Al davis has died

Chucky the tree

Absolute legend of the game. Gutted about this. Just when it looked like we were on the right track and pushing ahead.


http://www.raiders.com/

Eire-Dearg

RIP

tallaghtoutlaws

I know I have said he lost it in later years but he was one of the true greats of the NFL. Never a dull moment in the NFL with the Raiders and one of the best organisations in the NFL due to it. Even with all the madness in between.

RIP Al.

Peyton Manning

Put the Raiders on the map in this league. RIP. One of the great characters in the NFL and has just always been there, a constant every Sunday. Will be weird without him - the game in the Coliseum next week will be so intense.

Amirani

Football legend. Wonder if this will be the end of the Raiders in Oakland?

Dodge

One of the most influential people in the history of the NFL. From the merger to the great raiders branding, from leaving LA without a team to the greatest word speech ever

http://youtu.be/0RAlrzcdfRY

FreeOSCAR

RIP Al.

spiralism

The game wouldnt be where it is today were it not for him, RIP to a true legend of the sport

Mr. Guappa

RIP

Just win, Baby.

frostie500

Very sad to see this. Whatever about Davis for the last seven or eight years or so but before that he was always one of the most original thinkers in the game and one that brought football to its current position as the biggest sport in the US. It will be very interesting to see how the Raiders develop in the next couple of years

spiralism

who would take over from Al, just out of interest? id assume it would be his son but would he run it the same way or hire a GM and run it like most teams are ran?

Hazys

Wow, kinda shocking. RIP

He will definitely be missed, no owner has been like him or ever will be.

You gotta love his "Fcuk everybody else, I'm doing it my way" attitude.

ankles

As a Raiders fan I am going to say the unsayable... this mightn't be the worst thing that could happen in terms of the team. That being said he will be missed. He made the Raiders unique

fisgon

Important to note that he was one of the first GMs to hire black and other minority coaches, and even black players back in the sixties. For that if nothing else he should be remembered, despite his loosening grip on reality in the last few years.

themont85

Second only to Papa Bear GSH for overall impact in the NFL I would say. Legend.

RIP

heyjude

fisgon wrote: »

Important to note that he was one of the first GMs to hire black and other minority coaches, and even black players back in the sixties. For that if nothing else he should be remembered, despite his loosening grip on reality in the last few years.

True, under Al Davis, Tom Flores was first hispanic head coach in the NFL(and first minority coach to win a Superbowl) , Art Shell was the first black head coach in the modern era(since Fritz Pollard in 1921), while Jim Plunkett, was first hispanic(or minority) to quarterback a team to Superbowl victory. Davis was also the first to appoint a woman(Amy Trask), as CEO of an NFL team.

Rightly or wrongly, he always did it his way and was never afraid to break convention. RIP Al, the Raiders and the NFL wouldn't have been the same without you.

eagle eye

RIP. One of the true great men of the game.

Stev_o

RIP a true innovator of his time. Extricate as they come and his like will probably never be seen again.

kev_s88

RIP Al! :eek:

A crazy owner but a man who got the job done. gonna be sorely missed in the league!

mikemac

He did what he wanted and didn't worry over what others thought

The game wouldn't be where it is now without him

Prefab Sprouter

The sad thing is that most people nowadays saw him as this crazy guy who fired coaches at will and held press conferences at which he ranted on justifying his actions. But what an organisation he built. The Raiders just lost its beating heart yesterday. And even though the last few years have been a joke (Jamarcus Russell, Lane Kiffin, de Angelo Hall) there are few people who lived completely for his team. Al Davis was one of those. God Speed Al and thank you for giving us this team.

heyjude

heyjude wrote: »

True, under Al Davis, Tom Flores was first hispanic head coach in the NFL(and first minority coach to win a Superbowl) , Art Shell was the first black head coach in the modern era(since Fritz Pollard in 1921), while Jim Plunkett, was first hispanic(or minority) to quarterback a team to Superbowl victory. Davis was also the first to appoint a woman(Amy Trask), as CEO of an NFL team.

Rightly or wrongly, he always did it his way and was never afraid to break convention. RIP Al, the Raiders and the NFL wouldn't have been the same without you.

A great man with a great impact on the game.

I know this sounds strange, but when I saw him and heard him for the first time, arguing with everyone, I almost expected him to be some old American with a dislike for minorities, raving about Asians and Muslims...maybe like the Clint Eastwood character in Gran Torino (I know, I did say it sounds strange, it seems like I'm the issues for assuming he had them!).

Think I got THAT one wrong!

D3PO

tallaghtoutlaws wrote: »

I know I have said he lost it in later years but he was one of the true greats of the NFL. Never a dull moment in the NFL with the Raiders and one of the best organisations in the NFL due to it. Even with all the madness in between.

RIP Al.

sums up my thoughts exactly.

RIP

Max Power1

RIP
A man who often toed the line between crazed genius and crazed lunatic, but a true legend of the game.

BillN

He is on the short list of the men who made the old AFL a success. Same list for bringing about the merger of the two leagues in the mid 60's. Too soon to mention maybe, but I wonder what will happen to the Raiders after Al.

Royal Seahawk

Excellent piece from ESPN

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/7098616/rick-reilly-reflects-al-davis-commitment-honesty