Al Davis was many things during his life: coach, owner, general manager, commissioner. But the one thing he should be more known for is ‘innovator.’ Davis was one of the biggest factors in making the NFL what it is today, although he is only known for being the owner of the Oakland Raiders.
Saturday, Davis, 82, was found dead in his home in Oakland. The cause of death has yet to be released. The following day, the Raiders went head-to-head with Houston and they sported stickers on their helmets that read ‘Al’ to commemorate their former leader.
The Raiders sealed the commemoration with a 25-20 win against the Texans. There was also a moment of silence held at every gamed played around the country Sunday.
The NFL teams we know today were split up into two leagues, the NFL and the AFL. The NFL was made up of the original teams, such as the Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers.
The AFL was made up of more expansion teams like the Boston Patriots, the New York Titans (who became the Jets) and the Oakland Raiders.
Davis became the coach of the Raiders in 1963 and turned a 1-13 team into a 10-4 team, which was the first winning record in franchise history; all in one year. Davis became the commissioner for the AFL three years later.
The NFL and AFL also began making secret talks without Davis for a possible merger, which Davis was against. Davis then resigned as commissioner and went back to the Raiders.
After slowly buying the sole ownership of the Raiders, Davis devised a plan that would give him absolute power in the front office and allow him to make final decisions concerning coaches and players.
The Raiders made it to the second Super Bowl in 1967 but lost in Vince Lombardi’s final game as Packers coach, 33-14. The NFL and AFL did merge in 1970, and Davis reluctantly joined.
Davis hired John Madden in 1969 to be coach. Madden won the first Super Bowl in Raider history in 1976 for Davis. The Raiders won two more Super Bowls with Davis as owner in 1980 and 1983.
Davis had a fierce competitiveness and absolutely hated losing. He was well known for his two mottos “Just win baby” and “Commitment to excellence.” His controversial move to transfer the team from Oakland to Los Angeles also defined his career because he had looked for more money from the
Los Angeles market.
Davis built a career and a team on the intimidation factor. He had a reputation of finding players who were good football players and followed his criteria. These players included defensive end Howie Long and defensive back Willie Brown and a host of others like them.
Some even accused the Raiders of being cheaters for their rough play and playing with performance-enhancing substances like wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff using the sticky product Stickum in order to aid in catching.
Regardless, the Raiders were a powerhouse in the NFL from the year of the merger until 2002, which was the last time the Raiders made the Super Bowl. It is all because of the attitude that Davis instilled in his players.
However, in the last 10 years of his life, Davis made questionable draft choices like taking Darrius Heyward-Bey instead of a higher-ranked wide receiver in Micheal Crabtree in 2009 and taking quarterback Jamarcus Russell as the first overall pick in 2007 after many questioned his work ethic. And he even took kicker in Sebastian Janikowski with the 17th overall pick in 2000.
All selfishness and controversy aside, Davis broke the racial and gender barriers by hiring the first African-American coach in Art Shell, the first Hispanic-American coach in Tom Flores and hired a woman to the executive front office, Amy Trask. That along with being the defining force of an entire NFL franchise’s attitude for more than 30 years is what makes Davis great and an icon in the history of the NFL.
