In their nearly 50-year existence, few teams have produced as many Hall of Fame players as the Oakland Raiders. In addition to the outstanding individuals the team has produced, there have been other players who, by their great teamwork have earned a spot on this All-Raider team.
Some were quiet family men, some were colorful rogues, but all were great Raiders. Here is a the list of a longtime Raider fan old enough to remember the early days and resilient enough to continue following the team in spite of the miserable last five seasons:
WR, Fred Biletnikoff. A skinny, white guy who looked more like a musician or a guy behind the counter of an organic health food store. All Biletnikoff did was get open and catch the ball against seemingly more athletic opponents for many years.
WR, Tim Brown. Okay, the former Heisman winner often whined on and off the field and unlike Biletnikoff does not possess a Super Bowl ring. The numbers speak for themselves and Brown's career numbers are the best for a pass catcher in franchise history.
WR, Cliff Branch. Branch probably never got over 175 lbs. in his playing career, making his accomplishments all the more impressive. This mighty mite seemed to play his best in the Super Bowl.
TE, Dave Casper. Ghost to the post was one of Ken Stabler's favorite patterns and this former Notre Damer who spent three years of his college career at guard made clutch catches look easy. Todd Christiansen was another great one, just ask him, but for my money, I'll take the Ghost.
OT, Art Shell. Just don't bring him back as coach again. Shell was a great pass protector and the running game usually did most of their damage on the left side behind Shell and Upshaw.
OT, Lincoln Kennedy. One of the keys to the Raiders demise the last few years was the untimely retirement of Kennedy. Presidents come and go, but good offensive tackles are hard to find.
OG, Gene Upshaw. Shell's partner on the left side for many years was better at blocking than he is at negotiating, according to many current players. The embattled NFLPA leader didn't lose a lot of arguments on the field, however.
OG, Steve Wisniewski. Wiz, now a minister I believe, would pancake defenders and make them like it. The man was living proof that Christians aren't all wimpy Mister Rogers types.
OC, Jim Otto. Otto was the Raiders first Hall of Famer. Who else? Mr Raider.
QB, Jim Plunkett. One could make a case for Stabler, Lamonica or Gannon, but I've got to go with the guy with the two rings, Jim Plunkett. Nothing the guy did was pretty, but Plunk was a Larry The Cable Guy type of QB, he just got it done.
RB, Marcus Allen. One of the biggest disappointments for a Raider fan was the ugly feud between Allen and Al Davis, resulting in Marcus concluding his career in the uniform of the hated Chiefs.
That place former A's owner Charlie Finley referred to as a "cows#!* town" when he moved the franchise to the Bay Area in the 60's. There's no denying Allen's contribution to the Raiders' third Super Bowl title and his overall career in Silver and Black.
RB, Bo Jackson. Mark Van Eeghen, Kenny King and others could be considered here, but I gotta go with Bo. Jackson, if not for a bad hip, would have possibly been the best to ever tote the rock.
K, George Blanda. This one's tough, but I'll go with the ageless one, George Blanda, even if he did kick neanderthal style. As inconsistent as Seabass Janikowski is, this guy was his polar opposite. If Blanda was inside 50 yards and the game was on the line, you could put the points on the board. Blanda doubled as a back up QB, providing several heroic performances in the 1970 season.
I know, that's an extra guy, but I couldn't leave Branch out at WR. That's the offense. Check Volume II for the "D".
20 comments Last one added 4 months ago — Leave a Comment
Raider Card Addict 11 months ago
Interesting little run on the offense.
On the TE spot, I'd probably stick with Todd C, for the simple fact, like Howie Long would say, he had, on a scale of 1-10, maybe a 5 on talent. But when it came to putting all his dedication into the contest, he was a 10.
On the Running game, I'd have to throw out a name, that most prople don't remember. Marv Hubbard. This guy actually seperated his shoulder 3 ways in one season, and kept coming back for more....talk about determination to play.
And lastly, since you missed him...Punter....Ray Guy...mr hang time.
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Joe Parks 11 months ago
I mostly agree with this list. But as much as I love Plunkett, I would have to go with Ken Stabler at QB. He was the soul of the team until he was traded in 1980. No matter what the score, Snake knew the Raiders would win. And he happens to have been my hero growing up. I never saw Hubbard play, but I waffle on Bo. Bo was a monster, and probably would have become the best RB of all time, but I have a hard time putting him on the list since he played so few years.
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Raider Card Addict 11 months ago
Stabler was decent, and made good chemistry with Biletnikoff, but then, it's like comparing apples to oranges, between Stabler and Plunkett. Both had the smarts, Plunkett's favorite targets were Branch and Christensen, while Stabler had him and Biletnikoff.
Only thing is, Plunkett got 2 rings out of his work, while Stabler, thanks to refs, only got one.
Bo was a great RB...I just wish he hadn't had gotten hurt as he did.
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The_KRAKEN 11 months ago
At TE I would have to go with TODD C.
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Michael Pazin 11 months ago
Dave Casper is in THE HALL OF FAME... he was an infinitely more complete and talented TE. TC couldn't block worth a damn. I enjoyed watching TC and he had great hands, but Casper had as good or better hands and could block like a OL (which he played some at Notre Dame)
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Raider Card Addict 11 months ago
Michael, time to run the numbers again.
Casper, for his career, only caught 378 passes, for 5216 yards, and 52 TDs.
Todd, for his career, caught 461 passes, for 5872 yards, and 41 TDs.
Todd also has one more Super Bowl ring, than Dave has....both played 10 years, and on top of that, Todd's first 3 years were pretty much special teams, etc.
You might say what got Dave in then, was the two creative games....the Ghost to the Post, and the Holy Roller play.
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JSpicoli 11 months ago
I love Plunkett. Stabler was unquestionably better.
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Jonathan Mayhew 11 months ago
This team is right on the money. Only change I'd make is Stabler over Plunkett. Jeez, how I wish Bo never got hurt, he WAS the greatest RB ever. Keep the faith back there in Arkansas, Roger!
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Bruce Milroy 11 months ago
We could argue for hours about who is better at any position. But the great thing about it that as a Raider fan I can love them all. And damn, has anybody heard of that guy names Ray Guy?
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JD53 11 months ago
About Mr. Bo Jackson. Wifey and I had the pleasure to see Bo do his thing at the Coliseum.
BO KNEW FOOTBALL!!! AND BASEBALL!!!
STUD!
About Mr. Cliff Branch. Fearless! Tremendous football player. STUD!
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Raider D Richardson 11 months ago
I like Dave Casper over Todd.
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Raider Ken 11 months ago
OK Brown would never make my list. But the one I have a problem with is RT. I love Kennedy but Henry Lawrence was by far more dominate. I also have to say the Wis and Gene played the same side.
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Roger Gowens 11 months ago
Plunkett over Stabler was mostly about the rings, but Snake might have had 2 if not for refs...can't really argue against the Snake. Henry Lawrence was another one I was close to taking over Kennedy. Even though Bo had a short career and split time with baseball, but I still couldn't leave him off the list. I've heard George Brett and Howie Long talk about pros in their respective sports being in awe of the man. More to come on Ray Guy....thanks for reading guys!
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Michael Pazin 11 months ago
HEY RAIDER CARD:
Thanks for making my case.
Casper: 13.79yds/catch & a TD every 7.26 catches.
Todd C: 12.73yds/catch & a TD every 11.24 catches.
Fact: They threw to TE's a lot more in TC's day.
Fact: With TC's catches, Casper would have 6,357yds. & 63 TD's and again, Casper was a much superior blocker.
The numbers don't lie, Casper was the best TE in Raider history (maybe NFL history as well) he could do all that TC did and much more.
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Raider Card Addict 11 months ago
Interesting.....even though Todd had the more catches in only 7 years, and more yardage. I know the TD was wide open, because if Biletnikoff and Branch were locked up, and Van Eeghan couldn't get open, they'd dump it off short style to Casper....or, turn all 3 loose, and pick a target.
Sure makes the modern game look slow, seeing them three go wild.
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Michael Pazin 11 months ago
With 83 LESS catches Casper had 11 more TD's!!!!!!!
If you think Casper made the Hall based on Ghost to the Post and Holy Roller you never watched him play.
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Raider Card Addict 11 months ago
Actually, I want both in the Hall.....during the 80s, Christensen led the league....including the WRs....that's how much value our offense had on him.
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Tom Mc Gowan 11 months ago
Sorry, but anybody here who says Snake over Plunk is High. Watch the film. Snake had one of the best lines in front of him, with the left side from center arguably the best of all time. It's almost comical, how much time he had to throw. Never saw a QB so cool in the pocket as snake, and thats because he knew he had all day to throw. Give Marinovich that kind of time and he'd still be our QB. Don't get me wrong, love Stabler, but plunk was a battler and a winner.
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Joe Larson 10 months ago
Although I totally agree with Freddy and Cliff (possibly Tim in place of Cliff), as the starting WR's, why hasn't ANYone even mentioned Warren Wells? Talk about "speed kills"!
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Damali Binta 4 months ago
Analysis of the First Five Years --TAKE A GOOD LOOK
Clearly, Wells had more peaks than many of his senior colleagues during the first five year of their respective careers. Furthermore, there is a quote, “Lamonica holds the Raiders single season record for touchdown passes, he threw for 34 in 1969.” Of those 34 passes in 1969 the ratio of successful completions for Wells is shown
1969
Wells: 14/34 = .4117
Biletnikoff 12/34 = .3529
Another way to look at the data is to calculate the rate of TDs over the career length. Take a good look at this data:
Biletnikoff 5.423 76/14 (total TDs over a 14 year career)
Wells 8.4 42/5 (total TDs over a 5 year career)
The data shows that Wells’ rate of touchdowns over a shorter career is more intense. In fact, if you compare Wells to Biletnikoff and calculate the rate of Wells’ successful completions in four years with Oakland, it is 55.26 (42/76). Theoretically, we can conjecture that if Wells had continued with Oakland he would have had 84 touchdowns in 10 years, thereby exceeding Biletnikoff’s 76 touchdowns in 14 years.
Logical thinking will force an analyst to consider that a quarterback cannot be a successful quarterback unless the ball he throws lands in the hands of a receiver for completion; otherwise, NO TOUCHDOWNS. Therefore, the historical 34 touchdown passes in 1969 are directly correlated to the successful completions by Biletnikoff and Wells. So, the arm of the hand of the quarterback is connected to the hand on the arm of the wide receiver who completes the passes.
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