Important Dates in Bills History, presented by M&T Bank, helps fans recognize what’s important. In the NFL, a franchise’s legacy is important and on Oct. 28, 1959, Ralph C. Wilson Jr. made history as he was named the principal owner of a professional football team in Buffalo.
Under Wilson's leadership, Buffalo became the American Football League’s (AFL) seventh franchise. An astute businessman from Detroit, Wilson was a key member of the “Foolish Club,” which helped create the AFL. Naming his newly awarded football team the “Buffalo Bills,” on Nov. 30, 1959, Wilson would forever leave a mark on the Western New York community and professional football as we know it.