"A game brought us together and with it the chance to learn a little about life from each other."

- From the booklet, NBTHL 1974-1980, chapter 7 - Looking Back After All These Years, produced and distributed to all sixteen previous league members in 1982.

The North Buffalo Table Hockey League (NBTHL) was the premiere table hockey in North Buffalo from January 1974 until it ceased normal operations in January 1980.

Origins of the NBTHL.
The first recorded and dated table hockey game was Wednesday, December 6, 1972. Incidentally, the same night the real Buffalo Sabres defeated the New York Rangers, 3-2.

We named our little league of four players from two families, the Neighborhood Hockey League Table Hockey Association (NHLTHA).

In January 1974, we exanded to eight players and renamed the league after our neighborhood street and ice hockey team, RamEu or Ramsdell Eugene Table Hockey Assocation (RETHA). RamEu represented the two streets, Ramsdell and Eugene, where all of the players lived.

Shortly thereafter and probably because we were playing exhibition games with players from Riverside, North Buffalo and Kenmore, we renamed our league the North Buffalo Table Hockey League. The NBTHL's Opening Day games were held on Thursday, February 14, 1974. Games were 15 minutes in duration (three five minute periods).

Over the years, 16 people played, competed and formed friendships in our league. One year, in the mid-1970s, our champion represented our league in a tournament in Canada.

Epilogue
In 2005, twenty-five years later, after not playing in a regular season since 1980, two of the NBTHL's previous Champions competed in the 2005 Johnny Goodguy Tournament in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. We placed 33/60 and 36/60. One earning the "C" bracket Johnny Goodguy Championship. And the other reaching the same bracket's Semi-Finals.