Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - As the Buffalo Bills prepare to take on the Raven's for one of the coldest games of the season, old time Bills players share what it's like to play in below-freezing temperatures.
Lou Piccone, who played for the Bills between 1977 and 1982. says players wore whatever they could to stay warm.
"They had very, very thin, sheer undergarments. If you could get away with one, if it didn't restrict your movement, that's basically what we did. We wear gloves at one point in time. If you're a receiver, it's hard to wear. It was archaic back then. You really didn't have the science - the technology wasn't applied. I used diver gloves, for diving, because it was tacky, it was rubberized, and it would hold up, and it didn't interfere that much with your touch. Depending on who you were, what you played, I think, dictated your dress," Piccone stated.
Piccone says the coldest game he played during his career in the NFL was against Cincinnati.
"I think it went down to 27 below zero. It was tough, but just tough to keep warm, stay warm. You want to keep busy. Well, you hope you're not sitting on the bench.
Booker Edgerson, who played for the Bills from 1962-1969, says the cold was never really an issue for him.
"I'm from the Midwest, so I'm always in the cold weather. We used to play in the cold weather, but it's no big deal. It's something that you've been doing all, mostly all your life, because most guys are from Midwest or near Midwest, where they played in cold weather."
Edgerson says there is one game that he remembers as being one of the coldest he's ever played in.
"It was Cincinnati game in 1969 and the field was full of snow. It was cold. I don't know if it was a coldest game and everything, but with the two elements, it felt like it was the coldest game that we ever played in, that I'd ever played in, in professional football."
The Buffalo Bills will host the Baltimore Ravens for the NFL Divisional Round at Highmark Stadium on Sunday at 6:30 p.m..