Harper Collins, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0061834301
Love them or hate them, the 1970s Oakland Raiders under John Madden were certainly an entertaining cast of misfits in the guise of one the best professional football teams of their era. Here, Peter Richmond tells the story of this cast of characters, and characters they were.
The distinctive personality of this team that set it apart from all others of the 1970s was the perception that this was a group of outlaws and rebels who thumbed their noses at convention. Add to this the fact many were castoffs from other teams for behavioral or other issues, and you had a truly volatile band of misfits. But somehow the affable John Madden, who was the perfect coach for this team, was able to take this group of irrepressible “adults” and mold them into a feared, championship football team. Having read this account of the 1970s Raiders, I almost liken John Madden to Santa Clause trapped on the island for misfit toys, trying to using his magic to make them whole.
Many of the players on these teams are ones most football fans will remember in perpetuity. You had Jack “The Assassin” Tatum, Gene Atkinson, Skip “Dr. Death” Thomas, and Willie Brown, aka The Soul Patrol, one of the most feared set of defensive backs in the league who relished huge hits, clothesline tackles, and knocking their opponents out of games. They also had characters like quarterback Ken Stabler, the bad southern Alabama boy, carouser and partier extraordinaire, linebackers Phil Villapiano and Ted Hendricks, and the truly crazy John Matuszak, along with the rest of the team full of similar head cases, creating a volatile mix of testosterone, craziness, and child like desire to have fun, on the field and off.
This was a hard-partying ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
