The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The team was founded in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL) and joined the NFL in 1970 following the AFL–NFL merger. The team is named after Buffalo Bill Cody, a famous American scout who fought for the Union in the Civil War and served in the U.S. Army during the Indian Wars. The name "Buffalo Bills" was chosen during a naming contest for Buffalos All-America Football Conference team. While the squad was originally named the Bison, owner James Breuil wanted to switch things up. James F. Dyson wrote an essay comparing the team to a band of "Buffalo Bills" and Breuil, the owner of Frontier Oil Company, loved the connection to the American frontier legend. The Bills official mascot is Billy Buffalo, an eight-foot-tall, anthropomorphic blue American bison who wears the jersey "number" BB.