Founded: 1934 Folded: 1938 Location: Buffalo, NY Arena: Broadway Auditorium Built in: Capacity: 6,000 Titles: |
Buffalo began as a barnstorming team that eventually joined the Midwest Basketball Conference in 1935. They played one season in the MBC before going independent again. When the National Basketball League started up from the old MBC the Bison's once again joined the league and would play the inaugural season before disbanding.
This Buffalo team should not be confused with the later Buffalo Bisons team that joined the NBL in 1946. That team lasted 3 games before moving west to Tri-Cities and are now the Atlanta Hawks.
There is also some confusion about weather this teams name was the Bison or Bisons. The confusion comes from many newspaper articles referring to the club as the Bison. From photographic evidence it is evident that the team's name was the Bisons.
The Bisons were like a lot of other teams of the era in that the team would use different names depending on the league or club they were playing, but were made up of the same core players and owned and usually sponsored by the same people. The Bisons would sometimes go by the name the Buffalo Lincolns.
Another team that frequently gets confused for both this version of the Bisons and the team that eventually became the Atlanta Hawks, is the Buffalo Bulls. The Buffalo Bulls were the University of Buffalo's basketball team. The Bulls had a very good team during this era, and sometimes would play the Bisons and other barnstorming teams of the era.
The Buffalo Bills also sometimes get mixed up with all these teams. The Buffalo Bills were a semi-pro basketball team that was generally seen as being a tier below the Bisons. The current NFL team shares the name with the Buffalo Bills but they are not connected in any way.
Finally, the last team that frequently gets confused is the Buffalo Bisons minor league baseball team. The baseball team used a lot of the same images and color schemes as the NBL version of the Bisons.
It is unknown at this time if the Buffalo Drydocks basketball team is related to this team. The Drydocks were a barnstorming team in the late 1920s and unfortunately, only scant records exist. Sam SiegelSame Siegel was a popular player in the Buffalo area. He starred at the University of Buffalo and played for the Bisons and Lincolns for many years. He would also go on and play for the Rochester Ebers, a semi-pro team that eventually became the Sacramento Kings. Siegel is one of the few players who played in 3 variations of the ABL, The New York State League, The Midwest Basketball Conference and the NBL. Hank Williams:
This is not the same Hank Williams that is the country music legend, this Hank Williams was a racial pioneer. He was the first know African American athlete to play in an integrated basketball league. He played only one season while the Bison were a member of the MBC.
Hank Williams 1936
King Kong:
Irwin "King Kong" Klien played only one game for the Bisons, but was a multi sport star. He lead NYU to its only national championship, and was also a star on their football team. He would also play himself in the 1936 movie "the Big Game".
Klien
Joe Gallagher:
Like many athletes of his day, Joe Gallagher played in multiple sports. He was also a baseball player and would have a much greater career as a baseball player than as a basketball player. Gallagher would play for the Dodgers for most of his MLB career and was Jackie Robinson's roommate.
Sam Siegel wearing possibly a Buffalo Lincolns jersey. The Lincolns and the Bisons were the same team, just in different leagues.
Year League W L 1930-31 IND 1931-32 IND 1932-33 IND 1933-34 IND 1934-35 NYSL - - 1935-36 MBC 7 8 1936-37 IND 1937-38 NBL 3 6 TOT 10 14
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| PLAYER | POS | AGE | HGT | WGT | COLLEGE | GA | FGM | FTM | PTS | AVG |
| Bello Snyder | F | 23 | 5:09 | 185 | None | 5 | 16 | 6 | 38 | 7.6 |
| Sam Siegel | F | 31 | 6:02 | 200 | Buffalo | 14 | 11 | 6 | 28 | 2.0 |
| Hank Williams | C | 23 | 6:04 | 210 | None | 15 | 30 | 23 | 83 | 5.5 |
| Elky Maister | G-F | 23 | 5:09 | 185 | Syracuse | 14 | 16 | 10 | 42 | 3.0 |
| Sibby Cortelli | G-F | 35 | 5:10 | 185 | None | 13 | 29 | 7 | 65 | 5.0 |
| Jim Brown | F | 23 | 6:00 | 185 | Temple | 6 | 17 | 7 | 41 | 6.8 |
| Bobby Harrington | G | 30 | 5:11 | 175 | Buffalo | 8 | 17 | 1 | 35 | 4.4 |
| Manny Hirsch | F | 32 | 5:07 | 155 | None | 4 | 10 | 5 | 25 | 6.3 |
| Lou Fink | F-C | 21 | 5:11 | 200 | Buffalo | 4 | 10 | 2 | 22 | 5.5 |
| Deacon Stankey | F | 24 | 6:03 | 205 | None | 4 | 8 | 1 | 17 | 4.3 |
| Tommy Allen | C | 32 | 6:03 | 185 | None | 3 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 3.7 |
| Joe Gallagher | F | 21 | 6:02 | 195 | Cornell | 2 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 4.0 |
| Johnny Rybak | G-F | 22 | 5:11 | 175 | Canisius | 5 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 1.4 |
| Fran Maury | G-F | 25 | 5:05 | 155 | None | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 3.0 |
| Red Renner | G | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2.0 | ||||
| Eddie Taylor | F | 24 | 6:00 | 165 | Pierce Business | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2.0 |
| Morey Pearson | G | 21 | 5:09 | None | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | |
| King Kong Klein | F | 24 | 6:02 | 210 | NYU | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
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| PLAYER | POS | AGE | HGT | WGT | COLLEGE | GA | FGM | FTM | PTS | AVG |
| Bello Snyder | F | 25 | 5:09 | 185 | None | 8 | 18 | 10 | 46 | 5.8 |
| Neil O'Donnell | F-C | 23 | 6:05 | 220 | Canisius | 9 | 14 | 7 | 35 | 3.9 |
| Eddie Malanowicz | C | 27 | 6:04 | 220 | Buffalo | 5 | 14 | 8 | 36 | 7.2 |
| Al Cervi | G | 20 | 5:11 | 170 | None | 9 | 19 | 6 | 44 | 4.9 |
| Paul Coleman | G | 22 | 6:02 | 160 | Buffalo State | 6 | 12 | 1 | 25 | 4.2 |
| Dan Carnevale | G | 19 | 6:00 | 185 | Canisius | 9 | 10 | 6 | 26 | 2.9 |
| Stan Raiman | G-F | 23 | 5:09 | 140 | Buffalo/Canisius | 9 | 21 | 17 | 59 | 6.6 |
| Stan Jackson | F | 17 | 5:09 | 135 | None | 7 | 8 | 2 | 18 | 2.6 |
| Jim O'Donnell | F-C | 25 | 6:01 | 180 | Canisius | 8 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 1.3 |
| Johnny Lenhart | F | 22 | 6:04 | 180 | Colgate | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
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