Los Angeles Chargers owner Barron Hilton told the AFL he would rescind his franchise if the league did not get another West Coast team. There were few football stadiums that were appealing for professional football in California at that time.
The city of Oakland asked for the Raiders after a group of businessmen formed a group to purchase the team. They played their first season across the bay in San Francisco and even played their last three games on the NFL's San Francisco 49ers turf in Candlestick Park.
After a rough start, the Chargers helped the Raiders again. Al Davis was an assistant coach to Hall of Famer Sid Gillman with the Chargers. Davis was named the general manager and head coach.
The team started to improve, but Davis accepted the job to be AFL commissioner. The job was short lived because the AFL decided to merge with the NFL. Davis returned to the Raiders after buying a stake in the teams ownership.
Becoming a powerful team by this time, under head coach John Rauch, the Raiders won the 1967 AFL title before heading to the second ever Super Bowl and losing to the Green Bay Packers. The team continued to be one of the best in football, but it would take until 1976 for them to reach another Super Bowl.
After winning it all that year, the Raiders won Super Bowls in 1980. Davis had now become the managing general partner of the Raiders and was unhappy with the Oakland Coliseum. He moved the team to Los Angeles.
Though an unpopular move for the city of Oakland, Los Angeles accepted the Raiders with open arms. The city now hosted the Raiders and the Rams together. The Rams, who had been there since 1946, battled the Raiders for fans allegiance.
Oak...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
