Why not Bud?

Wilson is deserving. He is the founding owner of the Bills and one of eight original owners of teams in the American Football League — the self-appointed "Foolish Club." He is celebrating 50 years in pro football.

Ditto for K.S. "Bud" Adams Jr. He is all that. And more.

(Let me insert a disclaimer here: I'm one of 44 members of the selection committee for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. As such, I can't divulge what goes on behind closed doors. Suffice it to say, however, that the debate can get pretty lively.)

It was a conversation between Adams and the late Lamar Hunt — a Hall of Fame selection in 1972, by the way — that led to the formation of the AFL. Adams and Hunt recruited others, like Wilson, to the fledgling league.

And while it was a meeting between Wilson and the late Carroll Rosenbloom, then owner of the Los Angeles Rams, that was instrumental in the merger of the AFL and NFL, Wilson points out that Adams and others were deeply involved in behind-the-scenes work.

"I don't think they really know what happened in the merger, who were the fighters, who weren't, who did what," Wilson said.

Along those lines, it was the manner in which Adams conducted business that helped get the attention of the more established NFL. He made a splash by signing two-time All-America and Heisman Trophy winner Billy Cannon away from the L.A. Rams in 1960.

"They were scared to death of Bud, the other league, because he beat them on Billy Cannon," said Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis.

After Cannon had signed with the Rams, Adams circled back around and offered him twice as much money. He also handed over the keys to Mrs. Adams' Cadillac to secure the deal.

"She wasn't too happy about that," Adams recalled.

Of course, there is a sticking point here. Adams moved his team from Houston to Nashville in 1997. Owners that relocate their teams tend to get the cold shoulder in this process.

Case in point: The late Art Modell has been shut out of the Hall of Fame, in large part because of lingering hard feelings over his decision to move his team out of Cleveland to Baltimore in 1996. Modell was a finalist in 2002 and a semifinalist in 2004, '05 and '06, but is not in the Hall of Fame.

Just the same, that didn't keep Davis out. He moved the Raiders from one city (Oakland) to another (Los Angeles) and, ultimately, back again. And he's in the Hall of Fame

Recently, there has been a willingness to consider those who laid the foundation for today's NFL. Often, the rhetorical question is asked: "Could you write the history of pro football without including his name?"