by Budd Bailey, Buffalo Sports Page

We are counting from 99 to 0 to determine who’s the best Buffalo athlete to wear each number.  It’s Buffalo Sports By The Numbers here on Buffalo Sports Page.

We’ll have a new number and athlete every day this summer.  Each story also includes reaction from the Buffalo Sports Page staff, and a way to catch up on numbers you’ve missed.

After every 10 numbers, a Sylvester & Peck On Sports podcast will feature Budd Bailey and the guys reacting to the selection.  The 89 to 80 podcast is up now.

#72 

Ron McDole, Bills. The defensive end had one of the great nicknames in team history – “The Dancing Bear.” McDole was a Bill from 1963 until 1970, and combined size and speed to become a top defender. The Bills traded the 32-year-old to the Redskins in 1971, and he played eight years there. Others: Ken Jones, Bills; Art Still, Bills; Luke Adam, Sabres.

Bob Gaughan’s Numerology:  This is a tough call. I believe McDole is the right choice here. Ken Jones played 10 years for the Bills.  I thought Jones a was solid player but his teams never reached the heights that McDole’s team reached in 1964 and 1965.  You have to go with the guy that won the championships.

Mike Waggoner’s Wanderings:  Always great to get a Buffalo history lesson from Budd. “The Dancing Bear”??? I’ve never heard of him. I trust Budd that this is the right choice. Art Still’s cup of coffee with the late 80’s Bills can’t be worth the honor. Luke Adam? Stop. I guess #72 seems to be one of the weaker jerseys in the town’s history, but the Bills did have some impactful players to wear #70, so stay tuned!

Missed any of the previous numbers from 99 to 73?  Visit the Buffalo Sports By The Numbers section on the home page.

Budd Bailey

Budd Bailey has been involved in almost every aspect of the local sports scene for the last 40 years. He worked for WEBR Radio, the Buffalo Sabres' public relations department and The Buffalo News during that time. In that time he covered virtually every aspect of the area's sports world, from high schools to the Bills and Sabres and everything in between. Along the way, Budd served as a play-by-play announcer for the Bisons, an analyst for the Stallions, and a talk-show host. He won the National Lacrosse League's Tom Borrelli Award as the media personality of the year in 2011, and was a finalist for that same award in 2017. Budd's seventh and eighth books, one on the Transcontinental Railroad and the other about Ichiro Suzuki, are scheduled to be released in the fall.

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