TheBuffalo Bisons (knowncolloquially as theHerd) are aMinor League Baseball team of theInternational League and theTriple-A affiliate of theToronto Blue Jays. Located inBuffalo, New York, the team plays their home games atSahlen Field, the highest-capacityTriple-A ballpark in the United States.

Buffalo Bisons
Founded in1979 Buffalo, New York
Team logo Cap insignia
Minor league affiliations
Class	Triple-A (1985–present)
Previous classes	Double-A (1979–1984)
League	International League (1998–present)
Division	East Division
Previous leagues	American Association (1985–1997) Eastern League (1979–1984)
Major league affiliations
Team	Toronto Blue Jays (2013–present)
Previous teams	New York Mets (2009–2012) Cleveland Indians (1995–2008) Pittsburgh Pirates (1988–1994) Cleveland Indians (1987) Chicago White Sox (1985–1986) Cleveland Indians (1983–1984) Pittsburgh Pirates (1979–1982)
Minor league titles
League titles(3)	1997 1998 2004
Division titles(10)	1991 1992 1996 1997 1998 2000 2001 2004 2005 2021
Wild card berths(1)	2002
Team data
Name	Buffalo Bisons (1979–present)
Colors	Scarlet red, reflex blue, white[1]
Mascot	Buster T. Bison
Ballpark	Sahlen Field (1988–present)
Previous parks	Trenton Thunder Ballpark (2021) War Memorial Stadium (1979–1987)
Owner(s)/ Operator(s)	Robert E. Rich Jr.
President	Mike Buczkowski
General manager	Anthony Sprague[2]
Manager	Casey Candaele
Media	Radio:WWKB Streaming:MiLB.TV andBally Live TV:WNYO (select games)
Website	milb.com/buffalo

The current Bisons organization was founded in 1979 and assumed the history of previous franchises that also used the Buffalo Bisons name, most notably the1886–1970 Buffalo Bisons minor league franchise, and the1879–1885 Buffalo Bisons major league franchise. The team established theBuffalo Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985 to honor former players, managers and contributors to baseball in Buffalo.

The team holds the all-time record for single-season attendance in Minor League Baseball, selling 1,240,951 tickets in 1991 while being considered for1993 Major League Baseball expansion.Forbes valued the Buffalo Bisons at $34 million in 2016, making it the 15th-most valuable Minor League Baseball franchise.^[3]

MayorJames D. Griffin and an investment group purchased theJersey City A's of theDouble-A classEastern League for $55,000 in 1978, and the team began play as the Buffalo Bisons atWar Memorial Stadium in 1979.^[4] This new franchise assumed the history of prior Buffalo Bisons teams that had played in the city from 1877 to 1970.Robert E. Rich Jr. purchased the Bisons for $100,000 in 1983,^[5] and upgraded the team to theTriple-A classAmerican Association in 1985 after buying out theWichita Aeros for $1 million.^[6][7] Rich Jr. grew the team's popularity and was known for his innovative promotional tie-ins, most notably an annual series of post-game concerts byThe Beach Boys.^[8]

The Buffalo Bisons moved to the $42.4 millionPilot Field (now Sahlen Field) in downtown Buffalo in the 1988 season. In their first year at the venue after moving from War Memorial Stadium, the Bisons broke the all-time record for Minor League Baseball attendance by drawing 1,186,651 fans during the 1988 season.^[9][10] The team won two division titles and set subsequent attendance records on the heels of their unsuccessful1993 Major League Baseball expansion bid. The team's 1991 single-season attendance of 1,240,951 remains a Minor League Baseball record.^[11]

TheCleveland Indians replaced thePittsburgh Pirates asMajor League Baseball affiliate of the Buffalo Bisons prior to the 1995 season.^[12] The team won division titles in 1996 and 1997, and won the final American Association championship in 1997.Bartolo Colón threw the firstno-hitter in franchise history on June 20, 1997 against theNew Orleans Zephyrs.^[13]

In wake of the American Association disbanding following the 1997 season, the Bisons joined theInternational League in 1998. The team won the division and league championship in their first season, but lost theTriple-A World Series. The addition of regional rivalries allowed for the creation of theThruway Cup, an annual competition between the Buffalo Bisons,Rochester Red Wings andSyracuse SkyChiefs.^[14] The Bisons went on to win division titles in 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, and the league championship at home in 2004.^[15]

TheNew York Mets replaced theCleveland Indians asMajor League Baseball affiliate of the Buffalo Bisons prior to the 2009 season.^[16] This era was plagued with poor on-field performance and low attendance.

TheToronto Blue Jays replaced theNew York Mets asMajor League Baseball affiliate of the Buffalo Bisons prior to the 2013 season.^[17] To kick off this era, the Bisons scored 27 runs on 29 hits against theSyracuse Chiefs on April 18, 2013, setting records for the most runs and hits in anInternational League game since 1973.^[18][19] The Blue Jays usedSahlen Field as their home field in 2020 after the Bisons season was cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, investing $5 million in upgrading the venue.

In conjunction withMajor League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball and the closure of theInternational League, the Bisons joined the newly formedTriple-A East in 2021.^[20] Due to renovations atSahlen Field as well as use of the stadium by the Blue Jays, the Bisons began their 2021 season atTrenton Thunder Ballpark inTrenton, New Jersey. At their home games, they wore the uniforms of theTrenton Thunder and were referred to as such, while on the road they were still known as the Buffalo Bisons.^[21][22]

With the reinstatement of the historical league names in 2022, the Bisons were returned to theInternational League.^[23]

Bisons Baseball Network produces all radio broadcasts of Buffalo Bisons games. Their flagship station since 2009 has beenWWKB, aclear-channel station in Buffalo. Select games are simulcast onWGR in Buffalo andCJCL in Toronto. Games were previously carried byWUFO/WXRL (1983),WEBR (1984),WBEN (1985–1988) andWGR (1989–2008).

Live video streams of all Buffalo Bisons games have aired on theMiLB.TV subscription service since 2013, and free via theBally Live app since 2023.^[25] Select games have been televised onWNYO since 2023.^[26] Games were previously televised onWNYB (1988–1989, 1996),Empire Sports Network (1991–1995, 1997–2004),Time Warner Cable SportsNet (2007–2016),Spectrum Sports (2017) andWNLO (2019–2022).^[27]

Pat Malacaro has served as the team's play-by-play announcer since 2018.^[28]Pete Weber served as play-by-play announcer from 1983 to 1995, and is the current play-by-play announcer for theNashville Predators.Jim Rosenhaus served as play-by-play announcer from 1996 to 2006, and is the current play-by-play announcer for theCleveland Guardians.Ben Wagner served as play-by-play announcer from 2007 to 2017, and is the current play-by-play announcer for theBaltimore Orioles, after serving 6 years as play-by-play announcer of theToronto Blue Jays.^{[29][30][31][32]}

Duke McGuire has served as the team's color commentator since 1996, and previously worked as the team's in-stadium public address announcer from 1979 to 1995.^[33]John Murphy served as color commentator from 1985 to 1988, and is the current play-by-play announcer for theBuffalo Bills.Greg Brown served as color commentator from 1989 to 1993, and is the current play-by-play announcer for thePittsburgh Pirates.

Weber, McGuire and Rosenhaus were inducted into theBuffalo Baseball Hall of Fame for their broadcast work.

Donald Palmer was an acrobaticbatboy who performed for the Buffalo Bisons as "The Butcher" from 1979 to 1988.^[34]

Earl Howze, Jr. was abeer vendor who performed for the Buffalo Bisons as "The Earl ofBud" from 1979 to 1997. He was known for dancing to the song "Tequila" atop the venue'sdugouts, with a routine similar to the one made famous byPaul Reubens in the 1985 filmPee-wee's Big Adventure.^[35] The Buffalo Bisons honored him at an August 2012 game, with every fan in attendance receiving abobblehead of his likeness.^[36] Howze, Jr. also performed for theBuffalo Sabres atBuffalo Memorial Auditorium.

Tom Girot is abeer vendor who has performed for the Buffalo Bisons as "Conehead" since 1979.^[37] The Buffalo Bisons honored him at a July 2018 game, with a beer launched in his likeness called ConeheadIPA by Resurgence Brewing Company.^[38] Girot has also performed for theRochester Red Wings atFrontier Field and theToronto Blue Jays atSahlen Field.^[39][40]

Buster T. Bison has been the official mascot of the Buffalo Bisons since 1983.^[41] He was later joined by his cousin Chip in 1994, and his future wife Belle in 2006.^[42][43]

Tracey B. Wilson was an actress who performed for the Buffalo Bisons as themime "Loud Mouth" from 1993 to 1999.^[44]

Buffalo Bisons games since 2011 have featured theWing,Cheese &Carrot (WCC)mascot race between costumed representations of various local foods just prior to the sixth-inning.^[45]

"Stampede" has been the officialfight song of the Buffalo Bisons since their inaugural season at Sahlen Field in 1988.

Tina Turner's recording of "The Best" is played after every Buffalo Bisons home victory at Sahlen Field.^[46][47]

A parody of theGary Glitter song "Rock and Roll Part 2" featuring lyrics referencingIrv Weinstein was played at Sahlen Field during theseventh-inning stretch of Buffalo Bisons games in the 1990s.^[48]

• Official website