Post by TheShadow on Sept 11, 2010 9:03:34 GMT -5
www.insidebayarea.com
By Jeff Faraudo
Oakland Tribune
ON THE DAY 50 years ago, when the Oakland Raiders played their first regular-season game in the new American Football League, Al Davis was an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Chargers, rookie center Jim Otto was wearing jersey No. 50 rather than the "00" that made him famous, and the opposing quarterback was George Blanda.
The date of the game -- Sept. 11 -- carried no ominous baggage back then.
The Raiders were the newest team in the fledgling AFL, awarded their franchise in January 1960 after Minnesota backed out to accept a spot in the NFL. The Raiders had no name players, no stadium in Oakland and only modest prospects for long-term success.
"No one had any idea of what to expect," said Scotty Stirling, then the Raiders beat writer for the Oakland Tribune and now director of scouting for the NBA's Sacramento Kings.
The regular-season opener at San Francisco's Kezar Stadium wasn't encouraging. The visiting Houston Oilers -- now the Tennessee Titans, whom the Raiders play Sunday -- routed the Raiders 37-22. Blanda threw four touchdown passes.
The outcome was no surprise to Tom Flores, the 23-year-old rookie who started at quarterback for the Raiders that day. Flores, now the team's radio analyst, saw potential in a few of his teammates, including Otto, who blossomed into a Hall of Fame player.
"The rest of us were kind of rejects," he said.
Even Otto went undrafted by NFL teams. They thought he was too small as a 218-pound center and linebacker at the University of Miami.
As the Raiders took the field that Sunday, they thought Kezar would be a little more crowded than it was. They anticipated 16,000 for their debut. The announced attendance was 12,703.
"I can remember it being an exciting day," Flores said. "But when we went on the field, there was no one there."
Said Otto: "When I saw so few people, I really doubted how great this pro team was going to be. Everything was kind of third rate. We went first class in college. Here I am playing for the Oakland Raiders, and it was a lot different."
Not even cheap tickets could lure fans. The day after the loss to Houston, end zone prices were dropped from $4.50 to $2.50 for a game that Friday night against Dallas. The crowd count: 8,021.
"They could have fit the fans in our locker room," said Don Manoukian, an offensive guard from Stanford.
But the AFL wasn't yet the innovative, high-scoring league of Chargers coach Sid Gillman and Jets quarterback Joe Namath. In the early days, teams utilized vanilla offenses and carbon-copy defenses, Flores said.
Still, the AFL had some believers.
Blanda said he had confidence in the AFL's prospects for two reasons. A few games were televised in that first season, and there some deep-pocketed owners such as Bud Adams of Houston, Ralph Wilson of Buffalo, Barron Hilton of the Chargers and Lamar Hunt of Dallas/Kansas City. Wilson actually loaned $400,000 to the Raiders in 1961 to help keep them going.
"They had more money than the NFL," Blanda said of the wealthier AFL owners, "and the country needed another eight or nine teams, which would have never happened if it wasn't for the AFL.
"Oakland was one of the shaky ones early. As soon as Oakland found a home, they started doing a lot better."
The Raiders didn't move from San Francisco to Oakland's Frank Youell Field until 1962. They split the 1960 season between Kezar and Candlestick Park, then played their entire '61 home schedule at the 'Stick. After four seasons at Frank Youell Field, they settled into the Oakland Coliseum in 1966.
There was little stability in 1960, with roster moves almost daily, according to Flores. He recalled how coach Eddie Erdelatz released one player during a game and traded another to the opposing team on game day.
Salaries were modest -- Flores made $9,000 as the starting quarterback -- and the money wasn't always there. More than once, Flores said, players had to wait outside a bank near Lake Merritt for money to be transferred before cashing their paychecks.
It was no-frills pro ball. Otto recalled a skimpy training table that featured "eighth-inch thick roast beef, make-believe mashed potatoes and frozen green beans -- not enough to sustain you."
Often, he and teammates would find a hamburger joint after practice.
The club's organizational skills also were remedial. When the team made a trip East for two preseason games, no one thought to line up a practice site in the Boston area. Flores and Manoukian recall the team bus driving around until they found a youth sports field.
"We were dressing in public restrooms, guys sitting on the lawn in their jockstraps getting taped," Flores said. "Half an hour later, they kicked us off the field because they were having a Little League game."
"The front office was an absolute mess," Stirling said.
Still, the Raiders were surprisingly competitive in their first season, beating Houston on the road two weeks after the opener, then routing Denver 48-10 in the finale at home to finish 6-8.
Flores started most of the season, throwing 12 touchdown passes and leading the AFL in completion percentage at 54.0 percent. Pittsburg native Tony Teresa led the team with 608 rushing yards and six touchdowns, despite playing much of the season with a back injury. Cornerback Eddie Macon had nine interceptions, including one in the season opener that he returned 42 yards for a touchdown.
Due to financial woes, the team was able to sign just one of its first 18 draft picks in 1961. After losing its first two games by a combined score of 99-0, Erdelatz was fired.
Manoukian, who directs an engineering firm in Reno these days, left football after 1960 in favor of professional wrestling because it paid better. Claiming his dimensions to be 5-foot-7, 260 pounds, Manoukian competed as "Don the Bruiser."
The Raiders didn't want to lose Manoukian, who played the guard spot opposite Wayne Hawkins, so they sent Otto to try to change his mind. It almost backfired.
"I was in Portland wrestling, drinking beer and eating barbecue," Manoukian said. "Otto was up there with me and we tried convincing him he ought to dump football. We were going to put a monocle on him and call him 'Otto the Mad German.' "
"Herman the German," is how Otto remembered it.
Otto never was tempted. He had gained 20 pounds during the season, and made the first of his 12 consecutive all-league teams.
"I had no doubt the franchise and the league was going to last," he said. "But I don't know if anyone ever was as optimistic as me."
Few were, including Flores, who later coached the team to two of its three Super Bowl titles.
"In my wildest dreams," he admitted, "I didn't imagine what pro football has become, let alone the Raiders."
sunday's game: Raiders at Tennessee, 10 a.m. CBS
By Jeff Faraudo
Oakland Tribune
ON THE DAY 50 years ago, when the Oakland Raiders played their first regular-season game in the new American Football League, Al Davis was an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Chargers, rookie center Jim Otto was wearing jersey No. 50 rather than the "00" that made him famous, and the opposing quarterback was George Blanda.
The date of the game -- Sept. 11 -- carried no ominous baggage back then.
The Raiders were the newest team in the fledgling AFL, awarded their franchise in January 1960 after Minnesota backed out to accept a spot in the NFL. The Raiders had no name players, no stadium in Oakland and only modest prospects for long-term success.
"No one had any idea of what to expect," said Scotty Stirling, then the Raiders beat writer for the Oakland Tribune and now director of scouting for the NBA's Sacramento Kings.
The regular-season opener at San Francisco's Kezar Stadium wasn't encouraging. The visiting Houston Oilers -- now the Tennessee Titans, whom the Raiders play Sunday -- routed the Raiders 37-22. Blanda threw four touchdown passes.
The outcome was no surprise to Tom Flores, the 23-year-old rookie who started at quarterback for the Raiders that day. Flores, now the team's radio analyst, saw potential in a few of his teammates, including Otto, who blossomed into a Hall of Fame player.
"The rest of us were kind of rejects," he said.
Even Otto went undrafted by NFL teams. They thought he was too small as a 218-pound center and linebacker at the University of Miami.
As the Raiders took the field that Sunday, they thought Kezar would be a little more crowded than it was. They anticipated 16,000 for their debut. The announced attendance was 12,703.
"I can remember it being an exciting day," Flores said. "But when we went on the field, there was no one there."
Said Otto: "When I saw so few people, I really doubted how great this pro team was going to be. Everything was kind of third rate. We went first class in college. Here I am playing for the Oakland Raiders, and it was a lot different."
Not even cheap tickets could lure fans. The day after the loss to Houston, end zone prices were dropped from $4.50 to $2.50 for a game that Friday night against Dallas. The crowd count: 8,021.
"They could have fit the fans in our locker room," said Don Manoukian, an offensive guard from Stanford.
But the AFL wasn't yet the innovative, high-scoring league of Chargers coach Sid Gillman and Jets quarterback Joe Namath. In the early days, teams utilized vanilla offenses and carbon-copy defenses, Flores said.
Still, the AFL had some believers.
Blanda said he had confidence in the AFL's prospects for two reasons. A few games were televised in that first season, and there some deep-pocketed owners such as Bud Adams of Houston, Ralph Wilson of Buffalo, Barron Hilton of the Chargers and Lamar Hunt of Dallas/Kansas City. Wilson actually loaned $400,000 to the Raiders in 1961 to help keep them going.
"They had more money than the NFL," Blanda said of the wealthier AFL owners, "and the country needed another eight or nine teams, which would have never happened if it wasn't for the AFL.
"Oakland was one of the shaky ones early. As soon as Oakland found a home, they started doing a lot better."
The Raiders didn't move from San Francisco to Oakland's Frank Youell Field until 1962. They split the 1960 season between Kezar and Candlestick Park, then played their entire '61 home schedule at the 'Stick. After four seasons at Frank Youell Field, they settled into the Oakland Coliseum in 1966.
There was little stability in 1960, with roster moves almost daily, according to Flores. He recalled how coach Eddie Erdelatz released one player during a game and traded another to the opposing team on game day.
Salaries were modest -- Flores made $9,000 as the starting quarterback -- and the money wasn't always there. More than once, Flores said, players had to wait outside a bank near Lake Merritt for money to be transferred before cashing their paychecks.
It was no-frills pro ball. Otto recalled a skimpy training table that featured "eighth-inch thick roast beef, make-believe mashed potatoes and frozen green beans -- not enough to sustain you."
Often, he and teammates would find a hamburger joint after practice.
The club's organizational skills also were remedial. When the team made a trip East for two preseason games, no one thought to line up a practice site in the Boston area. Flores and Manoukian recall the team bus driving around until they found a youth sports field.
"We were dressing in public restrooms, guys sitting on the lawn in their jockstraps getting taped," Flores said. "Half an hour later, they kicked us off the field because they were having a Little League game."
"The front office was an absolute mess," Stirling said.
Still, the Raiders were surprisingly competitive in their first season, beating Houston on the road two weeks after the opener, then routing Denver 48-10 in the finale at home to finish 6-8.
Flores started most of the season, throwing 12 touchdown passes and leading the AFL in completion percentage at 54.0 percent. Pittsburg native Tony Teresa led the team with 608 rushing yards and six touchdowns, despite playing much of the season with a back injury. Cornerback Eddie Macon had nine interceptions, including one in the season opener that he returned 42 yards for a touchdown.
Due to financial woes, the team was able to sign just one of its first 18 draft picks in 1961. After losing its first two games by a combined score of 99-0, Erdelatz was fired.
Manoukian, who directs an engineering firm in Reno these days, left football after 1960 in favor of professional wrestling because it paid better. Claiming his dimensions to be 5-foot-7, 260 pounds, Manoukian competed as "Don the Bruiser."
The Raiders didn't want to lose Manoukian, who played the guard spot opposite Wayne Hawkins, so they sent Otto to try to change his mind. It almost backfired.
"I was in Portland wrestling, drinking beer and eating barbecue," Manoukian said. "Otto was up there with me and we tried convincing him he ought to dump football. We were going to put a monocle on him and call him 'Otto the Mad German.' "
"Herman the German," is how Otto remembered it.
Otto never was tempted. He had gained 20 pounds during the season, and made the first of his 12 consecutive all-league teams.
"I had no doubt the franchise and the league was going to last," he said. "But I don't know if anyone ever was as optimistic as me."
Few were, including Flores, who later coached the team to two of its three Super Bowl titles.
"In my wildest dreams," he admitted, "I didn't imagine what pro football has become, let alone the Raiders."
sunday's game: Raiders at Tennessee, 10 a.m. CBS