University of Tennessee Athletics
STRATTON INDUCTED INTO GREATER BUFFALO SPORTS HALL OF FAME
October 26, 2005 | General
Oct. 26, 2005
 |
Mike Stratton
Linebacker
Buffalo Bills
The Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame announced the inductees for the Class of 2005 at HSBC Arena in downtown Buffalo. This year's class includes Buffalo State Basketball Coach Dick Bihr, Buffalo Sabres/Bisons Trainer Frank Christie, Three-Time Bills' Pro Bowler Shane Conlan, Erie CC Bowling Coach Kerm Helmer, Jamestown High Football Coach Wally Huckno, Archer David Hryn, Hockey Hall of Fame Writer Jim Kelley, Amateur Golfer John Konsek, Weight Lifter Donald Reinhoudt, All-Around Athlete Phil Scaffidi, and Bills' Wall of Fame Linebacker Mike Stratton.
A 13th-round draft pick from Tennessee, Mike Stratton joined the fledgling Buffalo Bills in 1962, and was an immediate presence in the defensive lineup with a career-high six interceptions. Stratton starred for the Bills for a decade highlighted by 18 interceptions, 30 sacks, and six AFL All-Star Game appearances. However, for most Bills fans, these achievements are to some but a footnote to Stratton's career, likely forever recalled by a signature event that occurred early in Mike's career. In the collective memory of Bills followers, "the play's the thing."
 |
From that moment, the Bills seized the momentum. The Chargers, already minus star receiver Lance Alworth, had lost their other star offensive performer, and their offense was out of business for the day. The Bills roared back with 20 unanswered points to claim the title, a title they successfully defended the following year on the Chargers' home turf as Stratton and his defensive cohorts pitched a shutout.
Buffalo players and other observers cited "The Hit" as a turning point not only for one game, but for the fortunes of the franchise. The play was a springboard to the consecutive titles that established the Bills as a dominant team in the AFL; it was also a statement by the swarming, physical defense that paved the way for the team's success.
While Stratton's stellar career as a Bill has been overshadowed, perhaps unfairly, by that one shining moment, the play, on the other hand, spotlighted the quickness and power that made Stratton a star. No other single play in Buffalo sports history has been so inextricably linked to its author; it has helped preserve the memory of an entire career that landed Mike Stratton on the Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame in the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.
