Buffalo Bisons (AHL) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Buffalo Bisons |
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| City | Buffalo, New York |
| League | American Hockey League |
| Operated | 1940–1970 |
| Home arena | Memorial Auditorium |
| Colors | Red, white, blue |
| Affiliates | Montreal Canadiens Chicago Black Hawks New York Rangers |
| Franchise history | |
| 1926–1930 | Hamilton Tigers (CPHL, IHL) |
| Syracuse Stars (IHL, IAHL) | |
| 1940–1970 | Buffalo Bisons |
| Championships | |
| Regular season titles | 5 (1945–46, 1953–54, 1958–59, 1962–63, 1968–69) |
| Division Championships | 8 (1942–43, 1944–45, 1945–46, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1962–63, 1968–69, 1969–70) |
| Calder Cups | 5 (1942–43, 1943–44, 1945–46, 1962–63, 1969–70) |
The Buffalo Bisons were a professional ice hockey team. They played in the American Hockey League (AHL) from 1940 to 1970. The team was based in Buffalo, New York. They took the place of an earlier Buffalo Bisons hockey team. That team had left in 1936 after their arena collapsed. The Bisons were the second professional hockey team to play in Buffalo itself.
The Buffalo Bisons: A Hockey Story
The Bisons played their home games at the new Memorial Auditorium. They often worked with bigger NHL teams. These included the Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Black Hawks, and New York Rangers. These NHL teams would send their younger players to play for the Bisons. This helped the players get more experience.
A businessman named Louis M. Jacobs brought the team to Buffalo. In 1955, he sold the team to Arthur Wirtz. Wirtz owned the Chicago Black Hawks. Chicago wanted to use Buffalo as its main farm team. A "farm team" is where younger players develop their skills. However, there was a disagreement. Chicago even threatened to move the team out of Buffalo. So, local bottling owners, the Pastor Brothers, bought the team instead.
The team's unique logo came about in 1956. Ruby Pastor, who owned the local Pepsi-Cola company, bought the Bisons. He changed the team's colors and logo to match the soft drink company. The Bisons kept this Pepsi-inspired logo for the rest of their time.
The Buffalo Bisons were very successful. They won the Calder Cup, which is the AHL championship, five times! They won in 1943, 1944, 1946, 1963, and 1970. They also made it to the finals but lost in 1948, 1951, 1955, 1959, and 1962.
The team stopped playing after the 1969–70 season. This was because a new National Hockey League (NHL) team, the Buffalo Sabres, was starting in Buffalo. The Sabres began playing in 1970–71. Just like another team, the Pittsburgh Hornets, the Bisons ended their history with a final championship win.
A famous sports announcer, Rick Jeanneret, called some Bisons games in their last season. He then became an announcer for the Sabres in 1971.
After the Bisons
After the Bisons team ended, the Sabres were given permission to start an AHL team. This new team was the Cincinnati Swords, created in 1971. Interestingly, the Sabres even used old Bisons jerseys for their first training camp in 1970. However, the Swords were a completely new team, not just a continuation of the Bisons.
On September 18, 2010, the Sabres announced something special. They would wear a third jersey during their 2010–11 season that honored the Bisons. This Bisons-inspired jersey was used for two seasons. Later, parts of this throwback design were used in the Sabres' 2018 NHL Winter Classic jerseys. These designs also helped inspire the Sabres' new uniforms in 2020.
Images for kids
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The Buffalo Bisons logo, inspired by Pepsi-Cola.
