The life and legacy of late Buffalo Bills owner Ralph C. Wilson will be explored in an upcoming documentary. The as-yet untitled program will air at November 10th at 9 on WNED, the Buffalo-area public broadcasting station. WNED’s chief program officer, John Grant, will head the project.
The documentary is funded by the New Era Cap company, whose corporate name replaced Wilson’s as the namesake of the Bills’ home field only last season. Rich Foods held the stadium’s naming rights from 1973-1998; Wilson’s name headed the stadium from 1998-2016, when New Era purchased the rights.
Wilson, who grew up in Detroit, was a minority owner of the NFL’s Detroit Lions when he heard about Lamar Hunt’s idea to form the American Football League (AFL). After initially trying (and failing) to start an AFL franchise in Miami, Wilson settled on Buffalo. He was the team’s sole owner from its inception in 1959 until his death in 2014.