ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WKBW) — As crews in Orchard Park start to pull apart the original Highmark Stadium, one family is calling for help to find an important piece of their family's memories at the stadium: a long-lost watch.
Ben Liddle reached out, saying his father, Pat Liddle, would always tell him stories of working on the construction of Rich Stadium back in the 70s. One day, he lost his watch inside the concrete core of the stadium. Now, 50 years later, Ben told me they are hoping to get that watch back.
Pat, 79, was raised in the construction world and was a union worker with Local 210 from 1965 to 1978.
"Dad is the hardest working man I know," Ben said.
Ben told me that during his years in Western New York construction, his father worked on several projects, helping to build UB's North Campus and reshape the Buffalo skyline.
"One story he recounted, building the Marine Midland, now the M&T building, just the whipping winds coming off the lake, and him trying to make sure the concrete wasn't ruined," Ben said.
Pat eventually left construction to study law at Rutgers University. He later raised Ben and his two siblings with his wife, Linda, outside of Philadelphia before retiring back in Western New York, where the stories of his construction days never faded.
"His storytelling is prolific even amongst his family, who are also prolific storytellers," Ben said.
Pat even wrote a self-published book, including one memorable story from his time working on the former Rich Stadium when he dropped his Timex watch into the concrete while helping to build the wall inside the famed tunnel.
"The watch just fell into the concrete, and he knew there's no way we're getting that out...it's gone for good," Ben said.
WATCH: Family hopes to find dad's watch that was lost during the construction of Rich Stadium in the 70s
Five years ago, Pat brought his family back to the exact spot, pointing out where he had lost his watch inside the stadium decades earlier. It was one of his favorite stories to revisit, though in more recent times, he has found it harder to tell.
"So he's in the latter stages, latter phase of stage 4, esophageal cancer," Ben said. "He's in hospice. He's at home, comfortable."
During this difficult time, Ben is working to find a way to try to recover his father's watch as the old stadium is demolished.
"He's not asked me to go find this watch or anything. It's something as a family, dad's stories live on," Ben said.
Ben realizes retrieving the watch might be a long shot, but he said its return would mean more than just finding a lost piece from the past.
"I'm expecting my first son, which would have been my father's first grandchild, in about a month, and to be able to have that watch, to be able to say this was your grandfather's and here's who he was," Ben said. "Here's the journey that watch has gone through, and here's the journey your grandfather went through. It would mean so much to have it."
This is about passing down more than just an object, and the story has caught the attention of the Buffalo Bills themselves. A team spokesperson confirmed they are aware of Pat's lost watch and have reached out to their demolition partner, asking crews to keep an eye out for it during the teardown.
