The 1962 Buffalo Bills season was the team’s third season in the American Football League. The Bills finished the season with a 7–6–1 record, third place in the AFL East; it was the Bills' first-ever season finishing with a winning record.

The Bills lost their first five games of the season, but finished the final nine games with only one loss (and one tie).

This was the first season that the Bills wore their now famous red, white, and blue uniforms, having retired their Detroit Lions style uniforms the previous year.

Season summary

The Bills were a run-heavy offense in 1962; they led the league in rushing yards, with 2,480.Buffalo's 1,984 passing yards were fewest in the AFL. The Bills ran the ball 58.8 percent of the time on offense.501 rushes in 852 offensive playsPro-Football-Reference.com: 1962 AFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics The Bills gained 5.0 yards per carry as a team, tied for the league lead.Tied with the Dallas Texans

Bills running back Cookie Gilchrist, who came to the Bills in 1962 from the Canadian Football League, led the AFL in rushing yards with 1,096 yards.Gilchrist in '62: 78.3 yards per gamePro-Football-Reference.com: 1962 AFL Leaders and Leaderboards and 13 rushing touchdowns.Tied with Abner Haynes of the Dallas Texans Running back Wray Carlton ran for 530 yards, but led the league with 5.6 yards per rushing attempt.

The Bills' defense got a major infusion of talent on defense, as rookies Tom Sestak, Mike Stratton, Ray Abruzzese, and Booker Edgerson won starting jobs.

Offseason During the offseason, the Bills removed former coach Buster Ramsey and hired Lou Saban to helm the team.

The Bills also picked up former Chargers quarterback Jack Kemp off the waiver wire. Kemp had a broken hand, and as such could not play until the twelfth game of the season, but he would prove to be the best Bills quarterback of the 1960s.Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Rich The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 12th Edition, page 52, Martin's Press, August 1994,

AFL draft

Defensive lineman Tom Sestak and linebacker Mike Stratton started for the Bills on defense as rookies; both would go on to be AFL All-Stars multiple times.

Ernie Davis

The Bills selected Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis from Syracuse with their first draft pick, and Davis may have very well signed with his hometown Bills (Davis grew up in nearby Elmira), since the National Football League team that drafted him, the Washington Redskins, was led by avowed racist George Preston Marshall and had only drafted Davis as a token black to avoid losing the Redskins' stadium lease; Davis refused to play for the Redskins. The Redskins traded Davis's rights to the Cleveland Browns, and Davis instead signed with the Browns. Unfortunately for all parties, Davis was diagnosed with acute monocytic leukemia in the summer of 1962, and the Browns barred him from playing for the team (despite the cancer being in remission by the time the preseason began). The cancer later returned, and Davis died May 18, 1963, having never played a down of professional football.

= AFL All-StarPlayers are identified as an AFL All-Star if they were selected for the AFL All-Star Game at any time in their career. Round Player Position College 1 Ernie Davis Halfback Syracuse 2 Glenn Glass Halfback Tennessee 3 John Elwell End Purdue 5 Tom Dellinger Halfback North Carolina State 6 Dave Viti End Boston University 7 Jim LeCompte Guard North Carolina 8 Paul White Halfback Florida 9 Bill Saul Center Penn State 10 Amos Bullocks Halfback Southern Illinois 11 Jerry Croft Guard Bowling Green 11 Tom Pennington End Georgia 13 Ron Gassert Tackle Virginia 13 Mike StrattonAFL All-Star 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968 End Tennessee 14 Ron Scufca Tackle Purdue 15 Roger Kochman Halfback Penn State 16 Frank Imperiale Tackle Southern Illinois 17 Tom SestakAFL All-Star 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965 End McNeese State 18 Joe Kehoe End Virginia (VOIDED) Carolina 19 Bill Johnson Linebacker Southeast Louisiana 20 Sam Tidmore End Ohio State 21 Carey Henley Halfback Chattanooga 22 Tom Hall End Minnesota 23 Ray Abruzzese Halfback Alabama 24 Stan Sczurek Guard Purdue 25 Dave Gash End Kentucky 26 Ed Reynolds Tackle Tulane 27 Claude Crabb Halfback Colorado 28 Roy Walker Fullback Purdue 29 Jim Beaver Guard Florida 30 Cody Binkley Center Vanderbilt 31 Jim Collier End Arkansas 32 Ken Erickson End Syracuse 33 Tony Parilli Guard Illinois 34 Ben Charles Quarterback USC

Personnel

Staff / Coaches 1962 Buffalo Bills staffFront office President/majority owner – Ralph Wilson Vice-president/minority owner – Pat McGroder Head coaches Head coach – Lou Saban

Offensive coaches

Running backs/wide receivers – John Mazur Offensive line – Red Miller Defensive coaches Defensive line – Jerry Smith Linebackers/Defensive Backs – Joe Collier

Final roster 1962 Buffalo Bills roster Quarterbacks Jack Kemp Warren Rabb

Running backs Wayne Crow P Cookie Gilchrist K Willie Jones

Wide receivers Glenn Bass Elbert Dubenion

Tight ends Monte Crockett Tom Rychlec Ernie Warlick Offensive linemen Stew Barber T Al Bemiller C Tom Day G Jerry DeLucca T George Flint G Frank Jackunas C Harold Olson T Billy Shaw G

Defensive linemen Nate Borden DE Leroy Moore DE Tom Sestak DT Jim Sorey DT/DE Mack Yoho DE/K Sid Youngelman DE Linebackers Archie Matsos MLB Marv Matuszak OLB Mike Stratton OLB John Tracey OLB

Defensive backs Ray Abruzzese SS Carl Charon FS Booker Edgerson CB Tom Minter CB Willie West CB Reserve list Art Baker RB (IR) Fred Brown RB (IR) Wray Carlton RB (IR) Ralph Felton LB (Retired) Ken Rice T (IR) Carl Taseff S (Retired)*Note: rookies in italics

Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 August 12 at New York Titans W 20–10 1–0 Bowen Field 9,000 2 August 15 Boston Patriots L 7–12 1–1 War Memorial Stadium 22,112 August 18 New York Titans America Stadium (Atlanta, Georgia) 3 August 23 at Houston Oilers W 24–14 2–1 Ladd Stadium 17,257 4 September 1 at Boston Patriots W 7–6 3–1 Boston University Field 8,783

Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 9 Houston Oilers L 23–28 0–1 War Memorial Stadium 31,236 Recap 2 September 15 Denver Broncos L 20–23 0–2 War Memorial Stadium 30,577 Recap 3 September 22 New York Titans L 6–17 0–3 War Memorial Stadium 24,024 Recap 4 September 30 at Dallas Texans L 21–41 0–4 Cotton Bowl 25,500 Recap 5 October 7 at Houston Oilers L 14–17 0–5 Jeppesen Stadium 26,350 Recap 6 October 13 San Diego Chargers W 35–10 1–5 War Memorial Stadium 20,074 Recap 7 October 20 Oakland Raiders W 14–6 2–5 War Memorial Stadium 21,037 Recap 8 October 28 at Denver Broncos W 45–38 3–5 Bears Stadium 26,051 Recap 9 November 3 Boston Patriots T 28–28 3–5–1 War Memorial Stadium 33,247 Recap 10 November 11 at San Diego Chargers W 40–20 4–5–1 Balboa Stadium 22,204 Recap 11 November 18 at Oakland Raiders W 10–6 5–5–1 Frank Youell Field 11,700 Recap 12 November 23 at Boston Patriots L 10–21 5–6–1 Boston University Field 20,021 Recap 13 December 2 Dallas Texans W 23–14 6–6–1 War Memorial Stadium 35,261 Recap 14 December 8 at New York Titans W 20–3 7–6–1 Polo Grounds 16,453 Recap 15Bye Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

Roster Buffalo Bills roster Quarterbacks Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Defensive backs

Special teams

References

Further reading

Jeffrey J. Miller, Rockin' the Rockpile: The Buffalo Bills of the American Football League. Toronto, ON: ECW Press, 2007. Jeffrey J. Miller and Greg D. Tranter, Relics: The History of The Buffalo Bills in Objects and Memorabilia. Haworth, NJ: St. Johann Press, 2021. Sal Maiorana, Buffalo Bills: The Complete Illustrated History. Minneapolis, MN: MVP Books, 2010.