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The Oakland Raiders were a charter member
of the American Football League in 1960. The Raiders' image
was synonymous with the AFL's: brash and bold. 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 professional football's most consistent teams.
The franchise is 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.
In
1969, John Madden became the team's head coach, and during
the 1970s he helped start 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 his success, Madden left
coaching in 1979 to pursue a career as a television football
commentator.
In the 2004-2005 season, their first season under Turner,
the Raiders continued to suffer on the field, posting their
second consecutive losing record (5-11), heavy laden with
turnovers and injuries.
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 television
market, the second largest in the United States. 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 cannot buy tickets to the games.
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: 1960-1962: Black, Gold and
White, 1963-Present: Silver and Black
Helmet design: Silver with a black shield
with crossed swords and image of a Raider.
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Arizona
Cardinals 
