Celebrating a milestone

Brantford Bisons gear up to celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2014

The Brant and District Football Club announced that the club is gearing up to celebrate 2014 as the 50^th anniversary of the first game a Bisons team played in 1964 by creating a committee to spearhead the planning of the celebrations and is hoping that interested individuals with ties to the Bisons extended family will volunteer to help out. The committee consists of Deana Soloman, Jen Dallaway and Brad Ward.

Bisons is the longest serving team name in Brantford except for the Red Sox with the name “Bisons” being strongly associated with football. From the days of the navy blue jerseys of the 1960’s at old Lions Park to the present day red and black colours at Bisons Alumni field, if someone says “Bisons” everyone knows they are talking about football.

“My father-in-law used to coach football in the old Jungle League which was the predecessor to the Bisons. In those days, the kids had to share their equipment with one team taking off the equipment after their game and handing it to the next team playing. He still talks about those days with a great amount of pride so as soon as the committee was created, I put up my hand and asked how could I help? stated Jen Dallaway.

“When you count the number of people who have passed through the Bisons organization over the years, there must be hundreds if not thousands of players, coaches and volunteers. Almost everywhere I go with a Bisons shirt or coat on, someone will come up to me and say that they played Bisons football or their dad, brother or uncle did. I was at a baseball game once and this one individual saw my coat, introduced himself and told me he was a wide receiver for the Bisons in 1972, that is the impact that football has had and will have in our community.” commented Brad Ward.

“I grew up with sports in my family and love football. The opportunity to assist in planning to celebrate 50 years of football in Brantford will only happen once in a lifetime. I couldn’t wait to volunteer and I hope everyone associated with the Bisons either in the past or present will do the same.” added Deana Solomon.

The committee would like anyone with old pictures, trophies or other Bisons mementoes to consider lending or donating them to the committee to have on display during 2014. The committee would also like to know where all the past coaches and players are today and what they are doing plus compile a list of players who participated in university, CJFL, CFL or NFL football after leaving the Bisons.

If you have old Bisons pictures, trophies or programs from past years, require more information or if you would to volunteer to assist the committee in planning for the Bisons 50^th anniversary celebrations, please contact Jen Dallaway at [email protected] or 519-751-1995.

EVENTS IN THE PLANNING STAGES

Parks and Rec

A request to the Parks and Recreation Board has been made to have the Bisons logo displayed in a flower bed in 2014 to recognize the 50^th Anniversary of Bisons Football.

Proclamations

A request will be made to all levels of government to recognize the 50^th Anniversary of Bisons Football through a proclamation, Member statement or other methods as deemed appropriate by the various local elected officials.

Brant Historical Society

The Brant Historical Society has agreed to complete an oral history of Bisons Football in our community. The project will include three distinct time frames:

 

1. The      Golden Era 1964-1982
2. The      Community Giving Years 1982-2009
3. The      Modern Era 1991-present

 

Interested individuals who have had some type of involvement with Bisons Football over the last 50 years are invited to participate in this project. All someone has to do is sit down and talk about their memories with a representative of the BHS. These memories will be recorded onto a transcript to ensure the rich history of Bisons Football is always available for interested parties.

If you are interested in participating in the history of the Brantford Bisons, please contact Carolee Dunn from the Brant Historical Society at [email protected] or Jen Dallaway at [email protected]. This is a great way to have the entire history of the Bisons finally recorded for future generations to enjoy.

Micheal Swanson

Renowned local artist, Micheal Swanson has agreed to complete a print based on the Bisons playing football at old Lion’s Park in 1964.

Retro Jerseys

Bisons Football is hoping to have their teams dressed in retro jerseys for the 2014 season. The jerseys would be in navy blue, the original colours of the 1964 Bisons football team, with a commemorative 50^th anniversary crest on the sleeves. Bisons Football moved to their current colours, red and black, in 1972.

Where are they now

Have pictures of players/coaches from their days with the Bisons along with modern day photographs and what they are doing now.

Recognize Past Bisons Players and Coaches

During a spring Varsity football game all past Bisons players and coaches in attendance will be recognized at half time.

Brantford Sports Hall Of Recognition

The committee will be making an application to the Brantford Sports Hall Of Recognition to have the team name “Bisons” accepted into the hall as a recognition of the 50^th anniversary of the first football game in 1964.

Pub Night

The planned pub night will allow old teammates, coaches and volunteers to meet in a relaxed atmosphere and talk about that big play that won the game or the huge tackle that saved the game. They will be able to talk about building the media booth at old Lion’s Park and daring each other to be the first one to climb into it because everyone was afraid it would fall over or simply catch up with old friends who haven’t seen each other in years. It should be quite a night and last long into the early hours.

Gala Dinner

The celebrations should be capped of with a planned gala dinner that will have a special guest speaker and announce lifetime achievement awards to outstanding players, coaches and individuals who participated in the Bisons Football Program from the early days of the 1960’s to present day.