Al Davis

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Al Davis
Date of birth	July 4, 1929
Place of birth	Brockton, MA
Position(s)	Owner Head Coach General Manager Commissioner
College	Syracuse
Career Record	23-16-3
Super Bowl       Wins	1983 Super Bowl XVIII 1980 Super Bowl XV 1976 Super Bowl XI
Championships          Won	2002 AFC Championship 1983 AFC Championship 1980 AFC Championship 1976 AFC Championship 1967 AFL Championship
Coaching Stats	DatabaseFootball
Team(s) as a coach/administrator
1963-1965 1966 1966-Present	Oakland Raiders AFL Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders
Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1992

Allen "Al" Davis (born July 4, 1929 in Brockton, Massachusetts) is an American football executive, who currently serves as the president of A.D. Football, Inc., the managing general partner of the NFL's Oakland Raiders.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Legal battles 1.2 Praise and criticism 2 See also 3 Further reading 4 External links

[edit] Biography

His family moved to Brooklyn and Davis graduated from Erasmus Hall High School where he was a reserve on the Basketball team. Al Davis attended Wittenberg University but transferred after one semester. then graduated from Syracuse University in 1950 with a degree in English. He was cut from the varsity football squad, playing some J.V. football and auditing the varsity team's practices until the coaches ordered him removed.

Upon graduation Davis began his coaching career as the line coach at Adelphi College from 1950 to 1951. From there Davis served as the head coach of the U.S. Army team at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia from 1952 to 1953. His next coaching assignment was as the line coach and chief recruiter for The Citadel. From 1957 to 1959 Davis was a line coach at the University of Southern California.

Davis' first coaching experience in professional football came as the offensive end coach of the Los Angeles Chargers from 1960 to 1962. In 1963, at the age of 33, Davis became the head coach and general manager of the AFL's Oakland Raiders. He was the youngest person in the history of professional football to hold these positions. Prior to Davis' arrival, the Raiders had compiled a 9-33 record in their first three years of existence. Davis led the team to a 10-4 record in 1963 and was unanimously named the American Football League Coach of the Year.

Davis compiled a coaching record of 23-16-3 in three seasons as head coach in Oakland. In April 1966 he was named the American Football League Commissioner. He immediately commenced an aggressive campaign to sign some of the NFL's top players to AFL contracts. In July the AFL announced that it was merging with the rival league. Davis was against the merger and chose to return to the Raiders as their managing general partner, rather than remain as commissioner until the end of the AFL in 1970.

With Davis in control, the Raiders became one of the most successful teams in professional football. From 1967 to 1985 the team won 13 division championships, one AFL championship (1967), three Super Bowls (XI, XV, & XVIII) and made 15 playoff appearances. The team's fortunes have waned considerably since 1985, with just four first-place finishes and six playoff appearances in the last 20 years.

In 1992 Davis was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a Team and League Administrator, and was presented by John Madden. Mr. Davis has been chosen by a record nine Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees to present them at the Canton, Ohio ceremony: Lance Alworth, Jim Otto, George Blanda, Willie Brown, Gene Upshaw, Fred Biletnikoff, Art Shell, Ted Hendricks, and now, John Madden, for his 2006 induction.

Al Davis is also credited for the catchphrases "Just win baby!", "Commitment to Excellence" and "Pride and Poise".

[edit] Legal battles

Davis has long been considered one of the most controversial owners in the NFL. In 1980 he attempted to move the Raiders to Los Angeles but was blocked by a court injunction. In response Davis filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the NFL. In June 1982 a federal district court ruled in Davis' favor and the team officially relocated to Los Angeles for the 1982 NFL season. In 1995 Davis moved the team back to Oakland. Since then he has been involved in multiple lawsuits involving Los Angeles, Oakland, Irwindale and the NFL.

[edit] Praise and criticism

Davis has been widely criticized by the media for his reclusive style, along with former employees and players such as Jon Gruden, Mike Shanahan and Marcus Allen. Despite the team's shortcomings after parting ways with Jon Gruden, Davis, along with his loyal following, still insist that he has never waned in trying to put the best team on the field year after year.^{[citation needed]}

Davis has also been described by former employees as gracious and loyal. Many former struggling players have credited Davis as helping them when no one else would.^{[citation needed]}

Davis is also known throughout the league for first giving opportunity to minority players when many clubs would not. Davis scouted and drafted from smaller schools in the South that were predominatly African-American when other professional football teams would not be willing to take on those players.^{[citation needed]}

Davis was also the first owner to hire a Hispanic-American (Tom Flores) and an African-American (Art Shell) as head coach in the modern era, well before the league mandated rules for minority head coaching candidates. He is also the first and only owner to put a woman in charge of operations of an NFL team: Amy Trask, the CEO of the Oakland Raiders. For those acts of social justice, Davis is an esteemed member of the American Jewish community.^{[citation needed]}

He is also a member of the GAP co-owners

[edit] See also

• American Football League players, coaches, and contributors

[edit] Further reading

• Mark Ribowsky, Slick: The Silver and Black Life of Al Davis (biography)

[edit] External links

• Al Davis biography at the Pro Football Hall of Fame
• Al Davis biography
• ESPN Classic bio

Preceded by: Red Conkright	Oakland Raiders Head Coaches 1963–1965	Succeeded by: John Rauch
Preceded by: Joe Foss	American Football League Commissioner 1966	Succeeded by: Milt Woodard

L.A./Oakland Raiders Head Coaches
Erdelatz • Feldman • Conkright • Davis • Rauch • Madden • Flores • Shanahan • Shell • White • Bugel • Gruden • Callahan • Turner • Shell