On July 28, 1980, the NFL officially announced the NFL team of the 1970s. Two Buffalo Bills were on the All-Decade first team - OJ Simpson and Joe DeLamielleure.
The Hall of Fame selection committee chose the team during their annual meeting. The players' biographies from the Pro Football Hall of Fame's listing of the All-Decade squads are below in blue.
Simpson received the second-highest percentage of votes for the team, behind punter Ray Guy, totaling 22 of a possible 25. The other running back on the squad was Walter Payton, who earned 11 votes. Simpson played in five straight Pro Bowls from 1972 to 1976, and was an All-Pro in each season as well. He racked up 10,539 rushing yards, 59 touchdowns, and 173 receptions for 1,799 yards and 11 receiving touchdowns in the decade.
The first overall draft pick in 1969, O.J. Simpson became one of the most exciting runners in NFL history. Starting in 1972 he rushed for 1,000 yards and was an All-Pro pick each season through 1976. In 1973, he became the first player ever to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. In all, he won four rushing titles in the decade.
DeLamielleure was joined on the All-Decade line by four future Hall of Famers in Art Shell, Rayfield Wright, Larry Little, and Jim Langer. He was part of one of the best offensive lines in pro football history that turned on the juice for OJ - The Electric Company. Joe D started every game the Bills played from 1973 until he was traded to the Browns prior to the 1980 season.
DeLamielleure proved his value immediately after the Buffalo Bills drafted him in the first round of the 1973 draft. He earned a starting position as a rookie on the Bills’ famous "Electric Company" offensive line that opened up holes for O.J. Simpson to become the NFL’s first 2,000-yard rusher. Extremely durable, he was named a first-team All-NFL pick six straight years from 1975 to 1980.
Both Simpson and DeLamielleure were enshrined in Canton at the Pro Football Hall of Fame - Simpson in 1985, and DeLamielleure in 2003.