 |
Davis was hard-nosed, but he knew what it
took to be a winner. |
Saturday marked a truly sad day for the National Football League along with Raider Nation with the unexpected passing of their legendary owner, Al Davis.
Davis, 82, died peacefully in his Oakland home, the team said. But the cause of death has yet to be determined and released to the public.
With the passing of one of the most important figures in sports history, we now have time to reflect on what a remarkable life it really was.
Born in Brockton, Massachusetts, Davis began his coaching career working for several different colleges, highlighted by his time as the offensive line coach for the University of Southern California. He worked his way up the ranks and finally had his talent and hard work noticed by an AFL team, the Los Angeles Chargers, who would eventually become what we know now today as the San Diego Chargers.
In 1960, he was hired as the Chargers assistant coach and held that position until the end of the 1962 season.
He would be wooed by the Oakland Raiders and quickly be named their head coach and general manager in 1963, brining his newly learned vertical and West Coast offense up North. That is when he become the leader of the silver and black, a position he would never relinquish. It was then he would assume an image that would define him for nearly a half century.
His first year on the job he would be named the AFL Coach of the Year after leading the team to a 10-4 record.
Three years deep into his coaching career, Davis decided it was time for a new project and was named the AFL's Commissioner in 1966, making the league immensely more popular and essentially got it on the map. Despite knowing the merger between the NFL and AFL was inevitable, he resigned as commissioner and instead bought owner's stake in the Raiders.
While Davis may have been against the 1970 NFL-AFL merger, he was an instrumental part to making that possible with the way he boosted the AFL.
The Raiders won the 1967 AFL Championship, giving them a chance to play in only the second Super Bowl in history. Oakland was outplayed by Vince Lombardi's defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers, losing 33-14. Oakland would lose back-to-back AFL Championships the following two seasons, having to wait almost a decade to get back to the big game.
Prior to the merger, Davis named his homegrown linebackers coach, John Madden, as the team's sixth head coach. Following his employment in 1969, Madden would rapidly make a name for himself after bringing home six division titles over a ten year coaching span.
In 1972, Davis would assume principal ownership of the team and remain their general manager. A position he held all the way up until his death.
It would be in 1976 that Davis and Co. would capture their first AFC Championship and return to the Super Bowl. The Raiders trounced the Minnesota Vikings at the Rose Bowl in Super Bowl XI, 32-14 for their first Super Bowl title in franchise history.
 |
Madden. left and Davis both brought home
Oakland first Super Bowl title. |
That would be the only Super Bowl title in Madden's career as he opted for retirement following the 1978 season, but that was just the beginning for Davis.
After hiring the first Latino head coach in NFL history, Tom Flores, Davis, who is also responsible for hiring the first African American head coach of the modern era, Art Shell in 1989, got his team back to the Super Bowl in 1980. There they dismantled the Philadelphia Eagles 27-10.
Then in 1982, Davis abruptly moved the team down south to Los Angeles.
In only the team's second year in Los Angeles, the Raiders were in another Super Bowl. This time they would face the Washington Redskins, but it yielded the same results. Los Angeles bulled through Washington which at the time the biggest point differential in Super Bowl history, 38-9.
Davis decided to move the team back to Oakland in 1995, where they still reside today.
Just like every man's success there is bound to be his share of failures and there was plenty of that during the iconic owner's tenure. In 1980, Davis angered his own fan base when he traded away Super Bowl winning quarterback Ken Stabler to the Houston Oilers. He is the one also responsible for Hall of Fame running back Marcus Allen playing the final five years of his career for the division rival Kansas City Chiefs.
Prior to the 1998 season, Davis in what was a questionable move at the time hired a 34-year-old head coach by the name of Jon Gruden. But he silenced his critics as it turned out to be a brilliant move with Gruden developing into one of the games premiere head coaches. It didn't last long, at least in Oakland.
In what could be the worse move under his tenure, Davis promptly decided to trade Gruden to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the 2001-02 season. In the deal the Raiders received Tampa Bay's 2002 and 2003 first-round draft picks along with their 2002 and 2004 second-round draft picks and $8 million cash.
This would be a move that would forever haunt Davis and his franchise.
Oakland met their former head coach and Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII, the last Super Bowl appearance of Davis' career. There they would stomped by a Hall of Fame type defense and lose 48-21, giving Gruden the revenge he always deserved.
Following that Super Bowl loss, the Raiders would reel off eight straight losing seasons and never allowing Davis see his team back atop the NFL.
Three of those seasons where due to the poor and inconsistent play of former NFL quarterback JaMarcus Russell, who was drafted by Davis with the first overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. Many believe it was the worst pick in the draft's seventy-five year history.
During Davis' tenure with the Raiders, they accumulated 411-312-11 record during the regular season. Those 411 wins are second only to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys since 1963. His postseason record consisted of a 25-18 mark with three Super Bowl rings to show for it. Oakland also was able to capture 16 division titles and four AFC Championships under his watch.
 |
Davis was often seen wearing
his trademark white jumpsuit. |
Davis will always been one of the most controversial and misunderstood sports figures of his generation. His thick Brooklyn accent, slicked backed hair, dark rectangular rimmed glasses with the chain woven around his neck, and his all white jumpsuit will the images many remember him by, but his legacy is far more different.
The man was a winner and an opportunist. He turned a sub par franchise into one of the most recognizable in the world, whether they are beloved are not is a different story.
He was an innovator and visionary of the game. His sometimes unconventional ways will always go undervalued and misconstrued.
When nobody else was willing to take a chance on you, he would.
He leaves behind an unfillable legacy and shoes with a lifetime of achievements. The NFL might quite never be the same.
The 1992 Hall of Fame inductee achieved every level of success in the game and his understanding and passion for football go unmatched. His "Just Win Baby" attitude will forever live in Raider lore without there being any question who really bled silver and black.
Davis was truly committed to excellence.
