Buffalo Needs a Sports Museum; They Already Have the Collection

John Boutet is a very interesting man. For most of his adult life, he has been collecting every piece of Buffalo sports memorabilia he can find.

This physical education teacher, is a classic example of following your passion. While he enjoys his day job, his true calling and passion is his avocation.

He is the owner and curator of Buffalo Sports Museum. Currently the museum exists only in cyberspace.

The display in the photo above is one small section of Boutet's collection. The collection includes a variety of memorabilia from Buffalo teams mostly prior to the 80's, Highlights of the collection are displayed at the virtual museum (see web link below).

Boutet has been lobbying to establish a Buffalo Sports Museum space for his collection for several years.

A few years ago he approached Buffalo Sabres management to request some unused space in the new HSBC Arena. They didn't say no, but they also didn't call back.

But this man is as persistent in his commitment to take the museum from the Internet and his home to a space worthy of the collection as he has been to compile the collection itself. He continues to look for allies and backers to help him establish the museum.

Link to the Buffalo Sports Museum:

http://www.buffalosportsmuseum.com/

A related project is the drive to enshrine the Buffalo Braves at HSBC Arena. Boutet was the first voice, many years ago, calling for the city to hang a banner and/or retire a jersey of the two most notable Buffalo Braves, local college star, Randy Smith, and NBA Hall of Famer Bob McAdoo. (See separate article about this campaign, linked below.) 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/211555-attempts-to-memorialize-the-buffalo-braves-at-hsbc-arena-ramp-up