NFL legend and the Raiders owner Al Davis died Saturday. Davis dies at his home in Oakland. The cause of death has not yet been disclosed. Under the tenure of Al Davis, the Raiders have won three Superbowl. Their most recent one was in 2002 versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Davis was elected in the the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992.
Al Davis was a pioneer in many things. He hired the first African American coach, the second Latino coach, and the first woman CEO. His influence transcends this. Davis was a large and important figure between the the AFL and the NFL. Davis was the commissioner was the AFL at the time. The merger eventually occurred in 1970. This merger between the two leagues has shaped the current day NFL.
A day after Al Davis's death, his team the Oakland Raiders played an emotional game against the Houston Texans. The Raiders made a comeback in the final minuets, while holding off a late Texans drive that want all the way to the red cone. On the last play of the game, Texans quarterback Matt Schaub scrambled out of the pocket, but threw a pick to Texas product Michael Huff. The wind ended a very emotional day for the Raider organization. After the game Raiders coach Hue Jackson said that Al Davis had his hand on the football on the Matt Schaub threw. Although he meant it in a metaphorical sense the did Raiders only had 10 men on the field. You are supposed to have 11. Maybe Al Davis really did have a hand on the play.
As Al Davis famously said, "Just Win, Baby!"
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Photo courtesy of flickr. Full size image here
Cool story. Al Davis was pretty old though. Even older than Jerry Jones (and that man is OLD).
ReplyDelete-Taco