Buffalo Bills History: Who Wore It #27
By Dennis Amo
Last year we began to look at some of the players that were part of the Buffalo Bills history and what numbers they wore. The Buffalo Bills have had over 1100 players come through their organizational doors.
Live Feed
Saturday Blitz
We left off last year with who wore number 26th. Here are the players both past and present that have wore the number 27.
The Buffalo Bills have had 15 players that have worn the number 27 ranging from 1962 until the present day.
We start off the 27’s with Harold Lewis who wore number 27 in 1960.
Joe Cannavino who was one of two players that wore the number 27 th during the 1962 year. Cannavino played in 4 games and had 1 interception for 19 yards during his short tenure with the Buffalo Bills. Willie Jones was the other number 27 for the Buffalo Bills during the 1962 season. He was primarily used as a kick returner for 10 games. He had 14 returns for 287 yards.
After the 1962 season we don’t see another number 27 on the field until we come to 1965 with Safety Tom Janik who held the number through the 1968 season. Janik was in the NFL for 9 years, 4 of which were with Buffalo. While in Buffalo he played in 49 games and started 10 of them. In his 4 years in Buffalo Janik was able to pull in 21 interceptions and 5 touchdowns with a long of 100 yards in 1968.
1970 is the next time that we see the number 27 hit the field with Tommay Pharr wearing it. He played for 1 year with the Bills and started in 10 games for the Bills.
Ahmad Rashad is the next player we see wearing the number 27 for the Bills during the years 1974-1975. He played 10 years in the league and only 1 for Buffalo. During his 1 year stint he started 14 games for the Bills and was able to pull in 36 receptions for 433 yards and 4 touchdowns.
We don’t see another 27 on the field until 1981. Chris Williams played for 3 years all with the Bills. He played in a total of 21 games and started 5 of them.
In 1984 we see Craig White featured in the Bills number 27. White had 4 receptions in 14 games for a total of 28 yards.
Ron Pitts was the next Buffalo Bills player to don the number 27. He played for the Bills from 1986-1987. Pitts started 3 games in his 21 game stint with the Bills. He was primarily used as a punt returner for the Bills. He moved on to play with the Green Bay Packers for an additional 3 years.
CLifford Hicks is the next Bills player toting the number 27 around. He came into the league in 1987 with the Los Angeles Rams and saw time with the Bills from 1990-1992. He moved on to the New York Jets for 2 more years and finished his career with the Denver Broncos for an additional year.
The longest stint for the number 27 goes to Ken Irvin. From 1995 to 2001, Irvin wore the number 27 for the Bills. During his stint in Buffalo, he started in 54 games out of 108 possible games. During his time he was able to knab 7 interceptions and had a long of 43 yards for a return.
Coy Wire is the next individual to wear the number 27 for the Bills and also had the second longest time in the jersey. He wore the jersey from 2002-2007 for the Bills. Wire started 21 game for the Bills out of 80. He was able to record 5 sacks and 131 tackles in his time with Buffalo.
From 2008-2011a player with a fitting name wore the number 27 for the Bills; Reggie Corner. Corner played for the Bills for 4 years. In 55 games for the Bills, Corner finished with 89 tackles.
Stephon Gilmore is the next player to wear the number 27 for the Bills toting it for only 1 year before switching to number 24. In 2012 Gilmore started all 16 games and had 51 tackles, 1 interception, and 2 forced fumbles.
The final and most current player on the Bills roster to wear they number 27 is Safety Duke Williams. Duke Williams has started 4 games in his two years with the Bills. He has a total of 44 tackles and 1 interception.