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Happy Birthday Mr. Davis

Al Davis Bio:

Born into a wealthy Jewish family, Davis grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and attended Erasmus Hall High School.

He attended Syracuse University, where he played baseball and football. Upon graduation, he began his coaching career as the line coach at Adelphi College from 1950 to 1951. From there Davis served as the head coach of the U.S. Army team at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia from 1952 to 1953. His next coaching assignment was as the line coach and chief recruiter for The Citadel. From 1957 to 1959 Davis was a line coach at the University of Southern California.

Davis’ first coaching experience in professional football came as the offensive end coach of the Los Angeles Chargers from 1960 to 1962. In 1963, at the age of 33, and known then and now for his slicked-back hair, Brooklyn-tinged speech, dark glasses and ferocious competitiveness , Davis became the head coach and general manager of the AFL’s Oakland Raiders. He was the youngest person in the history of professional football to hold these positions. Prior to Davis’ arrival, the Raiders had compiled a 9-33 record in their first three years of existence. Davis led the team to a 10-4 record in 1963 and was unanimously named the American Football League Coach of the Year.

Davis compiled a coaching record of 23-16-3 in three seasons as head coach in Oakland. In April 1966 he was named the American Football League Commissioner. He immediately commenced an aggressive campaign against the NFL and signed several of the NFL’s top players to AFL contracts. Other AFL owners held secret meetings with the NFL, and in July the AFL and NFL announced that they were merging. Because of the compensation AFL teams were required to pay the NFL, and because he believed the AFL would be the superior league if allowed to remain separate, Davis was against the merger. He chose to return to the Raiders as general partner and head of football operations (along with seven other co-owners), rather than remain as commissioner until the end of the AFL in 1970.

Once he rejoined the Raiders organization, Davis ruthlessly attempted to gain power within the club. In 1972, while managing general partner Wayne Valley was attending the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Davis drafted a revised partnership agreement that gave him near-total control of team operations. Valley sued to overturn the agreement once he returned to the country, but was unsuccessful. Valley sold his interest in 1976, and no other partners have had any role in running the club since. This was despite the fact that Davis didn’t acquire a majority interest in the Raiders until 2005, when he bought the shares held by the family of Ed McGah, the team’s last original general partner. He now owns approximately 67 percent of the interests in the partnership through his company, A.D. Football, Inc. In addition to serving as owner, Davis effectively serves as his own general manager.

With Davis in control, the Raiders became one of the most successful teams in all of professional sports. From 1967 to 1985 the team won 13 division championships, one AFL championship (1967), three Super Bowls (XI, XV, & XVIII) and made 15 playoff appearances. Though the team’s fortunes haven’t been as great in recent years, the Raiders are the only team other than the Pittsburgh Steelers to play in the Super Bowl in 4 different decades. Along with appearing in 5 Super Bowls, the Raiders have also played in their Conference/League Championship Game in every decade since their inception.

In 1992 Davis was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a Team and League Administrator, and was presented by John Madden. Davis has been chosen by a record nine Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees to present them at the Canton, Ohio ceremony: Lance Alworth, Jim Otto, George Blanda, Willie Brown, Gene Upshaw, Fred Biletnikoff, Art Shell, Ted Hendricks, and John Madden.

Davis is also credited for the catchphrases “Just win, baby!”, “Commitment to Excellence”, “The Will to Win”,”The Greatness of The Raiders” and “Pride and Poise”.

Davis is known for judging his employees by their ability to win, rather than skin color. For example, he hired the first Latino head coach in NFL history, Tom Flores, in 1979. In 1989, he hired the first African American head coach in league history, Art Shell. He has also placed a woman, Amy Trask, as president of the club, in a far higher position than any other NFL owner
or executive has placed a woman.

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