The Original Home Of The Buffalo Bills [Photos]

The Buffalo Bills are the AFC EAST Champions for the second straight year and will be playing the New England Patriots Saturday, January 15 at Highmark Stadium.

This will be the first time that these two teams will play each other for an NFL playoff game. Right!?! The last time was back in 1963 when New England was the Boston Patriots in the American Football League. Bills lost 26-8.

The Buffalo Bills are planning on a new home but take a look back on the original home of the boys wearing red, white, and blue. Buffalo's War Memorial Stadium (aka The Rockpile). And according to photographer Karl Josker:

Buffalo's War Memorial Stadium opened in 1938, as Civic Stadium, constructed as a WPA project. It was home to the Buffalo Bills until 1972 and remained a baseball and soccer facility until 1988, when it was mostly demolished, leaving only the two main entrances, with an athletic field built behind them.

It was affectionately or derisively known as the "Rockpile" depending on one's perspective. It was the stadium used in the filming of 1984's movie, "The Natural."

I remember "The Natural" being filmed here and the call out for extras to fill the stands. Most fans in the stands were Western New Yorkers and to make for a larger crowd, cutouts were used to fill the void. Seems like Hollywood was ahead of the curve in filling empty seats.

Take a look to see where the Buffalo Bills played when they actually won back-to-back AFL titles in 1964 and 1965.

Although I was too young to watch the Bills inside the Rockpile, my grandparents held season tickets from the inception of the team until 2002 when my grandmother passed away. I was fortunate enough to accompany her to every home game thru the entire season that year. I guess it's not where you experience the game, it's who you experience that game with. GO BILLS!