Raiders owner Al Davis has passed away at the age of 82.
In 1962 at the age of 33, Al Davis was hired as head coach and general manager of the Raiders. In his first season with the team, he won AFL Coach of the year. After three season, Davis left the Raiders and became the Commissioner of the AFL. Davis returned to the Raiders as Managing General Partner shortly before the merger of the NFL and AFL.
Under Davis, the Raiders won 3 Super Bowls; XI, XV and XVIII. From 1967 to 1985 the team won 13 division championships and one AFL championship (1967). He brought the team to LA in 1982 only to return it to Oakland in 1995.
He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992 and is the only person to serve as a personnel assistant, scout, assistant coach, head coach, general manager, commissioner and team owner.
Davis was a trailblazer as far as diversity in the NFL as well, he was the first NFL owner in the modern era to hire an African American head coach, Art Shell, the first to name an Hispanic head coach, Tom Flores, and the first to name a woman as chief executive, Amy Trask.
His passion for the game and “Commitment To Excellence” will be hard to replace in the football world.
Just win Baby!
