About

The BFLO Hall of Fame Experience project is a 501(c) 3 tax-exempt non-profit organization dedicated to bringing a unique cultural experience for families, fans and tourists by developing museum space that promotes the cultural history of broadcasting, entertainment, music and sports, and our reach to the nation and beyond from our roots here in Western New York.

DEDICATION – The BFLO Hall of Fame Experience is dedicated to collecting, preserving, interpreting and promoting the cultural history of broadcasting, entertainment, music and sports in Buffalo and beyond.
HONOR – The BFLO Hall of Fame Experience honors our leading citizens by preserving and showcasing the distinctly rich heritage of Western New York through an unparalleled collection of memorabilia, artifacts, multimedia, works of art, and interactive exhibits.
INSPIRATION – The BFLO Hall of Fame Experience will provide inspiration, role models and educational opportunities to young people. Our mission is to share the values of leadership, respect, and cooperation to our youth through interactive programming in an educational setting.
EDUCATION – The BFLO Hall of Fame Experience will promote performances, speaker series and use of the Museum and Hall of Fame for cultural and educational events.

The BFLO Hall of Fame Experience will provide a 360-degree perspective of our culture, offering a permanent destination to celebrate our history and heritage.

Collaboration

The Buffalo Music

Hall of Fame

The Buffalo Broadcasters

Association

The Greater Buffalo Sports

Hall of Fame

The Buffalo Music Hall of Fame has a vast array of musical memorabilia including signed albums, posters and promotional materials. In addition, the music collection includes clothing, musical instruments and personal memorabilia from Buffalo’s many locally relevant and nationally prominent artists. From Harold Arlen’s, Somewhere Over the Rainbow lyrics to Rick James’ funky outfits, to Goo Goo Dolls signed guitars, the story of Buffalo music memorabilia is a comprehensive collection of Buffalo’s best.

The array of memorabilia includes collectibles from prominent Buffalo artists such as Big Wheelie and the Hubcaps, Grover Washington, Jr., 10,000 Maniacs, and many others. The collection also has concert memorabilia telling the story of famous Buffalo concerts including Elvis’s gold suit appearance at the Memorial Auditorium, the Who’s first post-Cincinnati tragedy performance, and Bruce Springsteen’s final live performance (to date) with the E Street Band.

The Buffalo Broadcasters Association maintains a huge treasure trove of film archives from local news stations spanning from the early ‘60s through the ‘80s. They are in the process of digitizing this film, which will be used in multiple exhibits and displays telling the story of Buffalo. From the closing of the Lackawanna steel mills to the rebirth of the waterfront. From the rise of notable Buffalo broadcasters and entertainers, such as Buffalo Bob Smith, Mark Russell, Ramblin’ Lou, Houndog Lorenz to the prominence of Buffalo broadcast personalities Paul Maguire, Don Criqui, Wolf Blitzer, and Tim Russert. The History of Buffalo will be broadcast in exhibits featuring vintage television sets and radios.

We have an extensive broadcasting and entertainment memorabilia collection. This includes old broadcasting equipment used during the ‘40s through the ‘80s. Vintage videotape machines, reel-to-reel tape machines, cassette players, and cameras.

The Buffalo Niagara Hall of Fame will have a working radio station where students and retired personalities can work together to produce radio interviews and shows that can be broadcast on a leased carrier. This station would become a source of information for downtown events. A visitor could call a famous Buffalo sporting event while watching the clip in a working press box and receive video from their announcing debut via email.

Incorporated as a non-profit organization, the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame (GBSHOF) group began meeting regularly in 1991, putting together plans for an inaugural induction dinner, creating a nomination form, distributing them to Western New York sports fans, tabulating results and announcing the first class of 11. In 2017, the 27th class was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame with over 300 members

The GBSHOF also started the Amateur Sports Development Fund in 1993 to support amateur local athletes, teams and organizations seeking financial assistance to foster the pursuit of a higher level of athletic achievement. The New Era Student Athletic Scholarship Program was created in 2012 through GBSHOF to recognize deserving high school student-athletes who excel not only in their respective athletic endeavor(s) but in the classroom as well. New Era wants to empower the next generation of athletes and leaders.

The GBSHOF has a small exhibit located in the pavilion area of the First Niagara Center (formerly HSBC Arena), just outside the Sabres Store.

Officers

Dave “DG” Gillen

President

Mary Summers-Wende

Secretary

Herb Flemming

Treasurer

Therese Forton-Barnes

Director of Strategic Planning

Directors

Don Angelo Paula Bogdan Terry Fisher Mark Glieco

Howie Green Bart LaFaso Dale Martin Dan Nedescu Jack Prybylski Liz Lewin

Advisory Board

Phil Beuth Mike Billoni John Boutet Tom Calderone Anthony Casuccio Drew Cerza Seymour Knox IV Denny Lynch

Board of Directors

Anchor 1

Contact Us

BLFO Hall of Fame Experience

5672 Main Street

Williamsville, NY 14221

Phone: (716) 998-3325

Email: info@blfoexperience.org