[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4856]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING THE MEMORY OF RALPH WILSON

  (Mr. HIGGINS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mourn the passing of Ralph 
Wilson. Wilson is best known in my western New York community as the 
founder and owner of the Buffalo Bills for a remarkable 55-year tenure. 
He was a savvy businessman and true lover of the game of football.
  I remember Mr. Wilson calling me to his office to discuss his 
concerns about the new NFL collective bargaining agreement. He believed 
that agreement was stacked against smaller market teams like Buffalo, 
and I found him to have a better command of the details than anyone on 
the subject. He was passionate not only about his beloved Buffalo 
Bills, but about its place in our community as well.
  Mr. Wilson's interest in our community did not stop at football. His 
foundation donated over $11 million in the past two decades, including 
to the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, the community food banks, and the 
Hospice Foundation of Western New York.
  Mr. Speaker, we are forever grateful for Mr. Wilson's dedication to 
western New York and to our Nation as a World War II veteran. My 
thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends during this 
difficult time.

                          ____________________