Al Davis Dead: 5 Ways Oakland Raiders Can Honor Their Owner

Love him or hate him, Al Davis was a legend in the NFL.

From Day 1 of the merger of the NFL and the AFL, Davis was on the forefront of developing the sport into the national craze it has become.

While his methods and madness wee too much for people to bear, his success over the last 50 years is something that can’t be questioned.

The Oakland Raiders have lost the most important man in the history of their franchise, and the NFL has lost one of the founding fathers of what we know as the NFL.

The following is a list of five things the Raiders organization can do to memorialize its fallen leader.

Logo on the Field

I imagine the logo on the field of the Oakland Raiders stadium for the rest of the season should be a fun caricature of Davis and his big glasses and classic haircut.

It wouldn’t be in jest or out of bad taste, but an embodiment of the larger-than-life personality of one of the most polarizing owner in all of professional sports.

With the fantastic Silver and Black colors, one of the amazing artists in the bay area could design something breathtaking as a way to remember the King of Raiders football.

Jersey/Helmet Patch

The Oakland Raiders almost certainly will have some sort of remembrance of Davis on their jerseys and helmets, but it should be something the fans can get behind as well.

The Raiders have the coolest colors in sports, so the PR team of the Raiders should do something tastefully that Davis would’ve liked that they can wear and the NFL as a whole could wear if they chose to.

This is another quick tribute the team could pull off starting this weekend through the rest of the season, and as long as the players want to keep wearing them.

Al Davis Statue

Just like Philadelphia had the Rocky statue outside the old Spectrum, the Oakland Raiders need to have a statue made of Al Davis for outside the Al Davis Memorial Stadium.

There is no man more important to an organization than Davis was to the Oakland Raiders, and there was no man left on earth who did more for the development of the NFL.

With a statue of Davis outside the Raiders facility, the fans would be able to remember the good times, instead of the bad times he became associated with toward the end of his life.

Rename the Stadium

If the Oakland Raiders are not moving their organization to the Los Angeles area, the least they can do is rename the old Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

Without Al Davis, the Oakland area wouldn’t be the sports city it has been known as for years, and it’s the Raiders’ job to make sure Davis’ efforts weren’t in vein.

Something as simple as taking the name Al Davis Memorial Stadium and posting it all around the building that can make fans of the team support their brand even more.

Retire No. 1

There are no retired numbers for the Oakland Raiders, but the first should definitely be the longtime owner and GM Al Davis.

The Davis family and the Raiders organization should work together to take the No. 1 and retire it in remembrance of their leader and biggest fan.

While this is just a small gesture, it will be something that lasts as long as the Raiders franchise is around, and it will be a way for the organization to never forget their leader.