Former Buffalo Bills safety Micah Hyde retired after last season, but he’s still giving back to the place where he had so much success on and off the field.

“This is the legacy I want to leave here and hopefully it continues to carry on,” Hyde said prior to his Micah Hyde Charity Softball game at Sahlen Field in downtown Buffalo. “People are going to remember me as 23 for the Buffalo Bills but at the end of the day I want them to remember this charity softball game that’s hopefully still being held 20 years from now.”

Despite some rain, Hyde’s softball game brought out thousands of Bills fans to see some of Buffalo’s biggest stars join Hyde in raising money for worthy causes, a home run in every way. 

“It’s just a lot of support around from former teammates, even people from my hometown traveling here, people from all over New York coming here, so it’s pretty cool,” Hye said.

Now that Hyde is officially retired, he can look back on a career that saw him become an All-Pro, one of the best safeties in the history of the Buffalo Bills, and a key cog in turning the team into a perennial contender.

“These last couple months been able to dissect my career and really reflect on the career that I’ve had,” he said. “Obviously, the interceptions, the tackles and the wins has been amazing.  I can watch those, my son can watch those, my family can watch those highlights for the rest of their lives.”

But for Hyde, there’s something bigger than Xs and Os on the football field, but the love for a city and a fan base that will live on.

“I don’t know how long my name will be attached to this game, but as long as this game continues to go forward, the community helping the players, players helping the community, I think that’s something that we can brag about around the league that nobody else is doing. That’s something that Bills Mafia is able to create,” he said.