| Last Updated: Oct 16, 2011 - 8:36:09 PM |
OAKLAND—October 8 marks the end of an era for professional football in the Bay Area as Al Davis, legendary owner and general manager of the Oakland Raiders, has died at 82. During his expansive career with the Oakland Raiders, AL Davis’s tough decisions towards the team were the center of endless praise, folly and controversy.
Al Davis' image will forever be an icon of the Oakland Raiders. |
Scorned by some, and beloved by many, Davis held the reins to a team that has, at times, endured a less than savory public opinion which has proven to be almost completely separate from the team’s athletic performance. Though the Oakland Raiders have won several Super Bowl Championships over the history of the franchise, they have fallen prey to heavy criticism in recent years, with Davis front and center to the majority of the team’s criticism.
Al Davis first got behind the wheel of the Oakland Raiders back in 1963, when his implementation of a "vertical game" strategy brought the organization its first-ever winning record. Perhaps it was that first season as Raiders Head Coach that acted as the muse behind his trademark slogan, “Just win, baby.” Over the years, feuds with other team owners and league executives have burned the Davis name into the once-heated debate over the merger between the AFL and NFL in 1970.
Further cementing his status as a cultural icon of the sport, in 1972, Davis utilized some of the era’s spotty partnership legislation to obtain almost absolute control over the Oakland Raiders. As the owner and general manager of the team, Davis gained a reputation for signing unique talent to seemingly obscene contracts. One of his most famous managerial decisions was the signing of 2007’s first overall draft pick, Quarterback JaMarcus Russell. Russell was a sensational athlete in college but was famously unsuccessful in the NFL and has been called “the NFL’s most famous flop” by commentators on countless sports networks.
The signing of players like Russell would come to define the controversial decision making of Al Davis, who also spent first-round draft picks to obtain kicker Sebastian Janikowski, and wide receiver Darius Heyward-Bey. In the early 90s, Davis’s eccentric leadership was further exemplified when he benched his Super Bowl MVP Marcus Allen for two years in response to Allen’s famously disruptive ego.
What Johnny Cash was to music, Al Davis was to professional football, and with his famous slicked-back hair and dark sunglasses look, the two clearly shared similar taste.
The Davis dynasty will live on, as Al’ son, Mark Davis, has been selected to replace his father as the patriarch of the team that the Bay Area will forever both passionately love and, at times, passionately hate.
Al Davis' image will forever be an icon of the Oakland Raiders. |
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Scorned by some, and beloved by many, Davis held the reins to a team that has, at times, endured a less than savory public opinion which has proven to be almost completely separate from the team’s athletic performance. Though the Oakland Raiders have won several Super Bowl Championships over the history of the franchise, they have fallen prey to heavy criticism in recent years, with Davis front and center to the majority of the team’s criticism.
Al Davis first got behind the wheel of the Oakland Raiders back in 1963, when his implementation of a "vertical game" strategy brought the organization its first-ever winning record. Perhaps it was that first season as Raiders Head Coach that acted as the muse behind his trademark slogan, “Just win, baby.” Over the years, feuds with other team owners and league executives have burned the Davis name into the once-heated debate over the merger between the AFL and NFL in 1970.
Further cementing his status as a cultural icon of the sport, in 1972, Davis utilized some of the era’s spotty partnership legislation to obtain almost absolute control over the Oakland Raiders. As the owner and general manager of the team, Davis gained a reputation for signing unique talent to seemingly obscene contracts. One of his most famous managerial decisions was the signing of 2007’s first overall draft pick, Quarterback JaMarcus Russell. Russell was a sensational athlete in college but was famously unsuccessful in the NFL and has been called “the NFL’s most famous flop” by commentators on countless sports networks.
The signing of players like Russell would come to define the controversial decision making of Al Davis, who also spent first-round draft picks to obtain kicker Sebastian Janikowski, and wide receiver Darius Heyward-Bey. In the early 90s, Davis’s eccentric leadership was further exemplified when he benched his Super Bowl MVP Marcus Allen for two years in response to Allen’s famously disruptive ego.
What Johnny Cash was to music, Al Davis was to professional football, and with his famous slicked-back hair and dark sunglasses look, the two clearly shared similar taste.
The Davis dynasty will live on, as Al’ son, Mark Davis, has been selected to replace his father as the patriarch of the team that the Bay Area will forever both passionately love and, at times, passionately hate.
Scorned by some, and beloved by many, Davis held the reins to a team that has, at times, endured a less than savory public opinion which has proven to be almost completely separate from the team’s athletic performance. Though the Oakland Raiders have won several Super Bowl Championships over the history of the franchise, they have fallen prey to heavy criticism in recent years, with Davis front and center to the majority of the team’s criticism.
Al Davis first got behind the wheel of the Oakland Raiders back in 1963, when his implementation of a "vertical game" strategy brought the organization its first-ever winning record. Perhaps it was that first season as Raiders Head Coach that acted as the muse behind his trademark slogan, “Just win, baby.” Over the years, feuds with other team owners and league executives have burned the Davis name into the once-heated debate over the merger between the AFL and NFL in 1970.
Further cementing his status as a cultural icon of the sport, in 1972, Davis utilized some of the era’s spotty partnership legislation to obtain almost absolute control over the Oakland Raiders. As the owner and general manager of the team, Davis gained a reputation for signing unique talent to seemingly obscene contracts. One of his most famous managerial decisions was the signing of 2007’s first overall draft pick, Quarterback JaMarcus Russell. Russell was a sensational athlete in college but was famously unsuccessful in the NFL and has been called “the NFL’s most famous flop” by commentators on countless sports networks.
The signing of players like Russell would come to define the controversial decision making of Al Davis, who also spent first-round draft picks to obtain kicker Sebastian Janikowski, and wide receiver Darius Heyward-Bey. In the early 90s, Davis’s eccentric leadership was further exemplified when he benched his Super Bowl MVP Marcus Allen for two years in response to Allen’s famously disruptive ego.
What Johnny Cash was to music, Al Davis was to professional football, and with his famous slicked-back hair and dark sunglasses look, the two clearly shared similar taste.
The Davis dynasty will live on, as Al’ son, Mark Davis, has been selected to replace his father as the patriarch of the team that the Bay Area will forever both passionately love and, at times, passionately hate.
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