quentinAl Davis Passes Away At 82
October 8th 2011 17:22
The Oakland Raiders owner, Al Davis, dies at 82. He was a pioneer rebel that began 60 years ago as the assistant with the Baltimore Colts, and entered the 1992 Pro Football Hall of Fame. The team's website posted a tribute of Al Davis with his name in large silver letters above “July 4 1929-October 8, 2011. Al Davis died in his home this morning. The commissioner of the NFL, Roger Goodell said about Davis, “Al Davis' passion for football and his influence on the game were extraordinary. He defined the Raiders and contributed to pro football at every level. The respect he commanded was evident in the way that people listened carefully every time he spoke.” Goodell also added, “He is a true legend of the game whose impact and legacy will forever be part of the NFL.” Even though Al Davis was known as a rebel, he was also a charming and compassionate man. He is a man who when his wife had a heart attack in the 1970s, Davis moved into her hospital room. Al Davis own health have been reported in April that he has been hospitalized, but the team dismissed them as rumors.
Before last season, Al Davis said he liked Jason Campbell as the Raiders new quarterback. Davis said, “I really liken this team a great deal to the team of 1980, in which the great Jim Plunkett pulled us out of the doldrums, took us to the Super Bowl as a wild card, and we had so many great players who eventually made their way to the Hall of Fame.” The Raiders were losers in the first decade of the 21st century, before then, Al Davis' team was a winner. The Raiders won three Super Bowls during the 1970s and 1980s (1976, 1980, and 1983) and almost contending every other seasons. Al Davis was also a trailblazer. He hired the first black coach in 1988 with Art Shell. He hired the first Latino coach, Tom Flores. He hired the first woman CEO, Amy Trask.
Al Davis was born in Brockton, Mass. He grew up in Brooklyn and graduated from Erasmus Hall High School. Davis was a graduate of Syracuse University. He was an assistant at The Citadel and then Southern California before joining the Los Angeles Chargers of the new AFL in 1960. Only three years later, he was hired by the Raiders and became one of the youngest general manager head coach in pro football history with a team he called the “the Raid-uhs” in 1963. In 1966, Davis became the commissioner of the AFL.
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