However, it's for those exact reasons that he is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and has brought home three Lombardi trophies to the Raiders fans.
In 1963, Al Davis became not only the Raiders head coach, but also its general manager, making him the youngest person ever to hold both positions. That year as a rookie coach, Davis turned a 1-13 team into a 10-4 team, and also won him the AFL's Coach of the Year Award.
Al Davis was born in Brockton, Mass., July 4, 1929, but grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. He attended Syracuse University, where he earned a degree in English.
He began his coaching career at Adelphi College in 1950, and only stayed there for one year, before coaching the U.S Army team from 1952-53.
From 1957-59, Davis worked as a line coach at USC. Davis's first professional coaching job was with the then-Los Angeles Chargers from 1960-62. In 1963, Davis moved on to coach the Oakland Raiders.
In 1966, Davis was named the commissioner of the AFL, and immediately started fighting the NFL tooth and nail, signing away many of its top players. Many people view Davis as the driving factor that caused the NFL-AFL merger in 1970. For that, fans of ANY team can be thankful.
Davis brought that aggressive brand of football into Oakland and created a style and image that many people disagree with. However, what they can't disagree with is the facts.
The Raiders are only one of two teams that have appeared in a Super Bowl in each of the last four decades, the other being the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Davis not only designed the Raiders logo, but introduced a new style that pretty much revolutionized football in general.
It was also Davis who was the innovator of putting player...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
