Al Davis, lovable curmudgeon, and the man who built up the Raiders franchise as his very own has passed away. And he will be missed.
Unless you’re a hard-core Raiders fan who disagreed with every decision he made. Lord knows there are a lot of them that were questionable and a lot of them that probably strained every pore in a dedicated fan. Like the JaMarcus Russell debacle, or the fact that every time the Raiders try to get a decent core group of players Al Davis would stick his head in and muck it up. Provided that time wasn’t in the 70’s and 80’s – he was the man then. Enough trash-talking.
Al Davis was an impressive man. He spearheaded the merger between the AFL and the NFL, eschewed the system the normal owners used, starting off as a coach, working his way up to owner – and imported players that other organizations would pass up. This led him to three Super Bowl titles, but oftentimes at odds with the Raiders organization and fans.
He hired the first black head coach, the first latino coach, and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992. He also sued the NFL a number of times successfully with antitrust laws to bring the Raiders to Los Angeles, before settling them back in Oakland.
His eccentricities and steadfastness will be missed.
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