By Budd Bailey, Buffalo Sports Page Columnist
Ray Bentley – Signed by the Bills in 1986
The relationship between Ray Bentley and Western New York has turned out to be a long one, touching all sorts of different areas. He’s in a class by himself in that sense.
Bentley was undrafted out of Central Michigan in 1983 and turned up in the United States Football League, playing for the Michigan Panthers and Oakland Invaders. When that league folded in 1986, Bentley signed with the Bills. He arrived at just the right time, since players like Jim Kelly and Kent Hull also turned up. Buffalo began building towards its run of four straight Super Bowl appearances. Bentley was a part of the first two.
After leaving the Bills, the linebacker played for Cincinnati in 1992 and then turned to other football-related areas. He did some television work for Fox and on the Bills’ preseason games. Bentley also was the head coach and general manager of the Buffalo Destroyers for two seasons And who knows how many Western New York toddlers grew up reading his series of children’s books about Darby the Dinosaur?
Let’s go back to that first Super Bowl:
(Follow Budd on Twitter @WDX2BB)
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