Seymour Knox dies
Mark Wozniak, WBFO
Buffalo Sabres' co-founder Seymour Knox III died early today (Wed 5/22/96) of
cancer at age 70.
Seymour and his brother Northrup Knox were responsible for gaining a National
Hockey League franchise for their home town of Buffalo in 1969. The Sabres
began play in the fall of 1970, and are preparing to move into the new Marine
Midland Arena this coming fall.
The Knox family has been involved with Marine Bank for many years, and also
took an interest in modern art. A major renovation and expansion of the
Albright Art Gallery in the 1960s was funded by the Knoxes, which led to the
re-naming of the gallery to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.
Seymour Knox was largely responsible for arranging the funding package for the
new Marine Midland Arena, in order to keep his beloved Sabres in his hometown.
Seymour Knox was inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto as a builder in
1993. Seymour and Norty Knox were inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame
in emotional ceremonies at Memorial Auditorium late this past season, and they
also presided over the team's final game at the Aud last month.
Seymour Knox took part in this past weekend's open house at the new arena, but
he had to be taken around in a wheelchair.
Perhaps renaming the Crossroads Arena to the Seymour Knox Arena instead of the
Marine Midland Arena would be an appropriate way to honor a man who
brought...and kept...NHL hockey in Buffalo. Or, perhaps, returning (or at least
including) the old Sabres logo and/or colors in the new uniforms.
Mark Wozniak, WBFO
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Mark Wozniak, WBFO
A postscript to the Seymour Knox obituary I posted earlier...WBFO news director
Mark Scott just pointed out to me that the passing of Seymour Knox this morning
happens to be on the 21st anniversary of perhaps the most remembered game in
Buffalo Sabres history...May 22 1975, Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals at
Memorial Auditorium. The Sabres beat Philadelphia 5-4 in overtime, in what is
known as the Fog Game. Play was stopped several times while players skated
around, dispersing fog on a hot humid evening in the then-non-air conditioned
Aud. During the same game, Jim Lorentz killed a bat with his stick, earning
himself the nickname "Batman" and a permanent place in Sabres folklore.
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