|
}} Ralph Cookerly Wilson, Jr. (October 17, 1918 – March 25, 2014) was the founder and owner of the Buffalo Bills, a team in America's National Football League (NFL). He was one of the founding owners of the American 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, and the third-longest tenured owner in NFL history (over 54 years, behind the 63 years George Halas owned the Chicago Bears and almost equal to the 55 years Art Rooney owned the Pittsburgh Steelers, although Rooney's ownership and team operations were interrupted in the 1940s due to some complicated dealings). He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009. ==Early career== Wilson grew up in Detroit, Michigan, the son of salesman Ralph Wilson Sr. and his wife, Edith Cole.〔Gaughan, Mark. (Father's example inspired Wilson in football and business ). ''The Buffalo News''. Retrieved March 26, 2014.〕 He graduated from the University of Virginia (where he joined the Phi Delta Theta fraternity) and attended the University of Michigan Law School. He was a 1936 graduate of Detroit University School, now University Liggett School. During World War II, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served in the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters. 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. A minority owner of the Detroit Lions, Wilson got wind of Lamar Hunt's plans for a new league, the American Football League, to challenge the NFL. He tried to put together a team in Miami, but was turned down. His next choice was Buffalo. In September 1959, Wilson sent Hunt a telegram with the words, "Count me in with Buffalo." He named his new team the Bills, after a previous team that had played in the All-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 as Cookie Gilchrist, Jack Kemp, and Tom Sestak and Hall of Famers Billy Shaw and O. 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 and Bud Adams), Wilson lent the financially troubled Oakland Raiders $400,000 and was also willing to lend money to Billy Sullivan of the New 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 manager Al Davis lobbied successfully to have AFL games postponed the Sunday after President John F. Kennedy's assassination; NFL games were played as scheduled. In 1989, after league commissioner Pete 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 attorney Paul Tagliabue.) After the original naming rights deal on the Bills' current stadium expired in 1998, the facility's name was changed from Rich Stadium to Ralph Wilson Stadium. According to an article on msn.com, Wilson, described as "stubborn", turned down numerous naming rights deals for the stadium.〔()〕 Wilson was one of the league's most outspoken owners, even near the end of his life. Wilson voted against the Cleveland Browns' relocation to Baltimore in 1995. He publicly rebuked NFL Commissioner Paul 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.〔(Ralph Wilson - Remember This One? ) ''WBEN''. Retrieved March 30, 2014.〕 He was one of two owners (the Cincinnati 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 the 2011 NFL Lockout.) He also negotiated a deal to have his team play home games in Toronto beginning in 2008. Wilson retired from the position of president in 2001, giving operational control to General Manager Tom Donahoe; Wilson retook control of the team's operations in 2006. Wilson again retired as team president, this time surrendering all control of the team's operations to Russ Brandon, on January 1, 2013. He continued to consult with Brandon on team and league operations up until his death. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ralph Wilson」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|