Sports in Buffalo

Buffalo, New York and Western New York are home to two major league sports teams. The Buffalo Sabres (hockey) play in the City of Buffalo. The Buffalo Bills (football) play in the suburb of Orchard Park, New York. Buffalo is also home to several minor sports teams including the Buffalo Bisons (baseball), Buffalo Bandits (indoor lacrosse) and FC Buffalo (soccer). Several Buffalo-area colleges and universities are active in college athletics. The State University of New York at Buffalo play division I FBS football as well as other sports in Buffalo and the suburb of Amherst, New York.

Panoramic view inside New Era Field, home of the Buffalo Bills

KeyBank Center, Home of the Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bandits

Inside Alumni Arena, home to Buffalo Bulls basketball

Inside Sahlen Field, home to the Buffalo Bisons and temporary home of the Toronto Blue Jays

Sports are a major part of the city's culture. In recent decades Buffalo based teams have become known for crushing, and sometimes controversial, defeats. "Wide Right", "No Goal" and the Music City Miracle have come to define the suffering of Buffalo Sports fans. In February 2012 Forbes listed Buffalo #4 on its list of "Most Miserable Sports Cities."[1] The only time the city of Buffalo has won major league sports championships was in 1964 and 1965 when the Bills won back to back American Football League titles.

Buffalo has received franchises in three major sports leagues, starting with the Buffalo Bills who began play in the inaugural 1960 American Football League season and eventually joined the National Football League in 1970 as part of the NFL-AFL merger. That same year, the Buffalo Braves joined the National Basketball Association, and the Buffalo Sabres joined the National Hockey League as expansion franchises. However, the Braves struggled financially and were relocated in 1978 to California and became the Clippers. That caused a perception that Western New York cannot economically support three major sports franchises. The Bills' decision to play one home game a year in nearby Toronto in 2008 in order to expand revenue has bolstered that perception further.

The last Major League Baseball team to be based in Buffalo was the Federal League's Buffalo Blues, which folded after 1915. However, the Toronto Blue Jays were forced to play their games during the 2020 MLB season in Buffalo due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] Currently the highest permanent level of professional baseball in the greater Buffalo region is the Buffalo Bisons, an International League franchise that is currently the Blue Jays' AAA affiliate.

Current teams

Sport	League	Club	Founded	Venue	Titles	Championship years
Football	NFL	Buffalo Bills	1960	New Era Field[3]	2	1964*, 1965*
Hockey	NHL	Buffalo Sabres	1970	KeyBank Center	0
College Football	NCAA	Buffalo Bulls	1894	University at Buffalo Stadium	1	2008
College Basketball	NCAA	Buffalo Bulls	1915	Alumni Arena	4	2015, 2016, 2018, 2019
College Basketball	NCAA	Canisius Golden Griffins	1903	Koessler Athletic Center	1	1996
College Basketball	NCAA	Niagara Purple Eagles	1905	Gallagher Center	2	2005, 2007
College Hockey	AHA	Canisius Golden Griffins	1980	LECOM Harborcenter	1	2013
College Hockey	AHA	Niagara Purple Eagles	1996	Dwyer Arena	3	2000**, 2004**, 2008**
Baseball	IL	Buffalo Bisons	1979†	Sahlen Field	3	1997, 1998, 2004
Lacrosse	NLL	Buffalo Bandits	1992	KeyBank Center	4	1992, 1993, 1996, 2008
Women's Hockey	NWHL	Buffalo Beauts	2015	Northtown Center	1	2017
Soccer	NPSL	FC Buffalo	2009	All-High Stadium	0
Basketball	PBL	Buffalo Blaze	2020	TBD
Soccer	UPSL	FC Berlin	2020	Sahlen's Sport Park

* American Football League (AFL) championships were earned prior to the NFL merging with the AFL in 1970.

** College Hockey America (CHA) men's hockey championships were earned prior to the league's discontinuation of its men's program in 2010.
† Date refers to current incarnation; Buffalo Bisons previously operated from the 1870s until 1970 and the current Bisons count this team as part of their history.

Buffalo Bulls championships are Mid-American Conference championships which the University at Buffalo joined in 1998.

Former Teams

• The Buffalo Bisons of the National League from 1879 to 1885.
• The Buffalo Bisons of the defunct Players' League in 1890.
• The Buffalo Blues of the defunct Federal League of baseball from 1914 to 1915.
• The Buffalo Niagaras, Buffalo Prospects, Buffalo All-Americans, Buffalo Bisons, Buffalo Rangers of the National Football League from 1918 to 1928.
• The Buffalo Bisons of the American Basketball League from 1925 to 1926.
• The Buffalo Bisons of the American Hockey League from 1940 to 1970.
• The Buffalo Bisons of the National Basketball League in 1946. (Currently the Atlanta Hawks).
• The Buffalo Bisons/Bills of the defunct All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1949.
• The Buffalo Braves of the National Basketball Association from 1970 to 1978.(The team went on to relocate to San Diego to become the San Diego Clippers which later moved to Los Angeles to become the Los Angeles Clippers).
• The Toronto-Buffalo Royals of World TeamTennis in 1974.
• The Buffalo Norsemen of the defunct North American Hockey League from 1975 to 1976.
• The Buffalo Sharks of the American Basketball Association from 2005 to 2008.
• The Buffalo Stallions of the defunct Major Indoor Soccer League from 1979 to 1984.
• The Buffalo Stampede of the defunct Roller Hockey International from 1994 to 1995.
• The Buffalo Wings of the defunct Roller Hockey International and Major League Roller Hockey from 1997 to 1999.
• The Buffalo Blizzard of the defunct National Professional Soccer League from 1992 to 2001.
• The Buffalo Destroyers of the defunct Arena Football League from 1999 to 2003.(Later relocated to Columbus to become the Columbus Destroyers).
• The Queen City FC of the National Premier Soccer League from 2007 to 2008.
• The Buffalo City FC of the National Premier Soccer League in 2009.
• The Buffalo 716ers of the Premier Basketball League and American Basketball Association from 2013 to 2016.
• The Buffalo Blazers of the defunct Canadian National Soccer League from 1977 to 1980.
• The Buffalo White Eagles of the defunct Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League in 1962.
• The Buffalo Lightning/Blitz of the defunct American Indoor Football and the American Arena League.
• The Buffalo Germans from 1895 to 1925.
• The Buffalo Majors of the defunct American Hockey Association (1926–1942) from 1930 to 1932.

Notes and references

1. Van Riper, Tom. "America's Most Miserable Sports Cities". Forbes.com. Forbes. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
2. "Toronto Blue Jays to play in Buffalo for 2020 season". WHEC. July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
3. Besecker, Aaron (August 18, 2016). "It's official: The Ralph will be called New Era Field". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on August 23, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016.