Buffalo Bills Alumni give $90,000 in charitable contributions

Our Buffalo Bills Alumni gave $90,000 in grants to 28 local charities this past week. We had a nice luncheon at the Hyatt Hotel where we treated the executive directors of the organizations with an early Christmas present. In this picture, we presented Dennis DiPaolo $2,000 check for his Scholarship Program. Dennis is the son of the legendary pro wrestler Ilio DiPaolo. Bills Alumni from left to right are: Charlie Ferguson, Ed Rutkowski, Pete Mills, Jeff Nixon, Bob Dugan and the recipient - Dennis DiPaolo.

Ilio died in 1995 after being struck by a car during a torrential downpour. After his death, DiPaolo's oldest son Dennis began to run the restaurant his father owned, Ilio DiPaolo's Italian Restaraunt.

World Championship Wrestling held the Ilio DiPaolo Memorial Show for DiPaolo from 1996 through 1999. To this point over $750,000 has been raised for the Ilio DiPaolo Scholarship Fund and for other Buffalo charities like Children's Hospital and People Inc.

Ilio DiPaolo was selected as a New York State Award recipient by the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 2003. The DiPaolo family has also been inducted into the New York Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame for the creation of the Ilio DiPaolo Scholarship fund and continual contribution to high school wrestling.