Sports

El Supremo

(20,365 posts) Tue Mar 25, 2014, 07:01 PM Mar 2014

The last founder of the AFL, Ralph Wilson Jr., has died.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- One of the NFL's pillars, Ralph Wilson Jr., has died at the age of 95.

Buffalo Bills president Russ Brandon announced the news Tuesday at the NFL Annual Meeting, an event that Wilson began attending more than forty years ago. Wilson was the founder and owner of the Buffalo Bills, and the last living founder of the American Football League.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000336832/article/buffalo-bills-founder-and-owner-ralph-wilson-jr-dies-at-95

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The last founder of the AFL, Ralph Wilson Jr., has died. (Original Post) El Supremo Mar 2014 OP

Rest in Peace. And now Jim Kelly is having another recurrence of cancer. madinmaryland Mar 2014 #1

... charlie and algernon Mar 2014 #2

This story is incorrect. Barron Hilton of the Chargers is still alive. El Supremo Mar 2014 #3

95 is a good long life, RIP Mr. Wilson...nt joeybee12 Mar 2014 #4

Have been a fan of this franchise since Day One jumptheshadow Mar 2014 #5

madinmaryland

(64,933 posts)

1. Rest in Peace. And now Jim Kelly is having another recurrence of cancer.

Reply to El Supremo (Original post)

Tue Mar 25, 2014, 07:52 PM

Mar 2014

charlie and algernon

(13,447 posts)

2. ...

Reply to El Supremo (Original post)

Tue Mar 25, 2014, 08:18 PM

Mar 2014

El Supremo

(20,365 posts)

3. This story is incorrect. Barron Hilton of the Chargers is still alive.

Reply to El Supremo (Original post)

Wed Mar 26, 2014, 12:26 PM

Mar 2014

From Wiki:

He sold his majority interest in the team (in 1966) for $10 million—a record for any professional sports franchise at the time—after an initial investment in a franchise fee of just $25,000.

With the death of the Bills' Ralph Wilson in 2014, Hilton became the last surviving member of the Foolish Club -- the nickname the original AFL owners gave each other as they absorbed the start-up expenses and player salaries necessary to compete with the established NFL.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barron_Hilton

joeybee12

(56,177 posts)

4. 95 is a good long life, RIP Mr. Wilson...nt

Reply to El Supremo (Original post)

Wed Mar 26, 2014, 07:32 PM

Mar 2014

jumptheshadow

(3,269 posts)

5. Have been a fan of this franchise since Day One

Reply to El Supremo (Original post)

Wed Mar 26, 2014, 08:01 PM

Mar 2014

Used to see the Bills at the Rockpile (War Memorial Stadium). The AFL was a laughing-stock at the time in the days before the merger. Mr. Wilson was deeply loyal to Buffalo and maintained a club that stayed true to the "little guys" (the fans who weren't part of the 1 percent).

Rest in peace. Your legacy touched many hearts.

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