Tom Flores was the first Hispanic quarterback to play in the NFL, he was a backup to Len Dawson when the Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl IV. A decade later Flores would become the first minority coach to win a Super Bowl when he led the Oakland Raiders to victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Art Shell is one of the greatest offensive lineman who ever lived. In 1989, Shell became the first African-American coach of the NFL’s modern era when he was named head coach of the Oakland Raiders. Davis also hired the NFL’s first female CEO in Amy Trask.
These are just some of the many testaments to the legacy of the late Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis.
Davis passed away this morning according to a spokesman for the Oakland Raiders. Davis had been ill for sometime as his health over the years gradually deteriorated.
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Al Davis will be best remembered as a nonconformist to the path laid out for the NFL by Commissioner Pete Rozelle. Davis wanted that persona to be channeled through his players — many of whom were castoffs or players that were given up on by their teams and in some cases the NFL itself.
Many of these players were either black or Hispanic.
Davis created an “Us against the world” atmosphere that would lead to three Super Bowl Victories and one of the greatest winning percentages in team sports. It also made the Raiders one of the NFL’s most feared and hated franchises.
The Raiders’ epic wars with the Dolphins and Steelers created an environment of violence on the field that will live forever through NFL Films and the first hand accounts of the many players in those games.
The Raiders three Super Bowl victories came in true underdog fashion, in 1976 against the Minnesota Vikings, in 1980 against the Philadelphia Eagles and in 1983 against the Washington Redskins. Davis’ Raiders were propelled to victory on the backs of players like Otis Sistrunk, Willie Brown, Jack Tatum, Lester Hayes, Rod Martin, Lyle Alzado, Kenny King, Jim Plunkett and Mike Haynes.
Many of these players at some point in their careers were given up on by their former teams. Davis felt that if he had enough players who felt like they had something to prove that the sky was the limit. Even in the 1990’s and 2000’s, Davis continued to take on Black players that the league considered too much of a risk or too old, players like Eric Dickerson, Randy Moss, Rod Woodson, Warren Sapp, Richard Seymour and most recently Jason Campbell.
Last season, Davis acquired Campbell in a trade with the Washington Redskins. Before last season Davis talked about how he liked what he saw in Campbell and a Raiders team that was on their way back, likening the acquisition of Campbell to that of Jim Plunkett, a former number one pick who played like anything but that in New England and San Francisco. In 1980, Plunkett would lead the Raiders to a Super Bowl XV victory over the favored Eagles.
The effect of Davis legacy continues today as Campbell remains the starter for the 2-2 Raiders who are now under the tutelage of Hue Jackson, the team’s second African-American head coach.