Western New York's 10 Greatest Athletes
Honorable Mention to members of the Baseball Hall of Fame from the 1880s Buffalo Bisons: Jim "Pud" Galvin, Jim "Orator" O'Rourke, Jim "Deacon" White, Dan Brouthers, and one of the few black players to make the major leagues before the color line was drawn, Frank Grant. Apparently, you didn't have to be named Jim and have a cool nickname to play for those old Bisons, but it apparently helped.
Honorable Mention to the following players from the Class AAA version of the Buffalo Bisons who are in the Baseball Hall of Fame: Ray Schalk, Jim Bunning, Johnny Bench, Ferguson Jenkins and Jim Thome.
Honorable Mention to Buffalo Bills in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, other than those in this Top 10: Billy Shaw, Joe DeLamielleure, James Lofton and Andre Reed.
Honorable Mention to Bob McAdoo, center, Buffalo Braves, 1972-76. He helped the Braves reach 3 straight Playoffs, 1974-76. He was named NBA Most Valuable Player in 1975. He was a 5-time All-Star, including 3 with the Braves. He later won NBA Championships with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1982 and 1985, and is in the Hall of Fame.
Honorable Mention to Dale Hawerchuk, center, Buffalo Sabres, 1990-95. He's in the Hockey Hall of Fame, but is better known for his play with the Winnipeg Jets.
Honorable Mention to Pat LaFontaine, center, Buffalo Sabres, 1991-96. He is 1 of 5 players to play for all 3 teams in the State of New York: The Sabres, the Rangers and the Islanders. He once said, "I think I'm the only player in history who has been traded twice and hasn't had to change his license plate."
He'd be a bit higher on this list if he'd been a one-club man. A 5-time All-Star, his struggles against injury led the NHL to award him the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in 1995. He had 3 40-goal seasons with the Sabres, topping out at 53 in 1992-93. He is in the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2017, he was named to the NHL's 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players.
Now, the Top 10:
10. Phil Housley, defenseman, Buffalo Sabres, 1982-90. A defenseman who can score 338 goals in NHL play is rare, and Housley scored over half of them, 178, with the Sabres. He had 1,232 points in his career.
He played in 7 NHL All-Star Games, and was a member of the U.S. team that won the 1996 World Cup. He is in the Hockey Hall of Fame, and is now the Sabres' head coach.
9. Dave Andreychuk, left wing, Buffalo Sabres, 1982-93. A 2-time All-Star, he scored 640 goals in his career, 368 of them for the Sabres. He holds the record for most career power-play goals, and not even Wayne Gretzky can match his 274. He had 1,338 points. He finally won a Stanley Cup in 2004, with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In spite of his goal totals, he was not named to the NHL's 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players in 2017. He was, however, elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame that year.
8. Bob Davies, guard, Rochester Royals, 1945-55. He would probably be called a "slow white guy" by today's NBA fans. But he helped the Royals win the National Basketball League title in 1946, and the NBA title in 1951. He was a 4-time All-Star, and led the NBA in assists in 1949.
Both Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey and the Sacramento Kings, the successor to the Royals franchise, have retired his Number 11. He was named to the NBA's 25th Anniversary Team and the Basketball Hall of Fame.
7. Jim Kelly, quarterback, Buffalo Bills, 1986-96. A 7-time All-Star -- twice in the USFL with the Houston Gamblers, and 5 times in the NFL with the Bills -- he remains the only man to quarterback a team to 4 straight Super Bowl appearances. He is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Bills have retired his Number 12.
6. Dolph Schayes, forward, Syracuse Nationals, 1948-63. Another one of the "slow white guys" who dominated the early NBA. But he wasn't that slow: He was a 12-time All-Star, reaching the All-Star Game both before and after the institution of the 24-second shot clock in 1954. That season, he led the Nats to the NBA Finals; the following year, he led them to win it. He led the NBA in rebounding in 1951.
He was with the Nats when they moved to become the Philadelphia 76ers in 1963, and was NBA Coach of the Year with them in 1966. They retired his Number 4. He was named to the NBA's 25th Anniversary team, its 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players, and the Basketball Hall of Fame.
His son Danny Schayes played in the NBA even longer, 18 years. Four of his grandchildren won medals at the Maccabiah Games, the Jewish mini-Olympics: Grandson Mickey Ferri won a Gold Medal in track in 2005, and granddaughters Abi, Carla and Rachel Goettsch won Silver Medals in volleyball in 2001.
Both Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey and the Sacramento Kings, the successor to the Royals franchise, have retired his Number 11. He was named to the NBA's 25th Anniversary Team and the Basketball Hall of Fame.
7. Jim Kelly, quarterback, Buffalo Bills, 1986-96. A 7-time All-Star -- twice in the USFL with the Houston Gamblers, and 5 times in the NFL with the Bills -- he remains the only man to quarterback a team to 4 straight Super Bowl appearances. He is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Bills have retired his Number 12.
6. Dolph Schayes, forward, Syracuse Nationals, 1948-63. Another one of the "slow white guys" who dominated the early NBA. But he wasn't that slow: He was a 12-time All-Star, reaching the All-Star Game both before and after the institution of the 24-second shot clock in 1954. That season, he led the Nats to the NBA Finals; the following year, he led them to win it. He led the NBA in rebounding in 1951.
He was with the Nats when they moved to become the Philadelphia 76ers in 1963, and was NBA Coach of the Year with them in 1966. They retired his Number 4. He was named to the NBA's 25th Anniversary team, its 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players, and the Basketball Hall of Fame.
His son Danny Schayes played in the NBA even longer, 18 years. Four of his grandchildren won medals at the Maccabiah Games, the Jewish mini-Olympics: Grandson Mickey Ferri won a Gold Medal in track in 2005, and granddaughters Abi, Carla and Rachel Goettsch won Silver Medals in volleyball in 2001.
5. Dominik Hasek, goaltender, Buffalo Sabres, 1992-2001. Had he played his entire career with the Sabres, he might be Number 1 on this list. He was never the greatest goalie ever, or even of his own time, as he was a contempoary of Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur. But he was sensational -- the hockey goaltending equivalent of a great dunker in basketball.
With the Sabres, he led NHL goalies in save percentage 6 straight seasons (1993-99). His goals-against average of 2.20 is the 2nd-lowest in NHL history. He made 6 All-Star Games, won the Vezina Trophy as best goalie 6 times, and won the Hart Memorial Trophy as NHL regular-season Most Valuable Player in 1997 and 1998.
He led the Czech Republic to the Gold Medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. The closest he got to a Stanley Cup with the Sabres was in 1999, allowing that controversial goal to Brett Hull of the Dallas Stars in overtime of Game 6 of the Finals. In 2002, he and Hull were teammates on the Detroit Red Wings, and Hasek finally won a Cup. He won another with the Wings in 2008.
He is in the Hockey Hall of Fame, and the Sabres have retired his Number 39. In 2017, he was named to the NHL's 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players.
4. Gilbert Perreault, center, Buffalo Sabres, 1970-1986. The 1st pick in the 1970 NHL Draft, he was the original Sabre, and remains the best. He still holds franchise records for most games played (1,191), goals (512), assists (814) and points (1,326).
He won the Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year in 1971, and the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for "most gentlemanly player" in 1973. He was named to 9 NHL All-Star Teams. Alas, the closest he got to a Stanley Cup was the 1975 Finals, which the Sabres lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in 6 games.
He is in the Hockey Hall of Fame. The Sabres retired his Number 11, along with the 7 of Rick Martin and the 14 Rene Robert. Together, they were "the French Connection Line," and a joint statue of them stands outside the KeyBank Center. In 1998, Gil Perreault was ranked Number 47 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players. In 2017, he was named to the NHL's 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players.
3. Thurman Thomas, running back, Buffalo Bills, 1988-99. A 5-time Pro Bowler, he was named NFL MVP in 1991, helping the Bills win the 2nd of 4 straight AFC Championships. He had 12,074 yards rushing for 65 touchdowns, and 472 receptions for 4,458 yards for 23 touchdowns.
He was named to the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame, the NFL's 1990s All-Decade Team, and the Bills Wall of Fame. The Bills retired his Number 34.
2. O.J. Simpson, running back, Buffalo Bills, 1969-77. It is easy to forget that, until June 12, 1994, Orenthal James Simpson was a beloved figure in America, one of the greatest runners in football history, a decent actor, a good football announcer, and a great commercial pitchman. Few people saw the warning signs, and saw what he was really like. It's hard to now think of him as someone other than the despicable man he has been known to be for almost a quarter of a century now.
At USC, he won the National Championship in 1967 and the Heisman Trophy in 1968. In 1973, he became the 1st player to reach 1,000 yards rushing in just 7 games (only Terrell Davis has matched that since), and the 1st player to reach 2,000 yards in a season.
He set a record (also since broken) with 273 yards in a single game, and was 2nd all-time in rushing yards to Jim Brown when he retired, with 11,236. But he only played in 1 Playoff game, in 1974, which the Bills lost. The joke was that he never had a good defense until 1994.
Just as Adolf Hitler is the only wax figure behind protective glass at Madame Tussaud's in London, O.J. has the only bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame that cannot be displayed, for fear that it will be vandalized. The Bills have kept his Number 32 out of circulation, but they have not officially retired it, since that will require an explanation. In 1999, The Sporting News listed him at Number 26 on their list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. In 2010, the NFL Network listed him at Number 40 on their list of the 100 Greatest Players.
Thankfully, the greatest athlete in the history of major league sports in Western New York is only a killer in the metaphorical sense:
1. Bruce Smith, defensive end, Buffalo Bills, 1985-99. As Dennis Hopper famously said in a Nike commercial, "You know what Bruce Smith in this shoe? Bad things, man! I mean bad things!" An 11-time Pro Bowler, he was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1990 and 1996, and helped the Bills win the 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1993 AFC Championships.
His 200 sacks are an NFL career record. He was named to the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame, the Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame, and the NFL's 1980s and 1990s All-Decades Teams. The Bills have retired his Number 78. In 1999, The Sporting News listed him at Number 58 on their list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. In 2010, the NFL Network listed him at Number 31 on their list of the 100 Greatest Players.