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Remembering Jack Kemp


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2 hours ago, chaccof said:

I was cleaning my parent's house out last fall and found a picture of the Congress from 1971 signed by Kemp and dedicated to my sister and me.   We set it aside in the "don't sell" pile but somehow it ended up being sold at the estate sale.  Literally this week, my sister got a call from one of my parent's old neighbors who said they had bought the picture but decided that we should have it back!   

 

What most impressed me about Kemp (and a couple of other Bills from the old AFL like Paul Maguire) is that they chose to stay in WNY after their playing careers.  Really said alot to me about them and what they thought of WNY.  

 

Jack is one of my all time WNY favorites, both as a player and as a politician - but, amazingly, he was initially disappointed when Lou Saban realized the Chargers were trying to hide him and convinced Ralph (who, as we all know, was cheap ?), to pony up the hundred bucks.  Jack was a skier, and was hoping Denver would get him.

 

This brief bio was forwarded my way from a friend and mutual admirer...

 

 

After being selected by the Detroit Lions in the 17th round of the 1957 NFL draft, Kemp was cut from the team before the 1957 NFL season began.  He spent 1957 with the Pittsburgh Steelers and 1958 on the taxi squads of the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants. The Giants hosted the NFL championship game, known as the "Greatest Game Ever Played" and the first overtime NFL playoff game, but, as a third-string quarterback member of the taxi squad, Kemp did not take the field.

 

After his time in the NFL, Kemp served a year as a private in the United States Army Reserve. During his service, he played one game for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League, which made him ineligible for the NFL in 1959. According to his older brother Tom, his parents drove him from California to Calgary, Alberta only to see him cut. By this time Kemp had been cut from five professional teams (Lions, Steelers, Giants, 49ers, and Stampeders) and his family encouraged him to get on with his life.

 

On February 9 and 11, 1960, the newly formed AFL agreed to "no tampering" policies with the NFL and CFL respectively, protecting each league's players. Players like Kemp, with modest NFL experience, were often signed by the AFL at the time.  Kemp signed as a free agent with the AFL's Los Angeles Chargers.

 

Sid Gillman era (1960–1962)

 

In 1960, Kemp led the Chargers to a Western Division Championship with a 10–4 record. He finished second in the league to Frank Tripucka in passing attempts, completions, and yards (making him and Tripucka the league's first 3,000-yard passers), led the AFL in yards per completion and times sacked, and finished one rushing touchdown short of the league lead. Under Kemp, the Chargers' offense averaged 46 points over its last four games and scored more than 41 points in five of its last nine games. In the AFL championship game, he led the team to field goals on its first two possessions, but after the Houston Oilers posted a touchdownin the second quarter for a 7–6 lead, the Chargers never recovered.

 

In 1961, San Diego Union editor Jack Murphy convinced Barron Hilton to move the Chargers from Los Angeles to San Diego.  Kemp led the relocated team to a 12–2 record and a repeat Western Division Championship.  He again finished second in passing yards (this time to George Blanda). The Chargers earned an AFL championship game rematch against the Oilers. However, this time the Chargers were unable to score until a fourth-quarter field goal in a 10–3 loss.

 

The Berlin Wall was erected in August 1961. On October 15, 1961, President John F. Kennedy activated Kemp's San Diego-based 977th Transportation Company reserves unit for duty in response. In September, the right-handed Kemp had injured his left shoulder while playing football. Medical examiners found swelling and muscle spasms and described his voluntary range of motion at 80%. In a decision that was reviewed and upheld by the Surgeon General of the United States Army, Army doctors found him as unfit for active duty. That year, he led the Chargers to a division title, passing for 2,686 yards and 15 touchdowns. Years later, Kemp's 1961 Chargers roommate, Ron Mix, recalled that Kemp needed "ten or so" shots of painkillersbefore each game and commented that "it sounds weird, but he could play football and not be fit to serve in the Army."

 

In 1962, Kemp broke his middle finger two games into the season and was unable to play. He persuaded his doctors to set his broken finger around a football, so that his grip would not be affected once the finger healed. Chargers coach Sid Gillman put Kemp on waivers to try to "hide" him.[45] Buffalo Billscoach Lou Saban noticed that Kemp was available and claimed him for a $100 waiver fee on September 25, 1962, in what sportswriter Randy Schultz has called one of the biggest bargains in professional football history. The Dallas Texans and Denver Broncos also attempted to claim Kemp, but he was awarded to Buffalo by AFL commissioner Joe Foss.

 

Lou Saban era (1962–1965)

 

According to Billy Shaw, Kemp's acquisition solved the Bills' quarterback problem, but Kemp was not excited about coming to Buffalo. According to Van Miller, "Jack's a skier, and he wanted to go to Denver and play for the Broncos. He hated the thought of coming to Buffalo.". In Buffalo, he would become known for his love of reading a broad range of books including those by Henry Thoreau, which led to chidings from Saban.

 

Injuries, including the broken finger, kept Kemp from playing for most of 1962. That season, Kemp received a military draft notice for service in the Vietnam War but was granted a draft waiver because of a knee problem. The injuries healed, and Kemp debuted for Buffalo on November 18, 1962, by directing the only touchdown drive in a 10–6 win over the Oakland Raiders.[He played only four games for Buffalo in 1962, but made the AFL All-Star team. The Bills won three of their last four games to finish 7–6–1.

 

On December 14, 1962, the Bills outbid the Green Bay Packers for Notre Dame quarterback Daryle Lamonica. In 1963, a four-season starting quarterback battle began that continued until Lamonica left for the Raiders. Lamonica felt he "... learned a lot from Jack about quarterbacking. And I truly believe that we were a great one-two punch at the position for the Bills."  In 1963, Kemp led the Bills from a slow start to a tie for the AFL Eastern Division lead with a 7–6–1 record.  Kemp again placed second in passing attempts, completions, and yards, and he also finished second to teammate Cookie Gilchristin rushing touchdowns.  The Bills played the Boston Patriots in an Eastern Division playoff game to determine the division title on December 28 at War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo, New York, in 10 °F (−12 °C) weather. During the game, Buffalo replaced Kemp with Lamonica after falling behind 16–0, but still lost 26–8.

 

Kemp was said to be the "clubhouse lawyer" for the Bills because of his role in mediating conflicts.

 

In 1964, he managed personalities such as Gilchrist, who walked off the field when plays were not being called for him, and Saban, whom he kept from cutting Gilchrist the following week. He also managed the politics of his quarterback battle with Lamonica, who engineered four winning touchdown drives in the Bills' first seven games.  Kemp was the first and only Professional Football player to pass for three touchdowns in the first quarter of a season-opening game, against the Kansas City Chiefsin 1964, until the record was tied but not broken, 47 years later in 2011 by Aaron Rodgers.  The 1964 team won its first nine games and went 12–2 for the regular season, winning the Eastern Division with a final game victory over the Patriots at Fenway Park. Kemp led the league in yards per attempt and finished one rushing touchdown short of the league lead, which was shared by Gilchrist and Sid Blanks.  In the AFL championship game, he scored the final touchdown with just over nine minutes left in a 20–7 victory.

 

According to Lamonica, the 1965 team had a new emphasis: "In '64 we had depended a lot on Gilchrist and our running attack to carry us. . .But that all changed in '65. The Bills had traded Gilchrist in the off season to the Denver Broncos. So we went to a pass-oriented game more that season than we ever had before. We not only went to our receivers, but we threw a lot to our running backs. And I really think it brought out the best in Jack that year." In 1965, the Bills finished with a 10–3–1 record.  Kemp finished the season second in the league in pass completions.  In the 1965 AFL Championship Game, Buffalo defeated the Chargers 23–0; for Kemp, the victory was special because it came against his former team.  Kemp's role in leading the Bills to a repeat championship without Gilchrist and with star receiver Elbert Dubenion playing only three games earned him a share of the AFL MVP awards that he split with former Charger teammate, Paul Lowe. Kemp also won the Associated Press award and the Championship Game Most Valuable Player award.

.

Edited by The Senator
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33 minutes ago, The Senator said:

 

Jack is one of my all time WNY favorites, both as a player and as a politician - but, amazingly, he was initially disappointed when Lou Saban realized the Chargers were trying to hide him and convinced Ralph (who, as we all know, was cheap ?), to pony up the hundred bucks.  Jack was a skier, and was hoping Denver would get him.

 

This brief bio was forwarded my way from a friend and mutual admirer...

 

 

After being selected by the Detroit Lions in the 17th round of the 1957 NFL draft, Kemp was cut from the team before the 1957 NFL season began.  He spent 1957 with the Pittsburgh Steelers and 1958 on the taxi squads of the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants. The Giants hosted the NFL championship game, known as the "Greatest Game Ever Played" and the first overtime NFL playoff game, but, as a third-string quarterback member of the taxi squad, Kemp did not take the field.

 

After his time in the NFL, Kemp served a year as a private in the United States Army Reserve. During his service, he played one game for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League, which made him ineligible for the NFL in 1959. According to his older brother Tom, his parents drove him from California to Calgary, Alberta only to see him cut. By this time Kemp had been cut from five professional teams (Lions, Steelers, Giants, 49ers, and Stampeders) and his family encouraged him to get on with his life.

 

On February 9 and 11, 1960, the newly formed AFL agreed to "no tampering" policies with the NFL and CFL respectively, protecting each league's players. Players like Kemp, with modest NFL experience, were often signed by the AFL at the time.  Kemp signed as a free agent with the AFL's Los Angeles Chargers.

 

Sid Gillman era (1960–1962)

 

In 1960, Kemp led the Chargers to a Western Division Championship with a 10–4 record. He finished second in the league to Frank Tripucka in passing attempts, completions, and yards (making him and Tripucka the league's first 3,000-yard passers), led the AFL in yards per completion and times sacked, and finished one rushing touchdown short of the league lead. Under Kemp, the Chargers' offense averaged 46 points over its last four games and scored more than 41 points in five of its last nine games. In the AFL championship game, he led the team to field goals on its first two possessions, but after the Houston Oilers posted a touchdownin the second quarter for a 7–6 lead, the Chargers never recovered.

 

In 1961, San Diego Union editor Jack Murphy convinced Barron Hilton to move the Chargers from Los Angeles to San Diego.  Kemp led the relocated team to a 12–2 record and a repeat Western Division Championship.  He again finished second in passing yards (this time to George Blanda). The Chargers earned an AFL championship game rematch against the Oilers. However, this time the Chargers were unable to score until a fourth-quarter field goal in a 10–3 loss.

 

The Berlin Wall was erected in August 1961. On October 15, 1961, President John F. Kennedy activated Kemp's San Diego-based 977th Transportation Company reserves unit for duty in response. In September, the right-handed Kemp had injured his left shoulder while playing football. Medical examiners found swelling and muscle spasms and described his voluntary range of motion at 80%. In a decision that was reviewed and upheld by the Surgeon General of the United States Army, Army doctors found him as unfit for active duty. That year, he led the Chargers to a division title, passing for 2,686 yards and 15 touchdowns. Years later, Kemp's 1961 Chargers roommate, Ron Mix, recalled that Kemp needed "ten or so" shots of painkillersbefore each game and commented that "it sounds weird, but he could play football and not be fit to serve in the Army."

 

In 1962, Kemp broke his middle finger two games into the season and was unable to play. He persuaded his doctors to set his broken finger around a football, so that his grip would not be affected once the finger healed. Chargers coach Sid Gillman put Kemp on waivers to try to "hide" him.[45] Buffalo Billscoach Lou Saban noticed that Kemp was available and claimed him for a $100 waiver fee on September 25, 1962, in what sportswriter Randy Schultz has called one of the biggest bargains in professional football history. The Dallas Texans and Denver Broncos also attempted to claim Kemp, but he was awarded to Buffalo by AFL commissioner Joe Foss.

 

Lou Saban era (1962–1965)

 

According to Billy Shaw, Kemp's acquisition solved the Bills' quarterback problem, but Kemp was not excited about coming to Buffalo. According to Van Miller, "Jack's a skier, and he wanted to go to Denver and play for the Broncos. He hated the thought of coming to Buffalo.". In Buffalo, he would become known for his love of reading a broad range of books including those by Henry Thoreau, which led to chidings from Saban.

 

Injuries, including the broken finger, kept Kemp from playing for most of 1962. That season, Kemp received a military draft notice for service in the Vietnam War but was granted a draft waiver because of a knee problem. The injuries healed, and Kemp debuted for Buffalo on November 18, 1962, by directing the only touchdown drive in a 10–6 win over the Oakland Raiders.[He played only four games for Buffalo in 1962, but made the AFL All-Star team. The Bills won three of their last four games to finish 7–6–1.

 

On December 14, 1962, the Bills outbid the Green Bay Packers for Notre Dame quarterback Daryle Lamonica. In 1963, a four-season starting quarterback battle began that continued until Lamonica left for the Raiders. Lamonica felt he "... learned a lot from Jack about quarterbacking. And I truly believe that we were a great one-two punch at the position for the Bills."  In 1963, Kemp led the Bills from a slow start to a tie for the AFL Eastern Division lead with a 7–6–1 record.  Kemp again placed second in passing attempts, completions, and yards, and he also finished second to teammate Cookie Gilchristin rushing touchdowns.  The Bills played the Boston Patriots in an Eastern Division playoff game to determine the division title on December 28 at War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo, New York, in 10 °F (−12 °C) weather. During the game, Buffalo replaced Kemp with Lamonica after falling behind 16–0, but still lost 26–8.

 

Kemp was said to be the "clubhouse lawyer" for the Bills because of his role in mediating conflicts.

 

In 1964, he managed personalities such as Gilchrist, who walked off the field when plays were not being called for him, and Saban, whom he kept from cutting Gilchrist the following week. He also managed the politics of his quarterback battle with Lamonica, who engineered four winning touchdown drives in the Bills' first seven games.  Kemp was the first and only Professional Football player to pass for three touchdowns in the first quarter of a season-opening game, against the Kansas City Chiefsin 1964, until the record was tied but not broken, 47 years later in 2011 by Aaron Rodgers.  The 1964 team won its first nine games and went 12–2 for the regular season, winning the Eastern Division with a final game victory over the Patriots at Fenway Park. Kemp led the league in yards per attempt and finished one rushing touchdown short of the league lead, which was shared by Gilchrist and Sid Blanks.  In the AFL championship game, he scored the final touchdown with just over nine minutes left in a 20–7 victory.

 

According to Lamonica, the 1965 team had a new emphasis: "In '64 we had depended a lot on Gilchrist and our running attack to carry us. . .But that all changed in '65. The Bills had traded Gilchrist in the off season to the Denver Broncos. So we went to a pass-oriented game more that season than we ever had before. We not only went to our receivers, but we threw a lot to our running backs. And I really think it brought out the best in Jack that year." In 1965, the Bills finished with a 10–3–1 record.  Kemp finished the season second in the league in pass completions.  In the 1965 AFL Championship Game, Buffalo defeated the Chargers 23–0; for Kemp, the victory was special because it came against his former team.  Kemp's role in leading the Bills to a repeat championship without Gilchrist and with star receiver Elbert Dubenion playing only three games earned him a share of the AFL MVP awards that he split with former Charger teammate, Paul Lowe. Kemp also won the Associated Press award and the Championship Game Most Valuable Player award.

.

I wish many who post on TBD could have lived through the old AFL and the Bills Championship years; I take lots of crap because I will still root for the "hated Patriots" if it is not against the Bills or impacts the Bills simply because they are an original; never for the Titans (Oilers) and the Colts, Steelers, Browns (Ravens) will always be NFL teams. In honor of Ange Coniglio - Remember The AFL!

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7 minutes ago, vorpma said:

I wish many who post on TBD could have lived through the old AFL and the Bills Championship years; I take lots of crap because I will still root for the "hated Patriots" if it is not against the Bills or impacts the Bills simply because they are an original; never for the Titans (Oilers) and the Colts, Steelers, Browns (Ravens) will always be NFL teams. In honor of Ange Coniglio - Remember The AFL!

 

It was truly a wonderful, magical era.  Going to War Memorial Stadium on Jefferson and Best, the Championship celebrations at Thruway Plaza, the pride and excitement we all had about our Bills - it was a special time.

 

What still amazes me is how little money most of those guys made as professional athletes.  Gogolak played out his option and left the Bills for the NY Giants because Ralph wouldn’t pay him $30K/year!  Many of those guys had to take off-season jobs to make ends meet.

 

A simpler, more innocent time indeed.

.

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Good thread.  Kemp was a class act.  While on the Hill, he, Henry Nowak (the Canisius College basketball great and later congressman), and, I believe, Congressman John LaFalce (Kenmore) started the annual Buffalo Nite on Capital Hill, which is still going strong.  One year at the shindig, Jack and I chatted.  His son had just signed his first pro football contract with (I believe it was a west coast team).  Of course contracts at that time were a lot bigger than during Kemp's playing days.  So I said to Kemp, "Congratulations on your son's signing.  He's probably making more as a rookie than you ever made as a star."  Jack smiled, shook his head and said "Isn't that the truth."

 

As a professional and a person, Jack Kemp is truly missed.

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Jack was really a very good QB.Accurate passer with a decent arm.And he was tough and smart.

I loved those games down at war memorial as a young kid.....Parked at a  Jefferson avenue business.

I remember that dirt walkway around the field that you could cruise DURING the bloody game.There was a

rickety little fence separating that walkway from the players benches.

Toward the latter years of WM..around 1970 I believe...Vince Lombardi came in with his Washington Redskins

for a preseason game. I remember going down to the dirt track and standing within a few feet of Lombardi--who was

relaxed and not in game mode since it was preseason.Of course I was in awe--being maybe 12 yrs old.-That Redskin

team he had was very quickly becoming good

and I am convinced he would have repeated his dynasty building had he not died so soon after from cancer.

Jack came to our school one time to give a talk on civics.this was early 70s so he may have already been congressman Kemp.

 

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34 minutes ago, Formerly Allan in MD said:

Good thread.  Kemp was a class act.  While on the Hill, he, Henry Nowak (the Canisius College basketball great and later congressman), and, I believe, Congressman John LaFalce (Kenmore) started the annual Buffalo Nite on Capital Hill, which is still going strong. 

I used to go to that every year...but as Yogi says, nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded.  Use to be a good crowd of WNY folks hobnobbing over some wings and Cream Ales.  Now, it's like Woodstock, where interns from around the country scarf the wings before they even reach the table.

4 hours ago, Chandler#81 said:

BBC1B0C7-F3D9-4B2A-A9BF-7DFA93FF5EB2.jpeg

I got Kemp to autograph this card at a Washington Buffalo Night, maybe 15 or so years ago.  It's in a box in the basement somewhere, I need to dig it up.

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1 hour ago, Ned Flanders said:

I used to go to that every year...but as Yogi says, nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded.  Use to be a good crowd of WNY folks hobnobbing over some wings and Cream Ales.  Now, it's like Woodstock, where interns from around the country scarf the wings before they even reach the table.

I got Kemp to autograph this card at a Washington Buffalo Night, maybe 15 or so years ago.  It's in a box in the basement somewhere, I need to dig it up.

One year I was reaching for a wing and another hand was about to grab the same wing.  When I saw whose hand it was, I yielded, because Tim Russert could always have my wing.

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3 hours ago, vorpma said:

I wish many who post on TBD could have lived through the old AFL and the Bills Championship years; I take lots of crap because I will still root for the "hated Patriots" if it is not against the Bills or impacts the Bills simply because they are an original; never for the Titans (Oilers) and the Colts, Steelers, Browns (Ravens) will always be NFL teams. In honor of Ange Coniglio - Remember The AFL!

Boston was a much different era than New England with Babe Parilli,, Gino Capaelletti, et al.
I don't tolerate the Patriots as much anymore.

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13 minutes ago, Formerly Allan in MD said:

One year I was reaching for a wing and another hand was about to grab the same wing.  When I saw whose hand it was, I yielded, because Tim Russert could always have my wing.

 

Tim Russert was in SF on assignment, and heard about this place, North Star Cafe, at Powell and Green, where me and a couple buddies convinced the owners that you can watch the 49ers at any bar in the city, but if they’d become the Bills Bar, we’d guarantee a full house every Sunday.

 

It happened, and one day this giant bear of a man wandered in, sat down at the bar, ordered a beer...it was Russert.

 

We talked about the Bills, Canisius High, and his youth in South Buffalo.

 

What a friendly, totally unassuming, and just wonderful man.

.

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19 minutes ago, Uncle Joe said:

Boston was a much different era than New England with Babe Parilli,, Gino Capaelletti, et al.
I don't tolerate the Patriots as much anymore.

 

Can you imagine playing a pro football game at Fenway?

 

They also played at Harvard Stadium.  Sh*tty field.  My Boston buddies and I would play a pickup game of touch football every Superbowl Sunday morning, back when we were younger and somewhat athletic.  We snuck into Harvard Stadium a few times and  played on that sucky, muddy field.

 

I didn’t mind the Pats so much when I lived there - even had season tix to Sullivan/Foxboro Stadium.  Back then, the Bills ‘glory days’ of Marv, Polian, Bruce, Jimbo, Bennett, etc., had yet to begin, and I liked Grogan, Flutie, Hannah, Tippett, Coach Ray Berry, et al.

 

Irving Fryar was always good for an entertaining sound-bite as well.

 

Now, like every Bills fan, can’t stand the mofos!

.

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I got to meet Jack Kemp with Elbert Dubenion and Ernie Warlick in 66 or 67 when I was around 6. My dad brought me and 3 older brothers over and introduced us. We were big fans and it was quite an honor.  It was at a non football related event and they couldn't have been any nicer. I was obviously

little and Ernie was like a giant. Jack had a lot of charisma, very smooth.

 

28 minutes ago, The Senator said:

 

Tim Russert was in SF on assignment, and heard about this place, North Star Cafe, at Powell and Green, where me and a couple buddies convinced the owners that you can watch the 49ers at any bar in the city, but if they’d become the Bills Bar, we’d guarantee a full house every Sunday.

 

It happened, and one day this giant bear of a man wandered in, sat down at the bar, ordered a beer...it was Russert.

 

We talked about the Bills, Canisius High, and his youth in South Buffalo.

 

What a friendly, totally unassuming, and just wonderful man.

.

Tim's dad Big Russ was the same age as my parents in South Buffalo and my oldest brother went to high school with Tim and hung out together in the neighborhood sometimes. Brother said he was a great guy. Good family, well liked and loved in SB. Was a shame Tim Jr. died before his dad, as did my oldest brother before my dad. Never saw my dad so heartbroken, he was generally a rock.

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2 hours ago, RevWarRifleman said:

Thanks, Senator. Like I've posted before, our AFL Bills must not be forgotten.  Long live Jack Kemp. Long live those AFL Bills. They got it all started.

Amen; the greatest era of football, both the AFL and NFL was the 1960's! And the rockpile, Jack Kemp, snow and mud, some great players ignored by the HOF, and awesome fans!

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4 hours ago, Tcali said:

Jack was really a very good QB.Accurate passer with a decent arm.And he was tough and smart.

I loved those games down at war memorial as a young kid.....Parked at a  Jefferson avenue business.

I remember that dirt walkway around the field that you could cruise DURING the bloody game.There was a

rickety little fence separating that walkway from the players benches.

Toward the latter years of WM..around 1970 I believe...Vince Lombardi came in with his Washington Redskins

for a preseason game. I remember going down to the dirt track and standing within a few feet of Lombardi--who was

relaxed and not in game mode since it was preseason.Of course I was in awe--being maybe 12 yrs old.-That Redskin

team he had was very quickly becoming good

and I am convinced he would have repeated his dynasty building had he not died so soon after from cancer.

Jack came to our school one time to give a talk on civics.this was early 70s so he may have already been congressman Kemp.

 

I was at that game and did the same thing; I wanted to see Vince up close!

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Jacks’ last season ‘69. My Dad took my brother and me to see the Bronco game. Jacks’ last great day in the sun, a 3 TD game against previous unbeaten team. Still have Courier Express clipping somewhere of him icing his thumb late in the game.

 

Rest in Peace, Jack Kemp.

 

 

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1 hour ago, vorpma said:

Amen; the greatest era of football, both the AFL and NFL was the 1960's! And the rockpile, Jack Kemp, snow and mud, some great players ignored by the HOF, and awesome fans!

I agree with it all, Vorpma.  And whatever it might be worth to you and all other fans that remember those AFL Bills,  at times I get concerned that as we "older Bills fans"

that lived during those AFL days leave this life, that the greatness and the contribution of those Bills will be diminished and nearly forgotten. I've thought about the need

for a Bills museum near or in the New Era facility where those AFL-era Bills are thoroughly remembered and revered. I don't think I'm being too much of a "romanticist."

These guys played the game for the pure joy of the game. They didn't, to say the least, play just for the money because back then, many of them had to work ordinary

jobs during the off-season! And yes, the museum should represent the later eras after the merger, but it was those AFL Bills that our love for the Bills and the teams since

then got started. It was a special time in Bills history.

 

                                   Ok, sermon's over.

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1 minute ago, RevWarRifleman said:

I agree with it all, Vorpma.  And whatever it might be worth to you and all other fans that remember those AFL Bills,  at times I get concerned that as we "older Bills fans"

that lived during those AFL days leave this life, that the greatness and the contribution of those Bills will be diminished and nearly forgotten. I've thought about the need

for a Bills museum near or in the New Era facility where those AFL-era Bills are thoroughly remembered and revered. I don't think I'm being too much of a "romanticist."

These guys played the game for the pure joy of the game. They didn't, to say the least, play just for the money because back then, many of them had to work ordinary

jobs during the off-season! And yes, the museum should represent the later eras after the merger, but it was those AFL Bills that our love for the Bills and the teams since

then got started. It was a special time in Bills history.

 

                                   Ok, sermon's over.

Awesome post my friend; it is being forgotten!

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19 minutes ago, vorpma said:

Awesome post my friend; it is being forgotten!

Hey, it wasn't WWII.

War Memorial Stadium? Ok, disregard previous statement. 
RIP Jack Kemp.
When Pride Still Mattered" in reference to Jack Kemp and the Lombardi sightings.

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On 5/2/2019 at 8:25 PM, The Senator said:

 

A great person, soldier, quarterback, politician, Congressional Rep., Cabinet Sec., statesman, and self-proclaimed “bleeding-heart conservative”.

 

Also, more than a bit of a ‘locker-room lawyer’, so I’ve read.  Some call him the instigator for today’s NFLPA.

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so true as stated above.  how many other QB's for the Bills were ever carried off the field by the fans??

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