Did You Know: The Buffalo Bills Were Based on The Detroit Lions?

There's a weird history lesson to be had here today, but by the end, you will realize that the NFL's Buffalo Bills was a team based on the Detroit Lions. It all starts with the original owner of the Bills and his connection to the Detroit Lions.

Ralph Wilson Jr. (Founder & Owner Of The Bills) was Co-Owner of the Detroit Lions & wanted his own franchise, but the NFL wouldn't grant him his request. So in 1960, he started the Buffalo Bills In The AFL.

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It's no surprise that both teams pride themselves on Grit, Hustle, & Grind. This was something I just found out, and even when you take a look at the two logos, you start to see there are a lot of similarities. But they go far beyond just the logo.

They even LOOKED like the Detroit Lions.

As the Bill's Wiki points out, they were very clearly modeled after the Detroit Lions:

Ralph Wilson had been a minority owner of the Lions before founding the Bills, and the Bills' predecessors in the AAFC had also worn blue and silver uniforms. The team's original colors were Honolulu blue, silver, and white, and the helmets were silver with no striping. There was no logo on the helmet, which displayed the players' numbers on each side. In 1962, the standing red bison was designated as the logo and took its place on a white helmet

Do you have a little more respect for the Bills Mafia now that you know the Lions were their inspiration?

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Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day Game From 1999

The Lions were then led by Bobby Ross and saw scoring touchdowns by Germane Crowell in the first quarter, then Greg Hill and Johnny Morton in the second quarter, which would prove to be enough by the end of the 4th. The game was a sell-out of 77,905, which is not unusual for these games.

Gallery Credit: Leanne Shaw Truckey