OLEAN, N.Y. (WKBW) — Paul Wieland, a former public relations director for the Buffalo Sabres, died Thursday.
The former Buffalo Evening News and Courier Express reporter joined the Sabres in August 1970 following a brief stint with General Motors.
Wieland would fill many roles for the Sabres over his 25-year career, ranging from fill-in practice goaltender to color commentator.
It was Wieland’s decision for the Sabres to bring on Rick Jeanneret as play-by-play announcer in 1971.
For anyone that knew him, April Fools’ Day might as well been called Paul Wieland Day.
Known for his high jinks, perhaps Wieland’s greatest prank came in 1974 at the National Hockey League draft.
The Sabres would use their 11th-round pick on an ice hockey player from Japan named Taro Tsujimoto.
Tsujimoto did not exist and the NHL did not have a clue.
The ruse continued for months with players and even team ownership not knowing the Tsujimoto selection was a hoax until just before the start of training camp.
Wieland, a 1959 graduate of St. Bonaventure University, returned to his alma mater to teach journalism where he would mentor countless students.
He retired as a lecturer in the Jandoli School of Communication in 2017. The award for outstanding achievement in the sports media curriculum at St. Bonaventure is named in Wieland’s honor.
“How could you not love a guy who could tell a story like Paul Wieland? He was a treasure," said Tom Missel, chief communications officer at St. Bonaventure.
"Paul had a tremendous sense of humor, and a devilish grin that told you how much he loved being the prankster, his Taro Tsujimoto stunt during his time with the Sabres in the mid-1970s being his most famous prank of all.
“But what I admired most about Paul was his desire to mentor our students in the many years he spent teaching at his alma mater," Missel added. "A man who continued to teach into his 80s tells you all you need to know about his desire to impart on our kids all that he learned in the broadcast industry.”
Survived by his wife and three daughters, Wieland was 84.
