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 selections.  The latest edition, recapping 49-40, is available now.

#36

Matthew Barnaby, Sabres. He was an unforgettable character in Buffalo, a tough and emotional player. Matthew wore out his welcome eventually and was traded to Pittsburgh for Stu Barnes, but fans remember him well. Others: Pat Kaleta, Sabres; Randy Mearns, Bandits; Nick Vitucci, Stampede.

Mike Waggoner’s Numerology:  Matthew Barnaby and Patrick Kaleta were both instigator types, agitator types, get under your skin types. Barnaby was clearly the better fighter and scorer. His time in Buffalo may have been more memorable, being part of more successful Sabres teams. Kaleta should get bonus points for being home-grown though, playing high school hockey here, then ending up wearing a Sabres jersey, so you might be able to make the argument that he is our city’s #36. (Kaleta still resides in WNY and also has appeared on Buffalo Sports Page radio!)

Missed any of the previous numbers from 99 to 37?  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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