By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo
The Bills’ first and second home games were played in the same stadium — the Rockpile — but that stadium changed names in between.
It was 55 years ago tonight– Aug. 24, 1960– as the brand-new Buffalo Bills played in their second-ever preseason game, that the athletic field known by most as “The Rockpile” was rededicated in “tribute to living veterans and the dead of all U.S. wars” as War Memorial Stadium. Previously, the Rockpile had officially been known as Civic Stadium.
A Congressional Medal of Honor winner from World War I was on hand to speak on behalf of all veterans.
Van Miller was behind the mic as the Bills and Oakland Raiders became the first team to play on the newly christened field. Both teams were only a few preseason contests into existence in the new American Football League.
As seen in this photo, the Bills’ uniforms during the team’s first two seasons are nothing like future Bills uniforms. Among the Bills’ early equipment were cast aways from the Detroit Lions– blue and silver with jersey numbers– but no Buffalo insignia– on the helmets.
Van Miller died July 17, 2015, at age 87.
