THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- As the Buffalo Bills announced plans to celebrate their 50th season on Monday, Booker Edgerson had something he wanted to get off his chest.
The former cornerback, who played for the Bills from 1962 to 1969, revealed that he was still against the NFL merger. Edgerson insisted that American Football League owners should have held out against their NFL counterparts because the upstart AFL provided a superior product.
"When they chose to merge, I was totally against it," Edgerson said. "Absolutely, because we were going to stay. We would've probably ran the National Football League out of town."
Debating the merits of the 1970 merger aside, Edgerson is absolutely right about one thing: The Bills haven't gone anywhere since owner Ralph Wilson established the team 50 years ago as one of the AFL's eight original franchises.
And Edgerson, the Bills players' alumni president, was excited to be on hand as team officials announced plans to celebrate the anniversary.
"I think it's great, not only for the guys that played, but for the fans, the community, the league," said Edgerson, who played for the Bills when they won consecutive AFL championships in 1964 and '65.
To kick off their celebration, the Bills unveiled a 50th anniversary logo, which features the No. 50 and incorporates the team's current charging buffalo logo with their former logo: a standing red buffalo.
Fans will also get a chance to vote for an all-time Bills squad on the team's website (www.buffalobills.com). The All-Buffalo team will be announced during the Bills' NFL Draft festivities on April 25. And members of that team will be invited to attend the regular-season home opener, which has yet to be scheduled.
The Bills are already part of the NFL's plans to honour the AFL's 50th anniversary. Buffalo has been selected to play the Tennessee Titans -- formerly the AFL Houston Oilers -- in the Hall of Fame game to open the preseason schedule on August 9 at Canton, Ohio.
Wilson, who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this August, has maintained he won't sell or relocate the Bills during his lifetime. But the 90-year-old owner has provided no assurances about what might happen after his death, because the franchise will be put up for sale.
