Post by TheShadow on May 8, 2008 16:06:20 GMT -5
mvn.com
By Patrick Patterson
In the late 1960s, a decade before Al Davis would take football away from the city of Oakland, he along with then owner Wayne Valley saved football in Oakland. As the American Football League was negotiating its merger with the National Football League the San Francisco 49ers tried to bribe or force the Oakland Raiders out of the Bay Area market. Davis and Valley stood fast, and the Raiders entered the NFL as the Oakland Raiders.
The following is an excerpt from the book Slick:The Silver and Black Life of Al Davis by Mark Ribowsky
(Al) Davis wasn’t through there, either–and, as became apparent to (Wayne) Valley, Al’s help was invaluable to the very continuance of the Oakland Raiders. Goaded by the 49ers, NFL draftsmen had included in the merger agreement sixteen unconscionable demands of the Raider franchise. Some of these were the right to oversee Raider schedules to avoid head-to0head competition, control over which NFL teams the Raiders would now play, and some 49ers games to be played at the Coliseum. Apparently, the 49ers–and the NFL–meant for these interdictions to force the Raiders out of the Bay Area.
“The NFL had come to me before that, through a liaison, about the possibility of convincing the Raiders to move to Seattle,” George Ross recalled. “They were using the 49ers’ share of the indemnity as a bribe–they’d give it up if the Raiders moved. I said go to hell. And then, right at the end of the merger, the 49ers went to the NFL with the same idea, to get the territory for themselves.”
Valley, Davis, and Sonny Werblin, standing firm, scared the NFL out of holding on to the demands.
That was a pretty drastic move on the part of the Niners, trying to exert their control over the Raider franchise, especially considering at that time the Raiders were a highly successful franchise, and the Niners not so much. Granted, the Niners likely never expected to get that control, instead were pushing for the Raiders to play elsewhere.
Had they been successful, the NFL landscape would look much different. For one thing, the success of the Raiders’ years of domination can be attributed to the special synergy between the Raiders and their fans in the East Bay. The Seahawks would have never come into being.
Ultimately, the reward that Wayne Valley gave Al Davis for his aid in preserving the Raiders during this tumultuous time-partial ownership of the team-would ultimately be Valley’s undoing as owner of the Raiders.
By Patrick Patterson
In the late 1960s, a decade before Al Davis would take football away from the city of Oakland, he along with then owner Wayne Valley saved football in Oakland. As the American Football League was negotiating its merger with the National Football League the San Francisco 49ers tried to bribe or force the Oakland Raiders out of the Bay Area market. Davis and Valley stood fast, and the Raiders entered the NFL as the Oakland Raiders.
The following is an excerpt from the book Slick:The Silver and Black Life of Al Davis by Mark Ribowsky
(Al) Davis wasn’t through there, either–and, as became apparent to (Wayne) Valley, Al’s help was invaluable to the very continuance of the Oakland Raiders. Goaded by the 49ers, NFL draftsmen had included in the merger agreement sixteen unconscionable demands of the Raider franchise. Some of these were the right to oversee Raider schedules to avoid head-to0head competition, control over which NFL teams the Raiders would now play, and some 49ers games to be played at the Coliseum. Apparently, the 49ers–and the NFL–meant for these interdictions to force the Raiders out of the Bay Area.
“The NFL had come to me before that, through a liaison, about the possibility of convincing the Raiders to move to Seattle,” George Ross recalled. “They were using the 49ers’ share of the indemnity as a bribe–they’d give it up if the Raiders moved. I said go to hell. And then, right at the end of the merger, the 49ers went to the NFL with the same idea, to get the territory for themselves.”
Valley, Davis, and Sonny Werblin, standing firm, scared the NFL out of holding on to the demands.
That was a pretty drastic move on the part of the Niners, trying to exert their control over the Raider franchise, especially considering at that time the Raiders were a highly successful franchise, and the Niners not so much. Granted, the Niners likely never expected to get that control, instead were pushing for the Raiders to play elsewhere.
Had they been successful, the NFL landscape would look much different. For one thing, the success of the Raiders’ years of domination can be attributed to the special synergy between the Raiders and their fans in the East Bay. The Seahawks would have never come into being.
Ultimately, the reward that Wayne Valley gave Al Davis for his aid in preserving the Raiders during this tumultuous time-partial ownership of the team-would ultimately be Valley’s undoing as owner of the Raiders.