| 1960 Buffalo Bills season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Ralph Wilson |
| Head coach | Buster Ramsey |
| Home stadium | War Memorial Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 5–8–1 |
| Division place | 3rdAFL Eastern |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
The1960Buffalo Bills season was the club's first season in theAmerican Football League (AFL) and their first overall season as a pro-football franchise. Home games were played atWar Memorial Stadium inBuffalo, New York. Head CoachBuster Ramsey's Bills compiled a 5–8–1 record, placing them third in the AFL Eastern Division.
Unlike most of the offensive-minded AFL, the Bills focused on defense, allowing the third-fewest points in the league (303). Their defensive line boastedLaverne Torczon andChuck McMurtry (both of whom were 1st Team All-AFL in 1960),[1] as well as a mobile, hard-hitting middle linebacker inArchie Matsos, who wasAFL All-Star in each of the three seasons he spent in Buffalo. The Bills' defense led the league in fewest passing yards allowed (2,130) and most passes intercepted (33),[2] with NFL veteransRichie McCabe and Jim Wagstaff in their secondary.[3]
The Bills' offense, however, was not as competent. The 1960 Bills had the worst passing attack in the AFL, throwing for 2,346 yards.[4] FormerCleveland BrownsquarterbackTommy O'Connell started the season 1–3 before being replaced byJohnny Green. Green would go 3–3 as a starter, despite only completing 39% of his passes.[5]Richie Lucas, the Bills' first ever draft pick, was a bust, both at quarterback and athalfback,[6] throwing only 49 passes all season.[7]
The Bills did show glimmers of hope on offense, however, by showcasingrunning backWray Carlton andflankerElbert Dubenion, who would later go on to be AFL All-Stars for the Bills in the mid-1960s.
In their first season, the Bills wore silver helmets and royal blue home jerseys. Their road jerseys were white with royal blue letters. The team wore white pants both at home and on the road. The Bills' helmets displayed the player's number in royal blue on the side where the logo would normally be (much like theAlabama Crimson Tide's helmets).[8][9]
The uniforms, not coincidentally, resembled those of theNational Football League (NFL)'sDetroit Lions. Bills ownerRalph C. Wilson, Jr. grew up inDetroit and had once been a minority owner in the Lions.
WhenLamar Hunt announced formation of the American Football League in the summer of 1959, Buffalo was one of the target cities Hunt sought, based on its previous success with the Bills in the AAFC. His first choice of owner, however, turned him down;Pat McGroder (then a liquor store owner and sports liaison with the city of Buffalo) was still hopeful that the threat of the AFL would prompt the NFL to come back to Buffalo to try and stop the AFL from gaining a foothold there (as the NFL would do with teams in Minnesota, Dallas, St. Louis and later Atlanta). McGroder's hopes never came to fruition, and in 1961, he took a position in the new Bills organization.
Harry Wismer, who was to own theTitans of New York franchise, reached out to insurance salesman and automobile heirRalph C. Wilson, Jr. to see if he was interested in joining the upstart league. (Both Wismer and Wilson were minority owners of NFL franchises at the time: Wilson part-owned theDetroit Lions, while Wismer was a small partner in theWashington Redskins but had little power due to majority ownerGeorge Preston Marshall's near-iron fist over the team and the league). Wilson agreed to field a team in the new league, with the words "Count me in. I'll take a franchise anywhere you suggest."[10] Hunt gave him the choice of six cities: Miami, Buffalo,Cincinnati,St. Louis,Atlanta, orLouisville, Kentucky; after being turned down in his effort to put a team in Miami, he consulted with Detroit media, who connected him with McGroder andThe Buffalo News managing editor Paul Neville;[11][12] their efforts to lobby Wilson to come to Buffalo were successful, and Wilson sent Hunt a telegram with the now-famous words, "Count me in with Buffalo."
The Buffalo Bills were a charter member of theAmerican Football League (AFL) in1960. After a public contest, the team adopted the same name as theAAFC Buffalo Bills, the formerAll-America Football Conference team in Buffalo.
Two Rounds of draft were held, the first round called "First Selections", the second round "Second Selections".
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
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| Quarterbacks(QB) Running backs(RB)
Wide receivers(WR) Tight ends(TE) | Offensive linemen(OL)
| Linebackers(LB)
Defensive backs(DB){{{defensive_back}}} Special teams(ST) |
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| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | July 30 | Boston Patriots | L 7–28 | 0–1 | War Memorial Stadium | 16,474 |
| 2 | August 13 | Denver Broncos | W 31–14 | 1–1 | Aquinas Stadium | 6,200 |
| 3 | August 21 | atBoston Patriots | L 7–21 | 1–2 | Fitton Field | 7,000 |
| 4 | August 24 | Oakland Raiders | L 21–26 | 1–3 | War Memorial Stadium | 17,071 |
| 5 | September 4 | New York Titans | L 31–52 | 1–4 | War Memorial Stadium | 6,821 |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Game Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 11 | atNew York Titans | L 3–27 | 0–1 | Polo Grounds | 10,200 | Recap |
| 2 | September 18 | Denver Broncos | L 21–27 | 0–2 | War Memorial Stadium | 15,229 | Recap |
| 3 | September 23 | atBoston Patriots | W 13–0 | 1–2 | Boston University Field | 20,732 | Recap |
| 4 | October 2 | Los Angeles Chargers | L 10–24 | 1–3 | War Memorial Stadium | 15,821 | Recap |
| 5 | Bye | ||||||
| 6 | October 16 | New York Titans | L 13–17 | 1–4 | War Memorial Stadium | 14,988 | Recap |
| 7 | October 23 | Oakland Raiders | W 38–9 | 2–4 | War Memorial Stadium | 8,876 | Recap |
| 8 | October 30 | Houston Oilers | W 25–24 | 3–4 | War Memorial Stadium | 23,001 | Recap |
| 9 | November 6 | Dallas Texans | L 28–45 | 3–5 | War Memorial Stadium | 19,610 | Recap |
| 10 | November 13 | atOakland Raiders | L 7–20 | 3–6 | Kezar Stadium | 8,800 | Recap |
| 11 | November 20 | atLos Angeles Chargers | W 32–3 | 4–6 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 16,161 | Recap |
| 12 | November 27 | atDenver Broncos | T 38–38 | 4–6–1 | Bears Stadium | 7,785 | Recap |
| 13 | December 4 | Boston Patriots | W 38–14 | 5–6–1 | War Memorial Stadium | 14,335 | Recap |
| 14 | December 11 | atHouston Oilers | L 23–31 | 5–7–1 | Jeppesen Stadium | 25,243 | Recap |
| 15 | December 18 | atDallas Texans | L 7–24 | 5–8–1 | Cotton Bowl | 18,000 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are inbold text. | |||||||
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bills | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Titans | 0 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 27 |
atPolo Grounds,New York, New York
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Buffalo's first win in franchise history.
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Titans | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Bills | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
atWar Memorial Stadium,Buffalo, New York
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| AFL Eastern Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Houston Oilers | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 5–1 | 379 | 285 | W2 | |
| New York Titans | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 2–4 | 382 | 399 | L1 | |
| Buffalo Bills | 5 | 8 | 1 | .385 | 3–3 | 296 | 303 | L2 | |
| Boston Patriots | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 2–4 | 286 | 349 | L4 | |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings in the AFL.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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| Division championships (15) | |
| Conference championships (4) | |
| League championships (2) | |
| Wall of Fame | |
| Media |
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