A pair of former Bills offensive linemen will be saluting service veterans at the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame, in observance of Veterans Day, will present the 14th annual A Salute to Veterans, program as a tribute to veterans and members of the active military on Saturday, Nov. 8.
This year’s program will feature Gold Jacket Joe DeLamielleure and Mike Montler, his former Buffalo Bills teammate. Montler, a Columbus, Ohio native, joined the Marine Corps in 1961, a move he said “changed my life.” He served from 1961-65 and then went on to become an All-American guard at the University of Colorado. The Boston Patriots drafted Montler in the second round of the 1969 draft. DeLamielleure and Montler joined forces in Buffalo in 1973 when Joe D was the team’s first round draft pick. The duo became anchors of the famed Buffalo Bills’ “Electric Company” offensive line.
A special program is scheduled at 10:00 a.m. in the Hall of Fame’s Event Center. All visitors attending the program will receive a commemorative Pro Football Hall of Fame patriotic pin specially created for the program in honor of our nation’s heroes.
The Hall of Fame is collecting items to be donated to the USO of Massillon, Ohio. The most needed items include: canned fruit, granola bars, microwave popcorn, pasta sauce, coffee, cereal, peanut butter, rice, beans, pasta, laundry soap, shower gel, body wash, tampons, dish soap, cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer and paper towels.
A Salute to Veterans is one of many special events held by the Pro Football Hall of Fame at the museum and around the country. For more information, visit the Hall’s event calendar online at ProFootballHOF.com/events.
