The Al Davis Legacy

I have to admit, I am not that old of a football fan.  I wasn’t around when Al Davis, former owner of the Oakland Raiders, helped start the American Football League but I have seen the stories, read the books and watched everything about Davis that I possibly could. 

Anyone who is a football fan should know what Al Davis did for the game.  To start, he began his career in football as a coach.  Eventually, he worked his way into the NFL as a coach (of the then Los Angeles and now San Diego Chargers). 

He ended up being brought into the Raiders' organization in 1962 as their general manager and head coach.  At that time, Davis was responsible for putting the image of the Raiders together, as a darker team that wore black as its team colors which put a lot of fear in opponents.

Davis started his career with the Raiders on a high note and bred success in the franchise.  He also had success for himself as head coach, being named the AFL’s Coach of the Year in 1963.

In 1966, Davis was given the title of AFL Commissioner and helped to bring the fledgling league into prominence.  He was part of the agreement which brought together the AFL and the NFL, and even though he was against it, the deal went through.  He eventually resigned his post as commissioner.

Davis ended up purchasing some stock in the Raiders and took a very active role in the team.  Davis was given the title of head of football operations and he built the team that would eventually go to the second Super Bowl ever (which ended up being a 33-14 loss to the Green Bay Packers). 

He managed to gain control of the team by having one of his other two partners sign control of the team over to him.  With two-thirds control he was able to take over the Raiders and thus he began the long reign as their owner.  The move was contested in court, but the courts ruled in favor of Davis and he ended up with control of the silver and black. 

Not only had Davis gained ownership of the Raiders, but he had also served as their general manager.  He was the one in charge of making the decisions that would make-or-break the organization, and he and the Raiders saw a lot of success as a result of his takeover and management of the team.

During a period from 1967 to 1985 the Raiders won 13 division championships, three Super Bowls, one AFL championship in addition to having made 15 playoff appearances. 

Davis is famous for many things, but he’s especially famous for coming up with the popular phrase “Just win, baby.”  He was also selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992. 

Yes, there are a lot of things that people felt Al Davis did wrong, and it depends on what perspective you view these things in as to whether they were wrong or not.  What Davis was able to do was put together a consistent winner, build a strong fan base and make a city proud of its football team.

There is no other owner in the league that has done more for his team, nor cared more about his team than Davis. 

He will be missed by many, but his legacy will never be forgotten.