Name-a-Day Calendar, December 9: Buffalo Bulls
Page 33 of 365
Chosen in: 1931-ish
Chosen by: University administration
When professional sports were budding in North America around the turn of the 20th century, nobody in the city of Buffalo could form an original thought.
“Hey, our city is named for an animal,”1 they all probably thought aloud. “We should have a sports team named after that animal, too!”
And so that’s how we got the Buffalo Bisons (1878, baseball, International Association), the Buffalo Bisons (1879, baseball, NL), the Buffalo Bisons (1886, baseball, various minor leagues), the Buffalo Bisons (1890, baseball, Players League), the Buffalo Bisons (1924, football, NFL), the Buffalo Bisons (1925, basketball, American Basketball League), and the Buffalo Bisons (1928, hockey, International Hockey League).
Originally, the school then known as the University of Buffalo was also included in that mix. Kind of. When they first dipped their toes in intercollegiate athletics in the 1890s and 1900s, they had no official nickname, but when they began consistently putting together complete football and men’s basketball schedules in 1915, they became known as the Bison, no S.
By the 1930s, the university was tired of sharing a name with every other team in the city, so they changed their name to “Bulls”. Most sources say this change took place in 1931, but I found one 1930 game recap from the Democrat and Chronicle referring to the team as the “Buffalo Bull” (in addition to “Bisons”); perhaps this was an error, but the groundwork seemed to be there ahead of time.
After the university switched up their branding, we got the Buffalo Bisons (1940, hockey, American Hockey League), the Buffalo Bisons (1946, football, All-America Football Conference), the Buffalo Bisons (1946, basketball, National Basketball League),2 and the one that still exists today, the Buffalo Bisons (1979, baseball, International League).
Of course, we also got the Buffalo Bills (1960, football, NFL), who have caused 62 years of confusion among sports fans and internet search engines alike.
Just know the Buffalo Bulls came first.
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Next page: Butler Bulldogs
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P.S. Until 1997, Buffalo’s women’s sports teams were known as the Royals, paying homage to the city’s “Queen City” nickname.3 Nowadays, every team is known as the Bulls.
The city of Buffalo is likely named after Buffalo Creek, which enters the city from the east and combines with Cayuga Creek to become the Buffalo River. The etymology of Buffalo Creek is debated but historians think it was most likely named after the animal.
This team has since moved several times and is now the Atlanta Hawks. They were only in Buffalo for 38 days.
Even though everyone knows Charlotte is the real Queen City
and yet no buffalo buffalo. unfortunate!