Raiders Win, Mourn Al Davis

The Oakland Raiders beat the Houston Texans 25-20 October 9th on a last second interception in the end zone by safety Michael Huff.  It was an emotionally charged game for the Raiders, who had been stunned a day earlier with news of the passing of long time team owner Al Davis.

Davis was a former coach, general manager, and commissioner of the old American Football League before the merger with the NFL in 1970.  By offering big money to draft choices and NFL players, he helped spur the merger of the two leagues when the NFL decided it didn’t want to get into bidding wars with the new league.  Davis also hired the first African American NFL head coach (Art Shell) and first Hispanic head coach (Tom Flores).  He also feuded with the NFL, particularly with commissioner Pete Rozelle, moved the Raiders to Los Angeles—and back—and generally relished being a maverick and villain.  He could be a real pain in the ass if you got on his bad side, but players he liked he was loyal to forever, and they were loyal to him.  He quietly provided financial support to many down on their luck former Raiders.

The Raiders went into decline after losing Super Bowl XXXVII following the 2002 season and critics charged that the game had passed Davis by.  Until the end, he maintained a great deal of control and made many of the personnel decisions.  The Raiders have begun to show signs of life this season; the win over the Texans improved Oakland’s record to 3-2, one game behind the division leading San Diego Chargers. 

RIP Al Davis.