NFL Team History - The Oakland Raiders

On January 30, 1960, the city of Oakland, California was granted an American Football League franchise. The Oakland franchise became the second team from the west coast to join the AFL. The Los Angeles Chargers, now San Diego, was the other pacific coast-based team.

An affiliation was formed by a group of businessmen, which included Harvey Binns, Don Blessing, Charles Harney, Ed McGah, Robert Osborne, Wayne Valley, and Chet Soda. Originally, the Oakland franchise was named the Senors; however, the name was changed to 'Raiders' weeks later.

The Raiders first home field was Kezar Stadium in San Francisco, California after their endeavors to establish Memorial Stadium in Berkely as their home stadium were rejected. On September 11, 1960, the Raiders played their first home game against the Houston Oilers. Unfortunately for the Oakland fans, their home team suffered a 37-22 defeat. The Raiders introductory season resulted in a mediocre 6-8 record. The final three home games of the season were played in Candlestick Park.

Wayne Valley and Ed McGah purchased majority ownership from the other members of the affiliation in 1961. In 1962, the Raiders finally moved to their first home in Oakland and played on Frank Youell Field during the construction of Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, their eventual home.

Following the 1962 season, Wayne Valley employed Al Davis for the head coach position. Not only was Davis the coach but he would assume the general manager duties as well. Davis had previously served as the assistant coach for the west coast counterparts San Diego Chargers. The Raiders team colors changed to silver and black.

The following season, the Raiders enjoyed their best season up to date as they posted a 10-4 record.

In 1966, Davis would leave the Raiders organization and become the AFL Commissioner. Following the AFL-NFL merger, the piqued Davis returned to the Raiders as a part-owner. He acquired 10 percent of the franchise on July 25, 1966.

In 1967, the Raiders won their first AFL Championship by crushing the Houston Oilers 40-7. The overwhelming victory earned the Raiders the opportunity to face the prodigious NFL Champion Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl II. The Packers, who were considered to be the paramount team in professional football in that particular era, handed the Raiders a 33-14 defeat.

The following two seasons, the Raiders would play in the AFL Championship Game, only to lose to the New York Jets in 1968 and Kansas City Chiefs in 1969. Both the Jets and Chiefs won the Super Bowl following their victories over the Raiders.

John Madden was hired as the head coach of the Raiders prior to the 1969 season. In 1970, the Raiders were repositioned in the AFC Western Division along with the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, and San Diego Chargers.

In 1972, Al Davis assumed total control over the Raiders while Wayne Valley was in Munich attending the Olympic Games. Davis had his lawyers amend the partnership agreement and it was voted in his favor. Needless to say, Valley was incensed when he returned. He filed a lawsuit hoping to have the new agreement overturned, but to no avail.

In 1976, the Raiders finished NFL regular season with an astounding record of 13-1. They stomped the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship Game by a score of 24-7, thus earning another shot at Super Bowl triumph. In Super Bowl XI, the Raiders trounced the Minnesota Vikings 32-14 en route to their first Super Bowl victory.

Madden would step down as head coach of the Oakland Raiders following the 1979 season. After his tenure as head coach, he became a revered television personality and football analyst. Madden's replacement was Tom Flores.

In 1980, following futile endeavors of upgrading the Oakland Coliseum, Davis agreed to relocate the franchise to Los Angeles, California. But due to an injunction filed, the move did not actually come to fruition until the 1982 season. The Raiders played their home games at Los Angeles Memorial Stadium.

Tom Flores led the Raiders to a Super Bowl title over the Philadelphia Eagles 27-10 in Super Bowl XV in 1980 when the franchise was still located in Oakland. Their victory over the Eagles was the first time a Wild Card team had ever conquered the Super Bowl.

In 1982, the Los Angeles Raiders whitewashed the Washington Redskins 38-9 in Super Bowl XVIII.

Flores has been recognized as the first Hispanic to coach in the NFL.

In 1987, the Raiders drafted dual-sport athlete Bo Jackson, who also played baseball for the Kansas City Royals. Jackson joined Marcus Allen in the backfield.

In 1989, Al Davis fired Mike Shanahan. Shanahan's replacement was former lineman Art Shell. This was significant in the fact that Art Shell became the first African-American head coach in the modern NFL era. In his first full season as head coach, Shell led the Raiders to the AFC Championship Game against the Buffalo Bills. The Raiders, however, suffered a thwarting 51-3 defeat to the Bills.

After fruitless attempts, Davis was unable to obtain a modernized facility in Los Angeles, therefore, on June 23, 1995, the Raiders were relocated back to their original home in Oakland.

In 1998, former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Jon Gruden was hired as head coach of the Raiders. In 2000, Gruden would lead the Raiders to a 12-4 record. Additionally, they clinched AFC Western Division title. Unfortunately, they were shut down by the eventual Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship game. In 2001, the Raiders lost a controversial game in the Divisional match-up with the New England Patriots 16-13. The game was played in a heavy snowstorm in Foxboro, Massachusetts.

Prior to the 2001 season, the Raiders added Pro Bowl wide receiver Jerry Rice to their offensive arsenal.

Following the 2001 season, Gruden was released from his head coach duties and accepted a job to become the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002. Bill Callahan replaced the popular Gruden. Bizarrely, the Raiders were matched-up against the Gruden-led Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII. The Raiders were pounded by Buccaneers by a score of 48-21.

The Raiders encountered a sudden decline in 2003 as they could only muster up a 4-12 record.

The Raiders experienced minimal improvement in 2004 as the posted a 5-11 record.

Prior to the 2006 season, Art Shell returned to the sidelines as Raiders head coach, but was fired after one season.

Following the 2006 NFL season, the Raiders were awarded the first overall draft pick due to their pitiable 2-14 record. They selected quarterback JaMarcus Russell out of LSU as their first pick in the NFL draft.