Former Bills Wall of Fame offensive lineman Jim Ritcher will be the Legend of the Game for Buffalo's game against the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 20.
"I'm excited about it," Ritcher said. "I wasn't expecting it. We were just hoping to go up to a Buffalo game. My wife and I, we went to a preseason game this year and thought, 'well, let's go back.' and, and so she called, (the ticket office) and he said, 'hey, would you think about the legend of the game?' And, of course, that was an awful nice way to be able to come to the game."
The guard was the No. 16 overall pick in the 1980 NFL Draft and played for the Bills for 14 of his 16 NFL seasons. During his time, he earned second-team All-Pro honors, was a two-time Pro Bowl guard, started in all four Super Bowl appearances, made the Buffalo Bills 50th Anniversary team and named to the Wall of Fame.
"I just loved playing for the Buffalo Bills," he said. "I had a slow start, as far as when I got there, but I got to play for a number of years, and it was just wonderful. The fan base there is so great that I didn't realize the fans that we had until I went to a different team."
Ritcher shared a story about his very first game in the NFL, which was against the Miami Dolphins and his first true experience of Bills Mafia. The Bills had not won a game against the Dolphins in 20 straight games, and in that game, they won.
"We beat Miami and the crowd went crazy. They were ripping the turf off the field, and they tore down the goal post, threw them off the top of the stadium, and stuff like that. And I'm like, well, this is pretty exciting. It was just an awakening to the Buffalo fans there that they love their football, and you give them something to root about, and they'll, you know, fill up that stadium."
Ritcher is excited about the Bills 4-2 start to the regular season, saying that they are in perfect position to get to the playoffs after taking control of first place in the AFC East after their victory over the Jets.
"If you can end up on the top of the division, you know you're Division champions, you're in the playoffs," he said. "You get into November, and you got to win in November… And you want to be hitting on all cylinders when you get to the playoffs, and that's when you want to have healthy people. So, I think the Bills are in good shape right now. I think they're in perfect position."
These 22 players were all members of the four-peat AFC Championship teams that represented the Bills in Super Bowls XXV, XXVI, XXVII, and XXVIII.
Since retiring from the NFL, Ritcher has been a commercial pilot and has flown for American Airlines. He shared that he had always wanted to fly since he was a child, and his dad would take him to the Dayton Air Show in Cleveland.
"Well, I always tell people I needed a different hobby. I was a golfer, and I was so bad. I lost so many golf balls, I had to find a cheaper hobby," Ritcher said laughing. "But I, I always wanted to fly when I was real little."
After a conversation and flight with former Bills quarterback Joe Ferguson, his wife Harriett got him introductory lessons for Christmas, and the rest is history.
Ritcher will join Bills Mafia in rooting on the Bills as they take on the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at 1 p.m.
