Post by TheShadow on Feb 18, 2006 21:17:31 GMT -5
www.nfl-football-tickets.net
Although the AFL was formally organized on August 14, 1959, the Oakland
Raiders did not become the eighth member of the new league until January
1960. The Raiders were selected as a replacement for the Minneapolis
franchise, which had defected to the NFL. Oakland's record in its first
three seasons was a miserable 9-33-0 and they averaged fewer than 11,000
fans per game.
The Raiders stopped the bleeding almost immediately in 1963 when they hired
Al Davis, a San Diego assistant, to be their new coach. After a 1-13 season
in 1962, Oakland improved to 10-4 in 1963, and Davis was named the AFL Coach
of the Year. Since that time, the Raider's fortunes have been the exclusive
responsibility of Davis, who has been with the team virtually ever since.
(In 1966, he left the team briefly to act as commissioner of the AFL.)
Under Davis's guidance, the Raiders have been one of football's premier
organizations. Beginning in 1965, the Raiders had winning records in 19 of
the next 20 years. Over that time, they won 12 division championships, the
1967 AFL championship, AFC championship in 1976, 1980 and 1983 and they won
Super Bowls XI, XV and XVIII. They are the only team to play in the Super
Bowl in the 1960's, 1970's and 1980's. In the 30-year period between 1963
and 1992, the Raider's record 285-146-11 (.661) ranks as the best among all
major sports teams.
While Davis stresses a "Commitment to Excellence" for his entire
organization, credit for much of the Raider's unprecedented success must be
given to its many outstanding players and coaches. In addition to Davis
himself, eight players- Jim Otto, George Blanda, Willie Brown, Gene Upshaw,
Art Shell, Fred Biletnikoff, Ted Hendricks and Mike Haynes-have been elected
to the Hall of Fame. Five Raider coaches have been named either AFL or NFL
Coach of the Year-Davis, John Rauch, John Madden, Tom Flores and Shell.
The Raiders made headlines of a different nature when they moved from the
Oakland Coliseum to the more spacious Los Angeles Coliseum in 1982. After 12
seasons in Southern California, the team moved back to their original city.