With induction, he has last laugh

GROSSE POINTE SHORES, Mich. – Ralph Wilson settles into a chair at his long dining room table, ready to dig into a salad. The main course soon follows: the American Football League.

“Speaking of the ‘Foolish Club,’ ” he begins, a smile forming as he recalls what the eight AFL owners were dubbed some 50 years ago. “You’d go to cocktail parties back in those days and they’d look at me like, ‘What kind of a dope are you, going into a new league?’ ”

Little did the founder and sole owner of the Buffalo Bills envision then that he’d eventually get the last laugh. Wilson will join the game’s most prestigious club Saturday when he’ll be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“What a damn fool I was,” the 91-year-old Wilson said, breaking into a laugh at his home overlooking Lake St. Clair. “But I didn’t care. I just wanted to own a team.”

Wilson already held a small stake in the Detroit Lions. So he sold his share and put up the $25,000 franchise fee to join the AFL.

In return, Wilson earned a lifetime of memories in running a franchise that had its classic ups and downs. The Bills are the only team to make four consecutive Super Bowl appearances – and also the only team to lose them all. The Bills have fielded such star players as O.J. Simpson, Jim Kelly and Bruce Smith. (Smith will also be inducted into the Hall this weekend.) And they’re a franchise that has come to symbolize the rust-belt, blue-collar region’s underdog mentality.

Just as important, and the main reason he becomes only the 19th contributor to join the Hall of Fame, Wilson found himself in a position to play a significant role in helping transform the NFL into America’s most popular sport.

It was talks between Wilson and late Baltimore Colts owner Carroll Rosenbloom that led to the framework of an agreement that included revenue sharing, a deal that resembled the one struck in the AFL-NFL merger in 1966.

It was Wilson, an active member on numerous influential NFL committees, who helped fashion the rules of the modern game and played a key role in averting a players’ strike in 1977.

He also earned the title of “Conscience of the NFL,” for consistently voting against franchise relocation because of its potential to alienate fans.

“His steadfast loyalty to Buffalo is undeniable. He’s worn the colors of Buffalo with pride and poise and class. He’s the star among stars,” Raiders owner Al Davis said. “When he got up, you knew he was speaking from a small market, he was speaking for the good of the league.”

And that included the time Wilson opposed Davis moving the Raiders to Los Angeles.

“He was against me, but I knew he really meant it. He was sincere about it,” Davis said.

In one respect, the Raiders might not have been around without Wilson, who lent the franchise $400,000 to keep it afloat in the early 1960s. Wilson regarded the loan as crucial to preserve the AFL’s credibility because losing a team would have fed many of the skeptics who never expected the league to survive beyond a few years.

Bills Hall of Fame offensive lineman Joe DeLamielleure described Wilson’s induction as long overdue. A strong supporter of players’ rights, DeLamielleure noted Wilson’s role in revenue sharing and having all teams put names on the backs of jerseys to help fans better identify players.

Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy lauded Wilson for being a fair boss and man of his word, and for sticking with Buffalo.

“He bought into the league primarily for his love of the game not because he viewed it as, ‘Oh, boy, this is going to be a financial windfall,’ ” Levy said.

Though the Bills aren’t going anywhere during Wilson’s lifetime, questions remain about the future of the franchise following his death. Wilson has said his family isn’t interested in running the team and the Bills will be sold by his estate.

Wilson’s proudest accomplishment?

“Having a team, being faithful, loyal to the fans and keeping the team there,” Wilson said.