per year in naming rights to have the stadium named after him, that stadium everybody here but him paid for. The great Ralph Wilson indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 The Benjamin Moore show honestly doesn't sound so bad, when you think about it. i didn't type that. some re-did my post. Is that allowed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klos63 Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 i didn't type that. some re-did my post. Is that allowed? Benjamins brother Booker did it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 My ignore list just quadrupled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 My ignore list just quadrupled. Mine too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klos63 Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 Mine too they have that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rico Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 You don't want to bash Ralph Wilson? Okay I will do it for you. Long before Tom Donahue or GM Levy, good old Ralph was running this franchise into the ground. He is the only owner in NFL history to lose the number one pick in the NFL draft to the CFL, for christsakes. Ralph owned the team for 20+ years by the time he drafted Jim Kelly; at which point Kelly saw what a mess this franchise was and jumped to USFL. Read Kelly's autobiography. They had to sneak the hiring of Bill Polian past Ralph, who opposed it. After hall of famer Polian constructed the best teams Buffalo ever had, Ralph fired him. He paid $25,000 for this franchise, which appreciated in value to over 1 billion dollars, and that wasn't enough for Mr Wilson. After realizing a significant profit every year, in addition to his billion dollar + windfall, he decided he needed an extra 10 million so he gives up competitive advantage by moving games to Toronto. The players hated it. John Murphy railed against it. For most of the years he owned this team, their win/loss record has been horrendous. The notion that most Bills fans have,m that is that Ralph deserves hero worship because he kept the team in Buffalo, ignores the huge financial award he received for keeping the team here. And conviently ignores the fact that good old Ralph, in the early 70s, threatened to move the franchise to Seattle, unless the taxpayers of Erie County built him a stadium. For which he paid nothing for. And named it after himself, despite the fact he contributed zero to it, and despite the fact that for all his whining about lack of revenue, he was willing to give up the 5 million plus per year in naming rights to have the stadium named after him, that stadium everybody here but him paid for. The great Ralph Wilson indeed. Nice post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spurna Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 You don't want to bash Ralph Wilson? Okay I will do it for you. Long before Tom Donahue or GM Levy, good old Ralph was running this franchise into the ground. He is the only owner in NFL history to lose the number one pick in the NFL draft to the CFL, for christsakes. Ralph owned the team for 20+ years by the time he drafted Jim Kelly; at which point Kelly saw what a mess this franchise was and jumped to USFL. Read Kelly's autobiography. They had to sneak the hiring of Bill Polian past Ralph, who opposed it. After hall of famer Polian constructed the best teams Buffalo ever had, Ralph fired him. He paid $25,000 for this franchise, which appreciated in value to over 1 billion dollars, and that wasn't enough for Mr Wilson. After realizing a significant profit every year, in addition to his billion dollar + windfall, he decided he needed an extra 10 million so he gives up competitive advantage by moving games to Toronto. The players hated it. John Murphy railed against it. For most of the years he owned this team, their win/loss record has been horrendous. The notion that most Bills fans have,m that is that Ralph deserves hero worship because he kept the team in Buffalo, ignores the huge financial award he received for keeping the team here. And conviently ignores the fact that good old Ralph, in the early 70s, threatened to move the franchise to Seattle, unless the taxpayers of Erie County built him a stadium. For which he paid nothing for. And named it after himself, despite the fact he contributed zero to it, and despite the fact that for all his whining about lack of revenue, he was willing to give up the 5 million plus per year in naming rights to have the stadium named after him, that stadium everybody here but him paid for. The great Ralph Wilson indeed. This is a good post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transient Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 i didn't type that. some re-did my post. Is that allowed? I retyped it. I don't know how to cross out text on my phone. If you're truly concerned I'll edit my last post with "FIFY". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 I retyped it. I don't know how to cross out text on my phone. If you're truly concerned I'll edit my last post with "FIFY". Nah, honest mistake. we're good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solomon Grundy Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 Personally, I think the trade up for JP Losman is what set this team back for years. Not only did they give up 1st round picks, but they passed on other QBs hoping that Losman would eventually pan out. Donahoe to me get ALL the blame for this lull. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Bills Detective Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 I didn't know there were so many former owners of championship NFL and NHL teams on this board... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klos63 Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 I didn't know there were so many former owners of championship NFL and NHL teams on this board... I get it, only those people can comment on this topic. Right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatdrinks Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 This is a good post Except for the fact that he could have moved the team many times over and profited far more greatly, or sold it to someone who wanted to move the team. He also didn't name the stadium after himself, others suggested that name when he said he didn't want to sell the naming rights. Finally he donated the majority of his fortune including proceeds from the sale of the team after his death to charities including causes in Buffalo. Other than that, a tremendous post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 Let It Go https://g.co/kgs/c223Mp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BADOLBILZ Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 You don't want to bash Ralph Wilson? Okay I will do it for you. Long before Tom Donahue or GM Levy, good old Ralph was running this franchise into the ground. He is the only owner in NFL history to lose the number one pick in the NFL draft to the CFL, for christsakes. Ralph owned the team for 20+ years by the time he drafted Jim Kelly; at which point Kelly saw what a mess this franchise was and jumped to USFL. Read Kelly's autobiography. They had to sneak the hiring of Bill Polian past Ralph, who opposed it. After hall of famer Polian constructed the best teams Buffalo ever had, Ralph fired him. He paid $25,000 for this franchise, which appreciated in value to over 1 billion dollars, and that wasn't enough for Mr Wilson. After realizing a significant profit every year, in addition to his billion dollar + windfall, he decided he needed an extra 10 million so he gives up competitive advantage by moving games to Toronto. The players hated it. John Murphy railed against it. For most of the years he owned this team, their win/loss record has been horrendous. The notion that most Bills fans have,m that is that Ralph deserves hero worship because he kept the team in Buffalo, ignores the huge financial award he received for keeping the team here. And conviently ignores the fact that good old Ralph, in the early 70s, threatened to move the franchise to Seattle, unless the taxpayers of Erie County built him a stadium. For which he paid nothing for. And named it after himself, despite the fact he contributed zero to it, and despite the fact that for all his whining about lack of revenue, he was willing to give up the 5 million plus per year in naming rights to have the stadium named after him, that stadium everybody here but him paid for. The great Ralph Wilson indeed. Pretty much dead on. He was always a bad football man and mercurial owner but when he got into his late 70's his bad reputation, failing mind and severely compromised commitment to winning(balancing the desire to win WITH stashing $20M-$30M per year for his heirs to pay inheritance tax with) really had Bills fans held hostage. Bills fans and Sabres fans are currently dealing with Terry Pegula toying with franchises in two sports that he knows nothing about so for the most part it's still a hostage situation. Get a football Czar Pegs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clearwater cadet Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 the only thing that saved the bills in buffalo is that Ted Roger died before Ralph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Jabber Posted August 28, 2017 Author Share Posted August 28, 2017 Pretty much dead on. He was always a bad football man and mercurial owner but when he got into his late 70's his bad reputation, failing mind and severely compromised commitment to winning(balancing the desire to win WITH stashing $20M-$30M per year for his heirs to pay inheritance tax with) really had Bills fans held hostage. Bills fans and Sabres fans are currently dealing with Terry Pegula toying with franchises in two sports that he knows nothing about so for the most part it's still a hostage situation. Get a football Czar Pegs. I agree he was a bad football man. I think if he would have left the on-field/personnel decisions to those he hired (GM/HC), he would of had better results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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