The Man Behind the Shield

Oakland Raiders Owner Al Davis was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on August 1, 1992. He started his professional football coaching career in 1960 as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Chargers (now known as the San Diego Chargers). Davis then went on to become the head coach and general manager of The Oakland Raiders. In 1963, when Al Davis took over the failing Oakland franchise that had struggled to win only nine of 42 league games in the initial three seasons of the new American Football League, he pledged to build the finest organization in sports. In April 1966, he became Commissioner of the American Football League before becoming the principal owner and chief executive officer of the Raiders. Davis' legacy in professional sports is a standard that no one in the history of professional football can match in terms of winning and excellence.

In 1950, Davis was named line coach at Adelphi College in New York. He then went into the U.S. Army, being assigned as head football coach at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia. While there he molded a national power service team and capped one season by defeating the University of Maryland, National Collegiate Football Champions, in a squad game. Mr. Davis next served on the staff of the Baltimore Colts in 1954, at age 24, concentrating on player personnel work. During 1955-56, he served as line coach and chief recruiter at The Citadel. He then spent three years at the University of Southern California as line coach.

Mr. Davis was the offensive end coach for the Los Angeles Chargers from 1960-62, before being named The Oakland Raiders head coach/general manager at age 33. During his first season in Oakland in 1963, the team went 10-4  with Davis being named Coach of the Year by the Associated Press, United Press International, Sports Illustrated, Sporting News and his fellow coaches. The nine-win turnaround in one season remains the greatest such accomplishment in pro football history. Mr. Davis became the first sports figure ever honored by the Oakland Chamber of Commerce when he was selected as Oakland's Young Man of the Year.

In 1966, Mr. Davis became Commissioner of the AFL at 36 and was acclaimed nationally as the driving force who forged the historic merger between the AFL and NFL. He also played a vital role in the development of the game as a participant on the prestigious NFL Competition Committee and the NFL Owners Executive Committee.

In 1991, Mr. Davis became the first recipient of the NFL Players Association's Retired Players Award of Excellence "for his contributions to the men who played the game." As a member of the Executive Committee of the NFL Management Council, Mr. Davis was a major factor in achieving a collective bargaining agreement with the players.

He attended Wittenberg College and Syracuse, earning a degree in English while playing football, basketball, and baseball. 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 John Madden.

The Oakland Raiders began play in 1960 as part of the American Football League (AFL). After a sluggish start to the franchise, and the emergence of Al Davis in 1963, the Raiders became the most dominant team during the 10 years of AFL existence. The NFL and AFL officially merged in 1970 allowing the Raiders to expand the horizons of competition and dominance. The Raiders have a .500 or better record against 26 of 31 teams in the National Football League.