The story of Western New York’s summertime all-star football tradition begins one year before the Kensington Lions’ official series. On August 9, 1975, the University at Buffalo Alumni Association presented the Niagara Frontier Football Classic at Rotary Field. Approximately 6,000 spectators attended. Although the contest was a success on the field, it did not meet the financial threshold required for the UB-sponsored event to continue. Its future was uncertain, but not for long.
Kensington Lions Club members Gene Zinni and Harry Chambers recognized what the game could mean to Western New York’s players, coaches and communities. They turned to fellow Lion Milt Dickerson, a banker, and asked whether he could arrange financing if the venture lost money. Together, Zinni, Chambers and Dickerson brought the proposal to the Kensington Lions Club. The club assumed responsibility in 1976, establishing the first game in the continuing Kensington Lions series.
The inaugural Lions contest ended with the North defeating the South, 20-0. From that beginning, the Classic grew into a showcase for recently graduated high school seniors from across Western New York. For generations of players, it has offered one final opportunity to represent their schools, compete beside former rivals and take the field before family, friends and the region’s football community. Coaches, officials, trainers, cheerleaders, volunteers and sponsors have all helped make the event a summer tradition.
Over the decades, the game has traveled to stadiums in Lancaster, North Tonawanda, Williamsville, Depew, Tonawanda, Orchard Park, the University at Buffalo and Buffalo State. Its displayed name has changed with presenting partners, including the long-remembered Lions-Tops era, but its identity and purpose have remained unmistakably Kensington Lions.
The Classic’s alumni include Don Majkowski, Jim Burt, Daryl Johnston, members of the Wolfley family, Dave Hollins, James Starks, Corey Graham, Brett Kern and many other players who continued into college and professional football.
Service has always been as important as the score. Proceeds have supported scholarships and charitable organizations throughout Western New York. The Harry R. Chambers Memorial Scholarship dates to 1980 and has maintained a long association with St. Mary’s School for the Deaf. In 2002, the Lions began an enduring partnership with Kids Escaping Drugs; by 2024, game proceeds had generated more than $230,000 for that organization alone. The Classic has also assisted numerous other local causes, carrying the Lions’ motto “We Serve” onto the football field.
Only a global pandemic interrupted the annual series. The 2020 game was cancelled, though honorary rosters were still selected, and the Classic returned in 2021. Another new chapter began in 2023 with the first girls flag football all-star game, expanding the event while preserving its North-South tradition.
Now, in 2026, Western New York celebrates the 50th playing of the Kensington Lions All-Star Football Classic and the 50th anniversary of the Lions’ first game. What began as a determination to save a promising local event has become a half-century legacy of competition, opportunity and service. The names and venues have changed, but the purpose envisioned by Gene Zinni, Harry Chambers and Milt Dickerson still endures: bring Western New York together through football and use the game to help others.
