Former Buffalo Bills Wide Receiver Passes Away

The Buffalo Bills have a rich history, dating all the way back to the team's inception into the AFL.

Before the AFL-NFL merger, the Bills were considered one of the best franchises in the AFL, as they competed at War Memorial Stadium in the City of Buffalo.

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You may remember Jack Kemp as the star quarterback for those 1960 AFL teams in Buffalo. Cookie Gilchrist and O.J. Simpson as the primary running backs in the decade. But there was also a wide receiver who put up very impressive stats for his era in his three seasons with the Bills.

Marlin Briscoe played for Buffalo from 1969-1971 and caught 133 passes in his tenure with the Bills.

On Monday, Briscoe passed away at the age of 76.

Briscoe is best remembered as the first black starting quarterback in professional football, as he started for the Denver Broncos in 1968, which was also his rookie season.

With the Bills, he switched to wide receiver and went to the Pro Bowl in 1970. He also played for the Miami Dolphins, San Diego Chargers, Detroit Lions and New England Patriots. He retired after the 1976 NFL season.

Briscoe is regarded as one of the most influential players in AFL or NFL history. Before him, no black players started at QB and after his season with the Denver Broncos, more and more black players started getting chances at the QB position.

People in Buffalo might forget how good Briscoe was at wide receiver. He had a reputation of taking the top off the defense and had plenty of receiving touchdowns (18), which was not as common in that era of NFL football.