Everyone on this site has heard Al Davis mentioned at least once. Most of the time, he is the brunt of a joke or a humor article. I, myself, have made a joke about him.
However, do we know the real Al Davis? Most talk about him as if he has never had any success, and has been the Dr. Frankenstein of the football world with his creature known as the Oakland Raiders football team.
There is much more to Al Davis than meets the eye. This man is a genius. I think he has made the Raiders into one of the best teams in history. In fact, I think their success at times is better than any other team in the game.
Where do we start with Al Davis though? Let’s start when he was younger, before the skin started to sag.
"Al Davis was born on Independence Day of 1929, a few months before the stock market had its historical crash, and the Great Depression followed. He was lucky enough to be born into a wealthy family and graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in English.
However, he was a master in football. He was a line coach at Adelphi College, then went to U.S. Army team as a head coach. After a few years, he became the line coach at Southern California.
He finally came in the professional league as an offensive end coach (receivers coach) for the San Diego Chargers. He worked there from 1960 to 1962, and trained Lance Alworth, one of the top receivers of all time.
Then came the event that changed his life. He became the head coach and general manager for the Oakland Raiders. Before he arrived, the Raiders had compiled a 9-33 record in their first three years of playing. Davis came in, and in his first year, led the Raiders to a 10-4 record. He was the unanimous decision for AFL Coach of the Year in 1963.
His next two seasons as the head coach were not as successful though. In total, his record with the Raiders was 23-16-3 for his entire three years. He was appointed to be the Commissioner of the AFL in 1966." (Paraphrased Bio from Wikipedia)
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