The Buffalo Bills have been hard at work this offseason as they attempt to find a way to get over the hump in the AFC and find their way back to the Super Bowl. Despite their recent run of success with quarterback Josh Allen leading the way, the team has not been able to make it past the AFC Championship Game, as they cannot seem to take down Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Ahead of the start of the season, though, the Bills were dealt some tough news regarding one of their former players. On Sunday, shared some crushing news regarding Stew Barber, a former star offensive lineman who played for Buffalo for nine seasons from 1961 to 1969.
Bills Announce Stew Barber’s Death
During the 1960s, the Bills played in the AFL rather than the NFL, and they were one of the best teams in the league. A key piece of their team was Barber, who starred in college with the Penn State Nittany Lions. After being selected in the fourth round of the 1961 AFL Draft, Barber landed with Buffalo, and the rest was history.
A two-way player entering the league, Barber played at linebacker as a rookie before making the transition to the offensive line, and it didn’t take long for Barber to quickly become one of the best linemen in the business. From 1963 to 1968, Barber earned five straight AFL All-Star selections, and he was on the All-AFL First Team in both 1963 and 1964.
While the Dallas Cowboys selected him in the third round of the 1961 NFL Draft, he spent his entire career in the AFL with the Bills. He would win back-to-back championships with them in 1964 and 1965, before he eventually called it a career in 1969. After his playing career, Barber spent time in the Bills front office, initially working as a scout before rising all the way up to become the team’s vice president. His time with the team officially came to an end in 1983.
Barber largely avoided the spotlight after retiring to South Carolina, but his legacy with the Bills is forever set in stone. On Sunday, Buffalo announced that Barber passed away at 85 years old on June 11, just three days before his 86th birthday, with the team mourning his untimely death.
Bills Hoping to Find Their Way to the Super Bowl in 2025
GettyBills legend Stew Barber tragically passed away on June 11 at the age of 85
While he didn’t win a Super Bowl, Barber won at the highest level the AFL had to offer twice, and his championship pedigree was valued heavily as he transitioned from a player into an executive. Even though he hasn’t been around the team for quite some time, Barber’s winning legacy is etched in stone in Buffalo, largely due to the fact that the team still has not managed to win a single Super Bowl in their storied history.
That’s something that Allen and company are looking to change in 2025, and after coming up just short again in 2024, they will have plenty of motivation to get over the hump this season. It certainly isn’t going to be easy, but you can make an argument that Buffalo has never been in a better position to go on a deep playoff run than they are this season, and that should serve them well as they look to win their first ever Super Bowl.
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