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Al Davis, perhaps on of the most influential figures in American history. With will, determination, and an "Whatever it takes attitude" he has risen himself and his pro football franchise, The Oakland Raiders, to the top of the sporting world, and American culture.
Al was born on July 4, 1929, in Brockton, Mass. The family moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., where Al`s father became a successful clothing manufacturer. Both parents were strict disciplinarians. "If you came home from a game and had lost or played badly, there was just no room for it," older brother Jerry said. "Second place was nowhere."
At Erasmus Hall High School, Davis was a reserve on the basketball team. After one semester at Wittenberg College in Ohio, he transferred to Syracuse, where he waited on tables in the cafeteria. In athletics, he was cut from the varsity football team and ended up playing jayvee football and basketball.
Davis became a regular at Syracuse`s varsity football practices, taking notes on every detail until the head coach discovered him and ordered him removed.
After graduating with a degree in English in 1950, Davis sought a football coaching position at Adelphi College in New York. Told by the head coach that there wasn`t an opening, Davis went to the school president and emerged with an assistant`s job. He used that to get a the head-coaching job at Ft. Belvoir, Va., while serving in the Army. Davis then spent a year as a scout for the Baltimore Colts before returning to college football, as an assistant at The Citadel and then Southern California. In 1960, the Los Angeles Chargers hired him to work under offensive mastermind Sid Gillman as an offensive ends coach.
Hired as head coach and general manager of the three-year-old Oakland Raiders in 1963, he took a team that had finished 1-13 the previous year to the second-best record in the eight-team AFL at 10-4. It was the biggest one-year turnaround in pro football history and the Associated Press named him Coach of the Year. After going 5-7-2 in 1964, the Raiders rebounded to 8-5-1 the next season.
In April 1966, Davis signed a four-year contract to become AFL commissioner. He moved quickly to force a merger with the NFL by reaching contract agreements with many of the league`s starting quarterbacks.
Davis returned to the Raiders later that year as general managing partner after buying 10 percent of the team for $18,500. In the 1967 season, the Raiders won the AFL championship before falling to the Green Bay Packers 33-14 in Super Bowl II.
One of Davis` first big moves came after the following season, when he hired 32-year-old Madden as his head coach. This turned out to be one of the greatest moves in the history of the game, as the Raiders went on to win 8 division titles in a row.
Tom Flores became the Raiders head coach after John Madden retired, and once again Al Davis struck gold, with the Raiders winning two super bowls under Flores.
Al Davis`s biggest move came in 1980 when he sued the league to move to Los Angeles. He moved because the County of Alameda refused to put luxuary boxes up in the Coliseum. Fifteen years later Al Davis moved the team back to Oakland. Davis`s orginal move opened up the door for teams like the Oilers, Colts, and Rams and changed the American sporting landscape forever.
Al Davis still running his Raiders today is one of the Greatest people of all time.
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