It feels like family reunion for ex-Bills
CANTON, Ohio — It started with a drop, and then a trickle. But since then the faucet has been turned all the way and Buffalo Bills Hall of Famers have been flowing out.
After O.J. Simpson was inducted in 1985, there were no Bills enshrined for more than a decade. But Billy Shaw's entry in 1999 started a domino effect that saw five members of the franchise go in over the next eight years.
And now, the number has risen to nine as owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr. and Bruce Smith joined that illustrious list Saturday. There are now six men from the Bills' remarkable run of four consecutive Super Bowls in the early 1990s.
The honor is well-deserved, according to the men who worked with and for the inductees.
"History is starting to be nice to us, I would say," said linebacker Darryl Talley, one of numerous players, coaches and administrators in attendance to join the Buffalo celebration. "I think they are starting to recognize that we had a good team. We had a lot of tremendously talented people on that team. It's just one of those things that you're glad to see some of your teammates in there, and you're proud as a peacock to watch them go in there."
Wide receiver Andre Reed was in Canton when head coach Marv Levy was enshrined in 2001. Reed was back for quarterback Jim Kelly in 2002, wide receiver James Lofton and offensive guard Joe DeLamielleure in 2003 and running back Thurman Thomas in 2007.
To steal a line from Levy, where else would Reed rather be than right here, right now?
"It's just tremendous. This is a hallowed spot," Reed said. "What Ralph has done for the league, what he's done for the city of Buffalo as a whole and we all know what Bruce has done. It's a Bills night, it's a Bills weekend and I'm glad to be a part of it."
That's how all the former Bills felt.
"It's a celebration of football and a celebration of what we achieved in those years in Buffalo," tight end Pete Metzelaars said. "This is my fifth time back with someone who was on that team going into the Hall of Fame, and it's a thrill to celebrate their achievement but also the achievements of the team."
Frank Reich, who came off the bench to quarterback the Bills to several memorable victories, said he felt privileged to have a front row seat to greatness.
"I was a very lucky guy to be able to witness some of the things I did," he said. "You walk into the locker room and see so many great players, and a lot of them are now in the Hall of Fame. It's really a cool feeling to have been a part of it."
For Bill Polian, Saturday was a special moment. The chief architect of those Super Bowl teams, he was part of the Bills' front office that made Smith the top pick in the 1985 draft. Watching Smith come full circle is something Polian has looked forward to for a long time.
"It's interesting that Norm Pollom, who was then the personnel director, and Kay Stephenson, who was then the coach, all of us who had studied Bruce said despite the fact he was a little heavy that he had Hall of Fame talent," said Polian, who became general manager in 1986. "To see it come to fruition is an amazing thing."
Polian won a Super Bowl as GM of the Indianapolis Colts. The Bills weren't successful in four straight tries during his tenure, but it means a lot to him that the accomplishment of getting there is now being recognized.
"It's a tremendous sense of pride because, unlike baseball, the teams that participated in the Super Bowl and didn't win it are relegated to the ash heap," he said. "But as time goes by, history has a way of recognizing those tremendous achievements. I'm thrilled that it is happening for our guys."
So who is next? Is there another Bills player who will get to wear the bright yellow jacket and stand on the podium inside Fawcett Stadium?
The most logical candidate is Reed, who ranks in the top 10 all-time in catches (951), yards (13,095) and receiving touchdowns (87).
"I was an individual player in a lot of ways, but I was mostly a team guy," he said. "If that happens and when it does or whenever it does I get up there as a team player, not an individual.
"It's a matter of time for everybody. I think we'll all get recognized for what we've done, in whatever way it is. I wasn't the player I was without a Darryl Talley or Bruce Smith or Thurman or Jim [Kelly] because I relied on them on Sunday and they relied on me on Sunday. We didn't get the ultimate goal we wanted to get to, but I would not trade anything to be with these guys."
Talley echoed those sentiments.
"It would be a tremendous honor," he said. "If that happens, I'll go up and say what Andre just said. I went in as a team."
Reed and Talley haven't been honored in Canton, but they feel as though they already have. To them, Wilson and Smith going in is the same as Reed and Talley and Kent Hull and Steve Tasker going in. When the former players see busts of Levy, Kelly, Thomas and Lofton, they see themselves.
It's like that with family.
"You know you sweated and bled with those guys, and they know what you've given to them," Talley said. "They're just an extension of what we are."
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