It was a cold, wintry day in Buffalo on February 8, 1960, the first day that Buffalo Bills season tickets ever went on sale to the general public.
Fans lined the streets of downtown Buffalo, in overwhelming support of the fledgling franchise.
Standing at the front of the line at the Statler Hilton Hotel ticket office was none other than Attica, New York native Arthur "Archie" Diemer, who's name (per sources) goes down in history as the first ever Bills season ticket member.
Archie wasn't the only fan who became a season ticket member that day. He was joined by 3,000 other Buffalonians, who shared the same love and passion for the Buffalo Bills.
"The early tremendous sale of tickets indicated that the fans of Buffalo, Western New York and the Niagara Frontier are hungry for professional football," former general manager Dick Gallagher said.
Gallagher was right. Fans were hungry for football, especially Archie Diemer. He wasn't about to miss a down.
Diemer was dedicated to the Bills, and watched them play almost every Sunday. In 40 years, Archie missed only two Bills home games - not because he wanted to but because of medical issues.
Sadly, Diemer passed away in 2001 at the age of 81. He will always be remembered as the first Bills season ticket member, the first fan to lay claim to what links Bills fans together as one - sharing in the glory of watching Bills football at the stadium.
(This story originally appeared in 2013 and was written by Hannah Buehler.)
*2015 Season Tickets are currently on sale.
*
