 Wilson at his Hall of Fame induction in 2009 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1918-10-17)October 17, 1918 Columbus, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | March 25, 2014(2014-03-25) (aged 95) Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| College | University of Virginia University of Michigan Law School |
| Career history | |
| |
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1941–46 |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
Ralph Cookerly Wilson Jr. (October 17, 1918 – March 25, 2014) was an American businessman and sports executive. He was best known as the founder and owner of theBuffalo Bills, a team in theNational Football League (NFL). He was one of thefounding owners of theAmerican Football League (AFL), the league with which the NFL merged in 1970, and was the last of the original AFL owners to own his team. At the time of his death he was the oldest owner in the NFL, at age 95. His 54 years of ownership was the third longest tenure by one owner in league history behindGeorge Halas andArt Rooney.[a] Wilson was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame in 2009.
Born inColumbus, Ohio, Wilson grew up inDetroit, the son of salesman Ralph Wilson Sr. and his wife Edith Cole.[3]
Choosing to go out of state to attend theUniversity of Virginia (where he joined thePhi Delta Theta fraternity), Wilson returned to Michigan for graduate school at theUniversity of Michigan Law School.[4] He was a 1936 graduate of Detroit University School, nowUniversity Liggett School. BeforePearl Harbor,[5] he enlisted in theU.S. Navy and served in theAtlantic andPacific Theaters.[6] After the war ended, he took over his father's insurance business and invested in Michigan area mines and factories. He eventually purchased several manufacturing outlets, construction firms, television and radio stations, and founded Ralph Wilson Industries.[7]
Wilson got wind ofLamar Hunt's plans for a new league, the American Football League, to challenge the NFL. He tried to put together a team inMiami, but was turned down. His next choice was Buffalo, where the AFL's first choice of owner,Pat McGroder, had declined to start a team. In September 1959, Wilson sent Hunt a telegram with the words, "Count me in with Buffalo.”[8] He named his new team the Bills, aftera previous team that had played in theAll-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1949. On October 28, 1959, the Buffalo Bills officially became the seventh AFL team. Wilson made professional football a resounding success in a "small market", signing such stars asCookie Gilchrist,Jack Kemp, andTom Sestak and Hall of FamersBilly Shaw andO. J. Simpson.
He was a guiding force in AFL policies that ensured success, such as gate and television revenue sharing. As one of only three AFL owners to be on relatively solid financial ground (along with Hunt andHouston Oilers ownerBud Adams), Wilson lent the financially troubledOakland Raiders $400,000[9] and was also willing to lend money toBilly Sullivan of theNew England Patriots. Wilson helped keep those franchises afloat, likely saving the entire league from folding (the AFL was unique among professional football leagues in that not a single AFL franchise folded in its history). In November 1963, Wilson along with then Raiders general managerAl Davis lobbied successfully to have AFL games postponed the Sunday after PresidentJohn F. Kennedy's assassination; NFL games were played as scheduled.[10]
Wilson was most concerned about his team's financial solvency and was largely indifferent to the Bills' on-field success;O. J. Simpson later noted of his contract negotiations with the Bills that when Simpson's agent told Wilson of Simpson's potential to make the team a championship contender, Wilson shot back "What good would a championship do me? All that means is everybody wants a raise."[11]
In 1989, after league commissionerPete Rozelle announced his retirement, Wilson was on the six-member committee who was tasked with nominating potential candidates for the open position. Wilson's nominee, his former quarterback Jack Kemp, declined to pursue the post, as he had already taken a position in the U.S. Cabinet. (The job ultimately went to league attorneyPaul Tagliabue.)
After the original naming rights deal on the Bills' current stadium expired in 1998, the facility's name was changed fromRich Stadium to Ralph Wilson Stadium; it would not receive a new naming rights deal until 2016, after his death and the subsequent sale of the team. According to an article on msn.com, Wilson, described as "stubborn", turned down numerous naming rights deals for the stadium.[12]
Wilson was one of the league's most outspoken owners, even near the end of his life. Wilson voted against theCleveland Browns'relocation to Baltimore in 1995.[13] He publicly rebuked NFL CommissionerPaul Tagliabue in an open letter in 1998 over league policy, which disallowed criticism of referees, after poor officiating had a direct impact on a Bills loss that season.[14] He was one of two owners (theCincinnati Bengals'Mike Brown being the other) to oppose the league's former (pre-2011) collective bargaining agreement. (Wilson and Brown were commended for their foresight when the agreement later led to the2011 NFL Lockout.)[15] He also negotiated a deal to have his team playhome games in Toronto from 2008 until 2014.[16]
Wilson retired from the position of president in 2001, giving operational control to general managerTom Donahoe;[17] Wilson retook control of the team's operations in 2006.[18] Wilson again retired as team president, this time surrendering all control of the team's operations toRuss Brandon, on January 1, 2013.[19] He continued to consult with Brandon on team and league operations up until his death.
Wilson maintained a permanent residence inGrosse Pointe Shores, Michigan with his wife, Mary McLean, whom he met in 1989.[3] He had three daughters from his first marriage to Janet McGregor Wilson, two of whom became involved in team business: Linda Wilson Bogdan (1948–2009), Pro Football's first female scout, was the franchise's Corporate Vice President until her death. Another daughter, Christy Wilson Hofmann, served as a consultant in the area of merchandising. The third daughter, Edith Wilson (1951–2020) was never involved with the franchise. The highest ranking relative in the organization was Mary Owen, Wilson's niece, who served as Vice President of Strategic Planning until the team was sold.[20] Wilson and his first wife divorced in 1970 after 26 years of marriage and shortly after their youngest daughter, Edith, turned 19.[21]
Beginning in the 1990s, Wilson maintained a small, but very valuable, art collection, including works byClaude Monet,Édouard Manet andAlfred Sisley; this collection was valued in the tens of millions of dollars.[22]
Wilson was a 1992 inductee of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. He was a 33rd degreeScottish RiteFreemason.[23]
Wilson broke his hip in a fall at his home in July 2011, causing him to miss the Bills' home opener for the first time in franchise history.[24] The injury resulted in him needing to use a wheelchair. He issued a statement saying that he was undergoing physical therapy and hoped to attend at least one game during the season. Wilson also stated that he was "very surprised" by the team's 41–7 victory over Kansas City in week 1. He was hospitalized in August and early September 2012 with an unspecified infection and missed attending games in the entire 2012 season.[20] In April 2013, Wilson was reported as "doing really well," with a statement that he hoped to make the 2013 home opener.[25]
Wilson died at his home on March 25, 2014, of natural causes at the age of 95.[26] His estate held the franchise in trust until its sale toBuffalo Sabres ownersTerry andKim Pegula in September 2014.[27] The proceeds from the sale were used to form an endowment for the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, which funds charitable causes in the Buffalo and Detroit areas, in accordance with Wilson's instructions for the money set forth prior to his death.[28] The donation amounted to $1.2 billion and would be given away over the next two decades.[29] The organization was overseen for a few months by his niece Mary Owen until its sale to the Pegulas was completed on October 8, 2014.[30]
On January 31, 2009, Wilson was elected to thePro Football Hall of Fame along with formerBuffalo Bills defensive endBruce Smith.[31] TheHall of Fame game, played the day after the 2009 inductions, strayed from the usual AFC–NFC format and instead was contested by two originalAmerican Football League teams: theBuffalo Bills and theTennessee Titans (formerly theHouston Oilers).[32] This matchup was announced after Wilson was elected. Like Wilson, Titans ownerBud Adams was the only owner his team has ever had, and the two were the only living members of the "Foolish Club", the founders of the original eight AFL teams. Wilson and Adams are two of only four men who have owned a professional football franchise continuously for fifty years (George Halas, who owned theChicago Bears from 1920 until his death in 1983, is the third, andWilliam Clay Ford Sr., Wilson's neighbor, who owned theDetroit Lions from 1961 to 2014, is the fourth).
The Hall of Fame game on Sunday, August 9, was a kickoff to the 2009 season, which would have been the 50th season of play for the AFL, if the NFL had not merged with it. Wilson was officially inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, August 8, 2009, withESPN iconChris Berman acting as his "presenter".[33] Wilson was scheduled to receive his Hall of Fame ring in a halftime ceremony during the Bills game against the Cleveland Browns on October 11, 2009. However, Wilson cancelled the event at the last moment, without notifying the press or fans, and no explanation was given. It was widely speculated that Wilson cancelled the event out of fear of being booed by Bills fans for the team's chronic poor performance on the field and a series of highly unpopular managerial decisions. He was eventually presented with the ring on November 1.[34]
Wilson donated US$2.5 million to the construction of a "Pro Football Research and Preservation Center" at the Hall of Fame; the facility was named in Wilson's honor on August 13, 2012.[35]
Wilson was also involved for a number of years in the sport ofThoroughbred horse racing both as abreeder and as an owner inFrance and the United States. He bredSanta Anita Derby winnerJim French, as well as two-year-old European superstarArazi, winner of the 1991Breeders' Cup Juvenile andEuropean Horse of the Year.[36] Another horse, Outta Here, raced in the2003 Kentucky Derby and finished in seventh place.
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