WNY PFRA Chapter Meeting

[JeffreyMiller]

The WNY PFRA Chapter meeting was held Saturday, April 8 in Hamburg, NY. Twelve people attended, including 11 PFRA members and one guest. Presentations were made by George Bozeka, Assistant Executive Director of the PFRA, who provided details about the 2018 National PRFA convention which will be held in Buffalo. George also spoke about the PFRA's book on the 1966 Green Bay Packers, as well as the forthcoming book on the 1958 Baltimore Colts.
Jeff Nixon, the former Buffalo Bill defensive back, spoke about issues relating to retired players, including pensions and health benefits. Jeff spoke at great length about the health issues facing retired players, most notably CTE. He also took time to share a few great stories from his playing days, which included a few about Conrad Dobler, Jim Haslett, Chuck Knox and Fred Smerlas.
Uber-collector and historian Greg Tranter brought along several items from his personal collection of memorabilia from the Hartford Knights of the ACFL, and provided an insightful discourse on the history not only of the Knights, but the league overall. His collections never cease to amaze ...
Author Mark Speck, who has written three books on the World Football League (with another on the way) gave a spirited talk on the WFL, providing plenty of background with which most of those in attendance were unfamiliar. He mixed the lesson with some hilarious anecdotes about the players, coaches, owners, and league events.
Mark Palczewski, the PFRA's "official" photographer, gave a power point presentation showing some of the work he has done shooting NFL games. he also showed some of the photos he shot before he turned "professional," which while not as personally lucrative were nevertheless terrific! As an added bonus, Mark showed dozens of slides he has acquired, re-touched and restored over the years, many of which were used in the printing of trading cards for both the Topps and Philadelphia companies.
Several stayed after and talked football until after 10:00 PM.
I think I can safely report that everyone had a very good time! We are already talking about next year's chapter meeting ...