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Although owner Mark Davis of the Las Vegas Raiders didn’t say anything about it when he announced the hiring of Tom Telesco, he knows that this is only the second time in their 64-year history that the Silver and Black have hired someone from the Los Angeles-San Diego Chargers to be their general manager.
Fans of Raider Nation know that the first time came when Raiders owner Wayne Valley hired Davis's father, the great Al Davis, as coach and general manager of the Oakland Raiders in 1963 after he had been an assistant coach with the Chargers.
The Raiders were 8-9 last season, going 5-4 after Interim Coach Antonio Pierce took over when Mark Davis fired Coach Josh McDaniels and General Manager Dave Ziegler on Halloween, so the Silver and Black will hope for a turnaround similar to what happened in 1963.
All Al Davis did, at 33, was turn the downtrodden Raiders into one of the great franchises in professional sports. The Raiders posted records of 6-8, 2-12, and 1-13 in their first three seasons for an overall record of 9-33 after being one of the eight initial franchises when the American Football League was founded in 1960.
However, Oakland was an afterthought because Minnesota was supposed to be part of the original AFL before the established National Football League stole that franchise away, and the new league eventually turned to Oakland.
The Raiders didn’t even play a game in Oakland for their first two seasons, hosting games at Kezar Stadium and Candlestick Park in San Francisco before 25,000-seat Frank Youell Field was thrown together in 1962 as plans for the 60,000-seat Oakland Coliseum were being made. There was talk about the Raiders moving to Salt Lake City, Portland, Sacramento, Seattle, and other cities that cropped up constantly during those early years.
Then came 1963 and Al Davis.
The Raiders won their first two games that season before losing four in a row, but then ran off eight in a row, including their first two ever over the AFC West rival Chargers, 34-33, at Balboa Stadium in San Diego, and 41-27 at Frank Youell Field on the way to finishing the season at 10-4.
“I always wanted to take an organization and make it the best in sports,” Davis once said. “I admired the New York Yankees of George Weiss for their power, intimidation, fear, and big people. “I admired the Brooklyn Dodgers under Branch Rickey for their speed and player development. I felt there was no reason the two approaches couldn’t be combined into one powerful organization.”
One of the reasons the Raiders were so successful during the 1960s was the fact that Davis was one of the first general managers to seek out talented black players, such as running back Clem Daniels, wide receiver Art Powell and cornerback Willie Brown, three of the best players in the 10-year history of the AFL.
Later, Davis drafted guard Gene Upshaw and tackled Art Shell, both future Hall of Famers.
“Al Davis was colorblind, and that was one of the reasons why he was able to turn the Raiders around," said one sportswriter who covered the Silver and Black during that time. "Because of that, the Oakland Raiders became a powerhouse.”
Davis coached the Raiders for only three seasons, compiling a 23-16-3 coaching record, before his AFL rivals realized he was the best man to lead them in the Pro Football War against the established NFL. So, he was named AFL Commissioner in April of 1966.
Davis helped the AFL and NFL reach an agreement for a merger within eight weeks. Davis' rival Pete Rozelle remained commissioner, while Davis returned to the Raiders as managing general partner.
In the ensuing years, Davis hired 32-year-old Coach John Madden, who led the Raiders to victory in Super Bowl XI, and Tom Flores, his quarterback in 1964, who coached the Silver and Black to victories in Super Bowls XV and XVIII.
Al Davis, who made the Raiders after coming from the rival Chargers, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992 and passed away in Oakland in 2011 at 82.
From February 27 to March 4, 2024, the NFL Scouting Combine will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.
The NFL Draft will be held in Detroit, Mich., on April 25-27, 2024. The Las Vegas Raiders currently hold the No. 13 overall pick.
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