The Seasons of Buffalo Baseball 1857-2020 is a 400-hundred-page, hardcover journey through the illustrious history of baseball in The Queen City. It is filled with more than 150 images, rare illustrations, cartoons, and page after page of baseball facts and follies, a true reflection of Buffalo’s 163-year love affair with the grand old game. Now, after three years of intensive work by author Jim Overfield and his writing/editing team of Mike Billoni and Brian Frank, the book will be launched at an all-star, virtual event headlined by Emmy-award winning sports broadcaster, Bob Costas. According to the acclaimed sports journalist, Buffalo and baseball are a natural pairing.
“To say that Buffalo has a rich baseball history is to deal in understatement,” Costas stated. “Proof of that can be found in The Seasons of Buffalo Baseball, which is a lively and entertaining chronicle of a town’s love affair with our national game. I look forward to talking about some of that history contained in this great book during the launch event.”
The Seasons of Buffalo Baseball 1857-2020 Virtual Launch will take place Tuesday, December 8th beginning at 7:30 pm. It will be a free to the public event with registration required via this link https://bit.ly/
The event will be co-hosted by Pete Weber, former “Voice of the Bisons,” and current Nashville Predators Broadcaster, along with Greg Brown, Pete’s former Bisons broadcast partner, now the “Voice of the
“In 1985, my father wrote The 100 Seasons of Buffalo Bisons Baseball, which encouraged widespread interest in the history of the team,” Overfield said. “His plan had always been to write an update, but sadly he passed in 2000 before accomplishing that objective. After going through his boxes of notes and memorabilia on the subject, I decided to take on my father’s book editing and writing challenge. The release of this book is truly the culmination of my father’s dream and my tribute to him and his passion for Buffalo baseball.”
For Billoni, former Vice President and General Manager of the Bisons who has shepherded this book to publication, he takes pride in the charitable aspect of the project.
“This update and revision of Joe Overfield’s original book, means a lot to me because I worked closely with Joe on getting it to print,” Billoni stated. “ I am also extremely excited that we will be keeping Joe’s legacy alive through a portion of our book sale proceeds and sponsorships which will fund the Joseph M. Overfield Memorial Baseball, Softball and Mentoring Program. It’s a collaboration with Omega Mentoring and the Willie “Hutch” Jones Education and Sports Program that will operate out of the Johnnie B. Wiley Amateur Athletic Sports Pavilion, formerly War Memorial Stadium, which of course was the first home of the Buffalo Bisons.”
The Seasons of Buffalo Baseball 1857-2020 is available at the following retail locations:
Made in America Stores 1000 West Maple Ct., Elma, 6041 Transit Road, Depew, 3701 McKinley Mall, Hamburg. The BFLO Stores, 130 Main St (in the Explore & More Ralph C. Wilson Children’s Museum lobby), Eastern Hills, McKinley, Galleria and Boulevard Malls, The Buffalo History Museum, One Museum Ct., Buffalo. The Bookworm & BW Gifts. 34 Elm St., East Aurora. Bases Loaded Sports Collectables, 794 French Road, Cheektowaga. Riverside Men’s Shop and S&E Jewelers, 6470 Transit Road, Depew. Old Editions Bookshop& Gallery, 954 Oliver St., North Tonawanda. Dog Ears Bookstore & Café, 688 Abbott Road, Buffalo. Talking Leaves Book Store, 951 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, The Buffalo Holistic Center, 39 Delaware Road, Kenmore and Native Pride Travel Plaza Convenience Store, 11359 Southwestern Blvd, Irving. Niagara Frontier Publications1859 Whitehaven Road, Grand Island, is also selling the book with $5.00 from each sale going towards the Joseph M. Overfield Memorial Mentoring Program. The book can be ordered online through the Buffalo Bisons at https://bit.ly/
ABOUT THE SEASONS OF BUFFALO BASEBALL 1857-2020: The Seasons of Buffalo Baseball 1857-2020 is a collaborative effort that draws heavily from Joe Overfield’s book, The 100 Seasons of Baseball, particularly in its year-by-year summaries of Bison seasons from 1857 to 1985. This richly illustrated, 400-page book updates the book to 2020 and adds substantial new material about Bison players, managers, owners, ballparks, fans, and memorable games. It also describes Buffalo’s surprisingly important role in baseball history.
Many authors have contributed to the book including Brian M. Frank, an assistant editor on the project and creator of the website The Herd Chronicles, Paul Langendorfer, author of Baseball in Buffalo, Budd Bailey and Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News, Sam Maiorana of Rochester’s Democrat and Chronicle and former Ch. 2 sportscaster Jonah Javad. The book honors the memory of Joe Overfield and is a tribute to the resilience of the City of Buffalo and the game that has been part of the city’s fabric for more than 160 years. https://www.facebook.com/
ABOUT BOB COSTAS: Bob Costas has won 28 Emmy awards – more than any sports broadcaster. He is the only person ever to have won Emmy’s in news, sports, and entertainment. His news Emmy was awarded for his 2011 interview with Jerry Sandusky, the central figure in the Penn State scandal. His entertainment Emmy came in 1993 for his acclaimed late night program “Later with Bob Costas.”
Bob’s peers have named him the “National Sportscaster of the Year” a record eight times, and in 2012, he was elected to the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame. Also, in 2012, Bob was selected for the Walter Cronkite Award for distinction in journalism. He and Al Michaels are the only sports broadcasters to be so honored.
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ABOUT THE OMEGA MENTORING PROGRAM: The Omega Mentoring Program is a Buffalo not-for-profit organization of committed volunteers and mentors who inspire and motivate at-risk youth toward college through one-on-one mentoring. Mentors nourish a sense of pride, self-confidence, and competence in their mentees, which leads to greater success in family, social, academic, and business situations. We provide leadership formulated to deal with the myriad of problems faced by youth with an emphasis on self-love, self-knowledge, self-development, and spiritual development. https://www.omegamentoring.
ABOUT THE WILLIE HUTCH JONES EDUCATION AND SPORTS PROGRAMS: Buffalo’s Willie Hutch Jones Education and Sports Programs have as their goal to provide instruction, at no cost, in fundamental life (social skills) development, sports skill development, as well as academic support in science and math. In keeping with research findings that children engaged in extra-curricular activities experience 5 % improvement in test scores, or that children who regularly play chess can experience up to 17% improvement in test scores, the WHJESP programs deliver outcomes in delinquency prevention, academic improvement and behavior. Our mission is to provide every child, at no cost, equal opportunities to engage in the highest quality program and to offer character building activities through academics, sports, and the arts. http://whjsc.org/
