To trace the origins of the Buffalo Bills name you have to go back a decade or so before the team began play; to the old Buffalo Bisons of the All-American Football Conference. With two other teams in Buffalo already using the "Bisons" name the team held a name-the-team contest in first-half of 1947 with the winning name "Bills" was announced on June 16, 1947. Local Merchant Marine James Dyson was credited with submitting the name and received $500 as the top prize. The name "Bills" is in homage to William "Buffalo Bill" Cody, a 19th century entertainer who became famous for his travelling Wild West shows. Cody got the "Buffalo Bill" nickname while as a contractor to provide buffalo meat for railroad employees; Cody is estimated to have hunted 4000 buffalo during his year-long stint working with the roadroad.
The original Bills folded in 1950 after they were the only club from the AAFC to not be included in its merger with the NFL. A decade later Buffalo was awarded a franchise in the new American Football League with team owner Ralph Wilson announcing on November 30, 1959 that they would be carrying-on the Buffalo Bills name as a nod to the old AAFC club. In 1970 the AFL merged with the NFL, this time the Bills were included in what would become the American Football Conference where they still play to this day.
