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Speaker 1: Welcome back one days five Thursday Afternoon. John Murphy Seam Tasker,

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Speaker 1: both working from home. The Seneca studio remains closed. On

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Speaker 1: radio covered jonly today. Yesterday, the news was sad when

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Speaker 1: it came out that one of the great all time

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Speaker 1: Buffalo Bills linebacker Mike Stratton passed away at his home

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Speaker 1: in Tennessee. He was an all time AFL second Team,

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Speaker 1: all time AFL performer, he was a six time AFL

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Speaker 1: All Star. He's a member of the Bill's Wall of Fame.

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Speaker 1: We went to another Wall of Fame member to get

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Speaker 1: some perspective on Mike Stratton. Happy to be on the

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Speaker 1: line with a great booker, Edgerson joining us. Hello bookers,

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Speaker 1: John Murphy and Steve Tasker here on the full nine.

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Speaker 1: Thanks coming on. Good afternoon, guys. Great to be with you,

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Speaker 1: book Thanks for coming on. I gotta ask you too.

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Speaker 1: You when you heard the news about Mike, what can

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Speaker 1: you go back to tell us what you remember about

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Speaker 1: him as a teammate and as a player. Yes, well,

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Speaker 1: I came here in nineteen sixty two right along with

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Speaker 1: Mike and Tom Stistack and and Kyle Sharon. Here's a

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Speaker 1: rookie and Mike was a was an end. He was

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Speaker 1: a receiver, but he wasn't fashion enough to depeat at

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Speaker 1: the other receivers everything and compete with him. Stil Steven

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Speaker 1: turned him into a linebacker, and that's that's where his

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Speaker 1: career started and that's where it ended as a linebacker.

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Speaker 1: Was one of the greatest linebackers in the Buffalo Bills history.

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Speaker 1: What kind of locker room when he came in with

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Speaker 1: at the same time? You did? You guys were part

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Speaker 1: of those great championship teams in the sixties. Tell us

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Speaker 1: a little bit about why did Why couldn't this is

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Speaker 1: that's unheard of in today's NFL. I mean, you just

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Speaker 1: can't switch positions from one side of all the other,

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Speaker 1: plus go from an outside skill guy to down inside

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Speaker 1: in the box. How big was Mike when he played

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Speaker 1: and what allowed him to make the switch of that magnitude. Well,

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Speaker 1: obviously lou Saban saw something in him, and Jie Collier

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Speaker 1: uh saw something in him to see that he would

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Speaker 1: be able to be flexible enough to play defense. And

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Speaker 1: the only in defense he would be able to play

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Speaker 1: would be a linebacker because he was you know, he

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Speaker 1: was fast, he was quick. I wouldn't shouldn't say it

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Speaker 1: was fast, but he was quick and he understood the

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Speaker 1: defense of the linement because he played defensive in college.

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Speaker 1: You know, back in those days, you had to play

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Speaker 1: both ways more or less, so so making that transition,

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Speaker 1: you know, looking at today's players, making that transition would

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Speaker 1: be very hard, but back then, making that transition would

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Speaker 1: not be as hard as it is today because they

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Speaker 1: did play both ways back at that time. Oh got you,

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Speaker 1: I got you. I didn't realize that. That's uh, that's

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Speaker 1: something I didn't realize he had done that. That was

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Speaker 1: that is a long booker, That is a long time ago.

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Speaker 1: Did you play both ways? I sure he did, and

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Speaker 1: plays too. What position did you play? I was a

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Speaker 1: running back and a defensive back and also special teams. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: and I know that at that time. I know it

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Speaker 1: was pretty common. Everybody played special teams at some point

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Speaker 1: or other in their career, you know, different than that.

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Speaker 1: That's did Stratton play a lot of special teams as well? Well? Yes,

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Speaker 1: we had to play special teams. We only had thirty

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Speaker 1: three players on the roster back in those days, so

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Speaker 1: you played. He was on the punt team, he was

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Speaker 1: on the punt return team. He was on the kickoff team,

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Speaker 1: he was on the kickoff return team, and you had

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Speaker 1: to play the position a linebacker or defensive back. So

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Speaker 1: it was a very intense time and of playing football

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Speaker 1: back in those days because you had to be very

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Speaker 1: versatile and durable. And then the years that followed, both

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Speaker 1: you and Mike had so much success for the team

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Speaker 1: you were both put on the Wall of Fame. Mike

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Speaker 1: is famous for the hit Heard round the World on

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Speaker 1: Keith Lincoln. Incidentally, as well, Keith Lincoln ended up playing

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Speaker 1: for the Buffalo Bills for during the end of his career,

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Speaker 1: and Mike played for the Charges that not right at

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Speaker 1: the end of his career, isn't that Ryan? Yeah, which

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Speaker 1: games you know? But but you know, when you talk

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Speaker 1: about the hit Heard around the world, a lot of

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Speaker 1: people have asked me about it. You know, what did

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Speaker 1: it look like? You know? Well, unfortunately I did not

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Speaker 1: see the hit because I was busy trying to cover

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Speaker 1: mynn man doing that play, and by the time I

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Speaker 1: knew what had happened, the play was over with, So

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Speaker 1: I didn't get a chance to see the play until

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Speaker 1: it was that Tuesday at our team meeting when we

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Speaker 1: was playing when they was playing the films back to us.

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Speaker 1: I'm not sure. I think Murph is trying is going

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Speaker 1: to get in. We're having trouble with his Mike. I

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Speaker 1: got to ask you one more thing about that, when

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Speaker 1: you went on the wall, and when you saw Mike

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Speaker 1: Stratton go on the Wall of Fame, what were your

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Speaker 1: thoughts about so many years after you guys played you

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Speaker 1: went on in two thou ten, Mike Stratton was recognized.

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Speaker 1: Of course, Billy Shaw got into the Pro Football Hall

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Speaker 1: of Fame. Give us a quick synopsis of some of

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Speaker 1: the great players that Mike Stratton, Billy Shaw, yourself, some

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Speaker 1: of the other great players that were on those sixties

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Speaker 1: teams that maybe fans of this day and age aren't

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Speaker 1: is familiar with absolutely Well, you had John Tracy who

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Speaker 1: was one of the linebackers that played right along with Mike,

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Speaker 1: and Harry Jacobs who is currently a residence of Western

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Speaker 1: New York area County. Roy McDole was another one, and

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Speaker 1: Jim Donaway, Tom Sistat who is on the Wall, Tom

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Speaker 1: Day who was one of the great outstanding defensive ends.

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Speaker 1: He also played offensive at the beginning of his career.

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Speaker 1: Then you had Butch Byrd, George Sims who was on

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Speaker 1: the wall, Hey good Clark and Jane Sikes. All those

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Speaker 1: guys were coming along during that time. Albert Depinion is

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Speaker 1: another individual during that time. So we had a lot

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Speaker 1: of guys. Jack Kemp obviously Jack Kemp was always there,

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Speaker 1: and Darre Lamonica. So there's a lot of guys. It

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Speaker 1: was back in those days that the fans was very

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Speaker 1: um excited about because during that time we did have

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Speaker 1: a great team for first quarterback four years um and

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Speaker 1: unfortunately we wasn't able to get to the Super Bowl

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Speaker 1: like you guys did. But uh, you know we did.

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Speaker 1: You know, we did planted championship games and we won.

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Speaker 1: Yeah you did. You won the SPA and the next

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Speaker 1: year you got beat I think by the Kansas City

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Speaker 1: Chiefs to go to Super Bowl one with Lynn Dawson

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Speaker 1: and uh and Otis Taylor and all of those guys.

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Speaker 1: What do you remember about the atmosphere around the AFL

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Speaker 1: just before the merger took place, when the two leagues

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Speaker 1: were going hot and heavy. What do you remember about

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Speaker 1: the atmosphere around the AFL in relationship to the other league,

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Speaker 1: the NFL. Well, we always felt, at least I always

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Speaker 1: felt that we was just as a comproment to them

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Speaker 1: as there was to us. They you know, we was

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Speaker 1: the MV We was MVT TV, fast and playing. You know,

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Speaker 1: we passed a lot of balls and we didn't run

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Speaker 1: a whole lot. In the NFL, they did a lot

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Speaker 1: of running, but not a lot of passing. So the

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Speaker 1: comparison was is that if we played them at that

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Speaker 1: particular time, the AFL would be on the winning side

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Speaker 1: because of the fast game that we played. However, it

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Speaker 1: proved wrong in the Super Bowl, the first Super Bowl

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Speaker 1: or the World Championship they called it back then. The

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Speaker 1: Kansas City did that live up to the expectations that

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Speaker 1: we all thought that they would do in that first

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Speaker 1: championship game. I'm trying to give I was gonna give

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Speaker 1: Murph a chance. I did. We're having check TechNet difficulties

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Speaker 1: with John Murphy's Mike. I got it to ask you

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Speaker 1: this too. We're talking with Booker Regison and remembering the

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Speaker 1: Bill's Wall of Famer Mike Stratton obviously Booker a member

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Speaker 1: of the Bill's Wall of Fame as well members of

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Speaker 1: the sixty four sixty five AFL championship teams, and we're

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Speaker 1: talking about how this game has changed. It seems stark

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Speaker 1: when you go back all the way to the sixty

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Speaker 1: four sixty five games and we're, gosh, we're fifty years

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Speaker 1: into the future for those games. Even more so, what

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Speaker 1: do you think when you watch the games today? Book,

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Speaker 1: and you and I've we've talked off and on for

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Speaker 1: the last two decades and longer since I've been in Buffalo.

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Speaker 1: What are the most striking differences? And you mentioned the

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Speaker 1: thirty three guys on the team as a big difference

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Speaker 1: for me. What are some of the other stark differences

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Speaker 1: you see to today that you, wow, you really wish

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Speaker 1: you would have had maybe back in the sixty four

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Speaker 1: sixty five days. There's so many situations there. But the equipment, obviously,

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Speaker 1: the equipment is one of the biggest points that we

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Speaker 1: did not have. Practicing, we did not have. We didn't

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Speaker 1: have the training opportunity that they have today when you're

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Speaker 1: looking at thirty three players as opposed to the day

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Speaker 1: you get fifty three players, so you're talking twenty players

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Speaker 1: different have the opportunity. You've got special guys playing special teams.

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Speaker 1: They come in for one play and go back out,

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Speaker 1: where back then it wasn't a come in for one

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Speaker 1: player and go back out. You know, you came in

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Speaker 1: and played four downs or you hope to get it

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Speaker 1: three downs. About one of the one of the other

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Speaker 1: of the big things is is that the training is

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Speaker 1: so much different now than it was back then. We

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Speaker 1: had to have jobs on the off season, so we

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Speaker 1: didn't have the opportunity to work out and get in

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Speaker 1: condition to come in and play to doing the training camp.

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Speaker 1: We had to come to training camp to get into

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Speaker 1: condition to play the game. So those are some of

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Speaker 1: the striking differences as to back then as to post

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Speaker 1: it now is that that's one of the great things

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Speaker 1: about you know, our NFL Players Association dealing with the

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Speaker 1: collective bargating country reck is that they're providing a lot

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Speaker 1: of safety factors and for the current ball players and

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Speaker 1: future ball players, which I am so glad to see

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Speaker 1: because you know, I love the game of football, and

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Speaker 1: I'm quite sure Steve, you and all the other guys

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Speaker 1: who have played the game of football love it and

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Speaker 1: don't want to see it to go away. The only

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Speaker 1: way we're gonna only way we're gonna save this is

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Speaker 1: by having a safer game of football for the next

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Speaker 1: twenty years, the next one hundred years, or whatever it

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Speaker 1: may be. So that's the difference between nineteen sixty two,

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Speaker 1: sixty three, sixty four, sixty five as to twenty eighteen, twenty, nineteen,

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty. Well, Booker, you are a man of grace

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Speaker 1: and dignity because you didn't mention anything about the twenty

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Speaker 1: million dollars difference there is in the paychecks either. That's

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Speaker 1: You're right. There are a lot of differences in the game,

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Speaker 1: and thanks to guys like you and the rest of

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Speaker 1: the sixty four sixty five AFL Championship teams come to

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Speaker 1: the financial games that the players of today have made.

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Speaker 1: I gotta I gotta tell you if we appreciate it.

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Speaker 1: The guys in the nineties appreciated your foundational the late

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Speaker 1: the foundation you guys laid back in those decades, just

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Speaker 1: like the guys these days appreciate the league and what

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Speaker 1: it has grown into. Is because the guys like you.

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Speaker 1: Mike Stratton, the guy we remember today a day after

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Speaker 1: he passed away. Booker, thanks so much for coming on

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Speaker 1: with us today. Appreciate it. Thank you very much.