Ralph Wilson family's NFL ownership ending where it began

Next week, NFL owners will vote on Kim and Terry Pegula's ownership bid, and it's widely presumed they will be approved as the next owners of the Buffalo Bills. If that holds true, this Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions will be the final contest in the Wilson family ownership era.

It's fitting that the Wilsons' final game as an NFL owner comes in Ralph Wilson's hometown, and where he first became an NFL owner. Prior to founding the Bills, Wilson was a minority owner for the Lions in the 1950s. When he wanted more control, he started his own team in the newly formed American Football League as a member of the Foolish Club.

As a byproduct of Wilson's relationship with the Lions, the Bills wore blue and grey jerseys instead of the familiar red, white, and blue in their first season, in what some have said were Detroit's hand-me-down jerseys. The two teams have also played a yearly preseason game for more than two decades.

Wilson passed away this March, just a couple weeks after Lions owner William Clay Ford, Sr. One of Wilson's final public appearances was at Ford's funeral. Despite owning a team in Buffalo and businesses around the country, Wilson never left his home in Michigan. It's another testament to his loyalty, and while it's a coincidence that the final game with the Wilsons at the head of the table is in Detroit, it's a welcome one.

Grid View

• Buffalo Bills fans leave flowers and memorabilia in front of the late Ralph Wilson's Pro Football Hall of Fame jacket and bust. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• Ralph Wilson's Hall of Fame jacket and bust, on display at a memorial event hosted by the Buffalo Bills. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• Mr. Wilson's portrait and jacket flank his Hall of Fame bust. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• The office desk of Ralph Wilson, on display at a memorial event hosted by the Buffalo Bills. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• Ralph Wilson's entire office was moved to be at the center of the memorial. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• The remembrance card handed to each visitor at the Ralph Wilson memorial event. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• The remembrance card given to each visitor of the Ralph Wilson memorial event. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• Photos of Ralph Wilson in his youth, on display at a memorial event hosted by the Buffalo Bills. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• A painted portrait of Ralph Wilson, on display at a memorial event hosted by the Buffalo Bills. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• Photos of Ralph Wilson as a child, on display at a memorial event hosted by the Buffalo Bills. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• A collection of Christmas cards sent by Ralph and Mary Wilson over the years. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• While an honor guard stood watch in front of an American flag hanging from the rafters, military honors were on display. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• Ralph Wilson's military service was on display at a memorial event hosted by the Buffalo Bills. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• A photo of the six original AFL owners on display at the Ralph Wilson memorial event. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• "The Foolish Club." (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• Ralph Wilson Memorial A piece of goal post from the game where the Buffalo Bills defeated the Miami Dolphins for the first time in over a decade. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• Buffalo Bills 1964 and 1965 AFL championship trophies, on display at the Ralph Wilson memorial. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• A close-up shot of the Buffalo Bills 1964 AFL Championship trophy. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• A close-up photo of the Buffalo Bills 1965 AFL Championship trophy. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• A commemorative helmet from Super Bowl XXV, on display at the Ralph Wilson memorial. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• The 1990 Lamar Hunt Trophy, on display at the Ralph Wilson memorial. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• The 1991 Lamar Hunt Trophy, on display at the Ralph Wilson memorial. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• The 1992 Lamar Hunt Trophy, on display at the Ralph Wilson memorial. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• The 1993 Lamar Hunt Trophy, on display at the Ralph Wilson memorial. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• A commemorative football celebrating 100 wins in the 1990s, on display at the Ralph Wilson memorial. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• Ralph Wilson's Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame jacket, on display at his memorial event. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• Buffalo Bills 50th Anniversary memorabilia on display at the Ralph Wilson memorial event. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• A photo of eight Buffalo Bills Hall of Fame inductees, on display at the Ralph Wilson memorial event. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• General shot of the fieldhouse at One Bills Drive, where the Ralph Wilson memorial event was hosted. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• A line of visitors checking out the Super Bowl years memorabilia at the Ralph Wilson memorial event. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)
• Mary Wilson greeting Buffalo Bills fans at her husband's memorial event. (Photo by Matt Warren, BuffaloRumblings.com)