It’s a one-owner, one-team collection worthy of display in a museum. Greg Tranter, who has amassed his immense collection of Buffalo Bills memorabilia over a 50-year period, donated it to the Buffalo History Museum last year. Now, it’s on display.
The collection is among the finest single team sports memorabilia collections known to exist, with over 100,000 items including game-used items, autographs, ticket stubs and every program from every game in team history.
It’s part of a Buffalo sports exhibit called Icons, which will be on display for five years and also includes items from the Sabres, Bisons, Braves and more.
Tranter began collecting after opening 1965 Topps football packs as a youngster. His collection covers the entire history of the Bills from their AFL debut in 1960 through the present day.
Among the items he has are a blue and silver Bills jersey from the 1960-61 season worn by Art Baker – the only known jersey of this type known to still exist; game worn jerseys of Bills Hall of Famers – Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, Bruce Smith, James Lofton and Joe DeLamielleure; Scott Norwood’s game-worn helmet from the crushing loss in Super Bowl XXV and numerous game helmets from the late 1960s.
Seeing his collection on display in a public museum “brought tears to my eyes,” he says.
WKBW-TV tours the exhibit:
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