Oakland Raiders History: Jersey Numbers That Should Be Retired-Offense

Since Al Davis took over the Oakland Raiders, there have been some great players that have donned the silver and black. Raider fans have often shown their allegiance to their favorite players by wearing their number. However, they often find themselves wearing the number of a lesser player with that same number years later. Why doesn't Davis retire numbers like most sports franchises? It could be that he likes to say, "Son, I think highly enough of you to give you so-and-so's number, now honor it." It could also be that by taking the sentimentality out of the number, he's attempting to say that no Raider is any better than any other; we're all one. It could be nothing more than a numbers-game (no pun intended). If he retired the number of every great Raider, they'd run out of numbers before long. Whatever the case, there are several numbers that have been honored by the player that wore them later, and some that have failed to live up to the number they were given. Let's look at just a few of the offensive numbers that should be retired in numerical order...Begin Slideshow

...

About the Author