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Oakland Raiders

The Oakland Raiders are a National Football League team based in Oakland, California.

Founded: 1960 (charter American Football League member; joined NFL in 1970 merger)

Formerly known as: Los Angeles Raiders (1982-1994)

Home stadium: Network Associates Coliseum (a.k.a. "The Black Hole")

Uniform colors: Silver and Black

Helmet design: Silver with a black shield with crossed swords and image of a Raider.

League championships won: AFL 1967; NFL 1976, 1980, 1983, 2002

Super Bowl appearances: II (lost), XI (won), XV (won), XVIII (won), XXXVII (lost)

In law, the team is a limited partnership operated by Al Davis, who serves as President of the team's general partner, A.D. Football, Inc.

Franchise history

The Oakland Raiders were a charter member of the American Football League in 1960. The Raiders' image was synonymous with the AFL's: brash, bold, and unconventional. Starting out as a poor franchise with a weak team playing in Frank Youell Field, towards the end of the 1960s it became an AFL powerhouse and one of pro football's most consistent teams. The franchise tied with the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs for the most post-season games played as an AFL team, six.

The team spent its first three seasons changing stadiums and losing more games than it won. Al Davis, a former assistant coach for the San Diego Chargers, was hired as head coach and general manager in 1963. He reorganized the Raiders, and the team improved to a 10-4 won-loss record. Four years later, the club captured the 1967 AFL Championship. Clem Daniels, Billy Cannon, Hoot Gibson, Art Powell and Daryle Lamonica were among many great players to wear the "silver and black", to be joined in 1967 by AFL legend George Blanda at the start of his nine-year career with the Raiders. In 1966, Davis became Commissioner of the AFL and is considered a driving force in raising the AFL to competitive levels that forced the NFL to merge with the younger league. The Raiders appeared in Super Bowl II (the first of five Super Bowls) in 1968 but lost to the NFL champion Green Bay Packers. In 1970, the AFL-NFL merger took place and the Raiders joined the West Division of the American Football Conference in the newly merged National Football League.

The 1970s began the Raiders' ascent towards their current status as one of the most successful franchises in NFL history, starting with their 1977 Super Bowl XI win over the Minnesota Vikings. In spite of success, head coach John Madden left to pursue a career as a television football commentator.

In 1982, the Oakland Raiders moved to Los Angeles, California to play their home games at the Los Angeles Coliseum. In 1987, the Raiders drafted two-sport athlete Bo Jackson after he originally decided not to play pro football in 1986 when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted him in the first round. Al Davis's perceived infatuation with Jackson caused a major rift between Davis and star running back Marcus Allen, who eventually left to play for the Kansas City Chiefs. This also marked a somewhat down period in Raider franchise history, both on the field and, more importantly, off the field. This period was marked by the career-ending injury of Bo Jackson in 1990, the failure of troubled quarterback Todd Marinovich, and the departure of Marcus Allen in 1993. In the same year, the Raiders moved back to Oakland.

By 2000, the Raiders began to reclaim their position among the NFL elite teams, highlighted by the emergence of veteran quarterback Rich Gannon as one of the best all-around quarterbacks in Oakland Raiders history.

The Raiders acquired all-time leading receiver Jerry Rice prior to the 2001 season. They finished 10-6, but lost their divisional playoff game to the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots in the controversial "tuck" game, in which an apparent fumble by the Patriots, that was recovered by the Raiders, was ruled to be an incomplete pass.

The Raiders finished the 2002 season with an 11-5 record and clinched the 1st seed for the playoffs. Gannon was named MVP of the league. The Raiders made their fifth Super Bowl following the season, only to lose to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 48-21.

The Raiders are the most litigious team in the NFL. They have been involved in several lawsuits, most famously with the cities of Los Angeles and Oakland, as well as the NFL. Also, they were the only team that was not a defendant in the USFL's ultimately unsuccessful antitrust suit against the NFL; Davis was a witness for the USFL in that action. The Raiders sued the city of Los Angeles over the fact that the city backed out of a stadium deal for the team. After moving back to Oakland they were sued by the NFL for losing the Los Angeles TV market, the second largest in the nation. Their most recent legal battle is with the city of Oakland. In this lawsuit, the Raiders agreed that they would sell out all of their home games in exchange for the city helping to renovate their stadium. They did this by issuing personal seating licenses, without which fans can not buy tickets to the games.

Players of note

Pro Football Hall of Famers:

Current stars:

Retired numbers:

none

Not to be forgotten:

External links:

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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Oakland Raiders".