T.O., Salvatore, Coppola reflect on Key to the City following Mayor Brown's exit

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- When Mayor Byron Brown stepped down from office on Oct. 15, he honored four prominent Buffalo community members with street signage and renamed the Delaware Park basketball courts after his predecessor, Mayor Anthony Masiello.

During his nearly 19 years in office, Mayor Brown bestowed numerous awards, recognitions and designations to people who have made an impact on Western New York. Of these recognitions, Brown bestowed the honor of "Key to the City" just five times.

The recipients include: NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens, local restaurateur and philanthropist Russell Salvatore, Olympic medalist Steve Coppola, the crew of the U.S.S. Little Rock and Buffalo Bills, Sabres and Bandits owners Terry and Kim Pegula.

Terrell Owens - 2009

Mayor Brown's most notable presentation of the Key to the City went to Buffalo Bills wide receiver and 2018 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Terrell Owens, who was presented the Key on the steps of the AKG Art Museum in 2009, before he even played a down of football for the Bills.

"It was one of those moments," Owens said in a phone interview last week. "I was well-received by the fanbase and then to receive the Key to the City, obviously that’s a big deal. [I’d] never gotten that before, so the significance of being given the Key to the City, it was an honor."

Owens said, to him, it was a testament to who he was at the time. He said he couldn't have been more excited about the ceremony, evident from his ear-to-ear smile in photographs from that day.

The ceremony was featured on VH1’s “The T.O. Show,” a reality show centered around Owens’ off-field life. Owens said that he wasn't sure how he'd be received by Western New York, though he figured he'd be a good fit with the Bills, despite the team's struggles during that era.

"I just tried to do whatever I could, and any uniform I put on, I took pride in it," he said. "I wanted to represent that red, blue and white, I wanted to represent the people of Buffalo. I think over the years, following my career, it resonated with them -- blue collar workers, people who are passionate about what they do. I think I kind of exemplified that, I represented that and that was always in my DNA to give 100% of myself."

Brown had joked the Key was contingent upon Owens scoring 10 touchdowns and leading the Bills to the postseason. Despite neither of those things coming to fruition, Owens was allowed to keep the key.

The key itself went into storage with jerseys, footballs, helmets and other game-used memorabilia for a few years. Following many direct messages on social media and emails from fans, Owens said he finally found the key while emptying storage he had in Florida, following his move to Texas when his daughter started at Prairie View A&M University.

"Last year, I was going through storage and when I was going through a bunch of my personal items, I came across the Key to the City," he recalled. "I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve been looking for this thing.’ I didn’t know what I had done with it. But, man, it brought back memories and I was excited to find it."

Owens now proudly displays the key in his house alongside trophies, plaques, recognitions for charitable events and other awards in a room painted in the colors of his alma mater, UT-Chattanooga. He said it's the first time he's had a room dedicated to his accomplishments, despite having been asked by numerous visitors in the past why he never had anything displayed. Owens said he has a similar storage unit in California that he still has to go through with more touchdown balls and memorabilia.

While with the Bills, T.O. set the franchise record for longest play from scrimmage on a 98-yard touchdown reception from Ryan Fitzpatrick. This record was tied in 2022 when Josh Allen connected with Gabe Davis for a matching 98-yard passing play.

Owens discussed his desire to have played longer in Buffalo, but noted that differences with newly hired head coach Chan Gailey led to the team going in a different direction. Owens moved on to Cincinnati the following year.

In 2018, Owens returned to Orchard Park for Thurman Thomas' jersey retirement ceremony. He came back again in 2021 as the Bills Legend of the Game for the team’s Monday Night Football matchup against the New England Patriots.

"Man, I tell people I came back [to Buffalo] a few years back when they did the jersey retirement for Thurman Thomas," he said. "I came out on the field and I’m telling you, it gave me chills because, I played notably for three big organizations: San Francisco, Philadelphia and Dallas, but you would’ve thought I played all 15 years in Buffalo with the reception and the cheering that I got when I walked in that stadium. I’ll never forget it."

Owens deemed the reception upon his return "amazing" and said it was one of the best feelings any athlete could ask for.

"I love Buffalo, I support them, I watch them, I’m rooting for them," he said. "Like I said, Buffalo holds a special place in my heart."

In 2020, Owens joked to Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic that if anyone wanted his Key to the City, they'd have to "break [his] arms and legs to get it."

Russell Salvatore - 2023

Brown gave out what would be his final Key to the City in April 2023, presenting restaurateur and philanthropist Russell J. Salvatore with the honor at Salvatore's 90th birthday celebration.

"It was an honor to receive that, and it’s not too many times you get the Key to a city," Salvatore said. "I felt very honored. The mayor’s been good to me, we’ve been close friends and he’s asked me to do an awful lot of things, which, I’ve never said no to anything that’s going to help a group of people."

Salvatore was recognized for his philanthropy, which has included the purchase of hundreds of televisions for hospital rooms and classrooms across the region, the donation of transportation vans for those in need, as well as athletic fields for schools and local sports organizations. In addition to physical donations, Salvatore was recognized for donating millions of dollars in general funding.

"Russell Salvatore has been an asset, not just for the City of Buffalo, but to all Western New York," Brown said of Salvatore in a release the week prior to the 90th birthday celebration. "We are very lucky to have him, and we are very lucky to know him."

Brown noted Salvatore's support for the city's youth, in addition to his philanthropy, in the release.

Salvatore explained his reasoning for giving back.

"There should be nobody hungry in this world," he said. "We’ve got too much money. You can only eat one loaf a bread a day, for God’s sakes. Give back to the community. There’s people starving."

Salvatore took over his father's business at 17 years old, when a pizza was 35¢ and a plate of spaghetti and meatballs was 15¢, according to Salvatore. He noted how his father told him it doesn't take an education to be nice to people and that people will reward you for your kindness.

"I’ve always remembered that. I taught my waiters and my servers the easiest thing in the world to do is to be nice, " he said. "Put yourself in the position that you’ve waited all year long to go out for dinner, it’s your anniversary — treat them as if it was you sitting there."

He spoke to how his father's words shaped his mindset on philanthropy, explaining that he wishes more people who have money would give back in similar fashion.

"What else are you going to do with your money? I don’t gamble or anything like that, I don’t do big vacations," he said. "I’m all alone and I wish there was more I could do. But it felt good to get the Key to the City, it’s a nice honor."

While Salvatore doesn't currently have the his key on display, he said he intends to change that soon.

"It feels wonderful [to have been given the Key to the City]," he said. "My association with Mayor Brown was very close, he was a good man and a nice mayor for the city. I wish him all the luck at Batavia Downs."

Salvatore acknowledged the other recipients of the Key and said he feels very lucky to have been part of that group.

Steven Coppola - 2008

Olympic rower, Canisius High School grad and West Side Rowing Club alum Steven Coppola received the honor after winning a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games. He was the first person during the Byron Brown administration to be bestowed a Key to the City and the first WSRC rower to win an Olympic medal. He would also end up being the youngest Key recipient during Brown's time in office.

"I started looking at the history [of the Key to the City] and seeing the rare company there, it's kind of cool," Coppola said. "It adds a little bit extra to the story. It was a pretty special day."

Following a post-Olympics weekend that included Coppola and one of his teammates delivering the ball to the referee on the field before a Bills game and the declaration of "Steven Coppola Day" in the City of Buffalo, the celebrations culminated with the Key to the City presentation on Nov. 17, 2008.

Coppola said that looking back on the memories, the moment was awesome, but he wishes he would have taken it in more while it was still the present moment.

"I don’t think I took it in as fully as I could have or should have," Coppola said. "Winning a bronze, but you feel like you have the speed and ability to win a gold but it maybe just wasn’t your day, you pretty quickly are like, ‘Let’s see if we can reprise that, let’s see if we can go back again.’"

He said the London Olympics weren't as magical as Beijing's, which made the Beijing Olympics and the ensuing celebration that much more special.

Coppola's full-circle moment was returning to City Hall for the ceremony after the downtown structure was such a major part of his training in high school.

"When I went to Canisius High School, one of our standard workouts was: after school, we would rotate through and sit on the rowing machines in the winter -- the offseason -- we’d go running a lot as well, and one of my favorite runs was running straight down Delaware Avenue to City Hall," he said. "You’d run all the way up the stairs of City Hall up to the observation deck and you’d do a core circuit at the top and then run back down."

He recalled a service floor about midway up the building, which was a struggle for his 6'8" frame.

"I had to duck — you couldn’t run all the stairs," he laughed. "So for me, going to City Hall — it was a quiet ceremony, it wasn’t like we did it on the steps of City Hall or anything like that, it was just kind of quiet in the mayor’s office. So it was intimate, it was cool."

He said the experience of being around Mayor Brown without a lot of press around was unique, as it allowed him to meet the mayor's natural self.

"I think it’s fun when you can be around someone like Mayor Brown and not necessarily have cameras around, just to see him say, ‘Hey this is kind of cool, we wanted to honor you,’" Coppola said. "It’s really fun to be able to meet someone like that when the cameras aren’t on and see how genuine they are."

Coppola, his family and his then-girlfriend -- now his wife -- were taken on a VIP tour of City Hall by Mayor Brown's aides.

"It was just an awesome day to have everyone together," he said. "And it was really cool that I was thought of."

Coppola keeps his key in his office at Cornell, where he is the head coach of the women's rowing team.

"It's a nice talking point with my athletes whenever I have to say, 'Hey -- yeah, I was that good.'"

In addition to a bronze medal, Coppola also won a world title in the men's eight in 2005 (pictured above), earning bronze at the event in 2004 and 2006 as well. He is a grad of Princeton University, where he won five Ivy League titles and was an assistant coach for seven years.

The USS Little Rock (LCS 9) - 2017

Brown gave a Key to the City to the crew of the USS Little Rock in December 2017, recognizing the significance of the ship's commission for Buffalo and the U.S. Navy. The ceremony marked the first time in the history of the U.S. Navy that a ship was commissioned alongside a retired ship bearing the same name, as the new Little Rock was commissioned at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park next to its predecessor, which remains at the park to this day.

At its commissioning, Captain Todd Peters (third from left in photo below), who was a commander at the time, served as the ship's executive officer.

At the commissioning ceremony, the crew of the USS Little Rock named Brown an honorary chairman of the commissioning committee.

“On behalf of the residents of Buffalo, especially our active and retired military, and their families, I am honored to present an official Key to the City to Commander Todd Peters, and his entire crew,” Brown said at the commissioning. "Wherever the new USS Little Rock travels, it will carry the best wishes of the City of Buffalo.”

WIVB was unable to get in touch with Captain Peters for an interview.

Terry & Kim Pegula - 2014

At the opening of LECOM Harborcenter in 2014, the Pegulas were presented with a Key to the City for their dedication to Buffalo's sports teams.

In addition to coinciding with the opening of the rinks, the presentation came shortly after the pair's acquisition of the Buffalo Bills, their third Buffalo sports franchise in addition to the Sabres and Bandits. The couple also acquired the now-defunct Buffalo Beauts three years later.

WIVB reached out to Bills and Sabres PR for a statement from Terry Pegula, but did not hear back.

Who else has received the Key to the City?

City historian Lindsey Lauren Visser provided WIVB extensive information about many of the pre-Brown administration Key to the City recipients.

JFK: President John F. Kennedy received the Key to the City from Mayor Chester Kowal on Oct. 15, 1962, after Kennedy attended the city’s Pulaski Day parade. The Key now resides in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston.

LBJ: Two years to the day that Mayor Kowal presented Kennedy with a Key, he presented the former president's successor, President Lyndon B. Johnson with the same honor. Johnson received a Key to the City while visiting Buffalo with Senate candidate Robert Kennedy on Oct. 15, 1964.

Ruth Elder: Elder was the first woman to attempt a transatlantic flight, with a plan to fly from New York to Paris on Oct. 11, 1927 at the age of 25. She soared for a few hundred miles before encountering bad weather, ultimately landing in the ocean and being rescued by a nearby ship with copilot George Haldeman. Mayor Frank Schwab presented the Key to the City of to Elder on Feb. 18, 1928. 

Lieut. Franciszek E. Jarecki: Jarecki, a Polish Air Force pilot, famously escaped the Soviet Union in a Soviet jet. He received a Key to the City from City Comptroller Chester Kowal in May 1953. A collection featuring Jarecki and his flight is kept at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C.

Louis B. Mayer: A co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios, Mayer received a Key in May 1926 from John J. Love, who was acting mayor during a period of Mayor Schwab’s administration.

Jeanette MacDonald: A singer and actress, MacDonald received a Key to the City from Mayor Thomas Holling on Nov. 22, 1940, upon her arrival at Central Terminal prior to her concert at Kleinhans Music Hall. MacDonald, a Philadelphia native, became known for her roles in "Cairo," "San Francisco" and "Broadway Serenade," as well as her duet work with Nelson Eddy, singing songs such as "Indian Love Call," "Will You Remember" and "Song of Love."

Triumph: The Canadian rock band Triumph, who described Buffalo as "a second home," was given a Key to the City by Mayor James D. Griffin in 1981 as a show of the city's appreciation for the band's music. In return, Mayor Griffin received an "Allied Forces" tour jacket.

Marilyn Bell: A Canadian swimmer and the first person to swim across Lake Ontario, Bell was just 16 years old when she completed the 44-mile swim in 1954. Bell, who completed the swim in under 21 hours, is a member of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame and was presented a Key to the City of Buffalo by Mayor Steven Pankow’s secretary, John V. Kane, on Jan. 11, 1955. Later that year, she became the youngest person to swim across the English Channel, and swam across the Juan de Fuca Strait in 1956.

Ray Dandridge: Dandridge was a three-time All Star during his eight seasons as an infielder in the Negro Leagues and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987, the same year he received the Key to the City. He resided in Buffalo for a few years and was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 1994, the year of his death.

In addition to a variety of notable people who were honored with Keys to the City for major accomplishments or general notoriety, there was a period when anyone who visited Mayors Frank Sedita and Jimmy Griffin in their office would be given a Key, according to journalist Steve Cichon in a 2018 Buffalo News article.

In addition to providing additional recipients of the Key, Visser added that the size of Buffalo Keys to the City can be attributed to Mayor Pankow, who in 1956 had the Buffalo key upgraded upon finding a Buffalo doctor had received the Key to the City of Detroit, which was three times larger and a bit more aesthetically pleasing than Buffalo's at the time.

As recently as 1963, each new mayor had a new key designed when they came into office, according to Visser. As an example, she noted Mayor Kowal’s key featured his name on the shank, with the seal of the City placed near the top and the lock end shaped like a large letter B.