United States
The Las Vegas Raiders were established in 1960, in Oakland, as one of the original teams in the American Football League (AFL). The Minnesota Vikings were supposed to be a part of the original AFL, but when the franchise owners decided to go join the NFL, the newly formed AFL had to find another venue. They decided upon Oakland, California. It was an unusual choice since there was no ownership group in place, the city had not applied for a franchise and there was no stadium.
Although neighboring San Francisco had a successful NFL team, Barron Hilton, the owner of the AFL’s San Diego Chargers, said that he would relinquish his franchise unless the West Coast was given another AFL team. Thus, on January 30, 1960, Oakland became the eighth AFL club and was given the Minneapolis, Minnesota team’s picks. There was a partnership formed between various businessmen.
The club played in the AFL’s Western Division from 1960-1969. When the NFL and AFL merged in 1970, they became part of the AFC’s West Division, and they remain in that division today.
From 1960-1981, the team was known as the Oakland Raiders. Then from 1982-1994, they bore the name the Los Angeles Raiders. Since 1995, they have once again been known as the Oakland Raiders. The team has played in various venues, including Kezar Stadium in 1960 for four games and Candlestick Park from 1960-1961. They moved to Frank Youell Field in 1962 and in 1966 moved into the spacious Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. They played as the Los Angeles Raiders in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum from 1982-1994. Since 1995, when they once again became the Oakland Raiders, they have played in Oakland at McAfee Coliseum. This home field has also been known as Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum (1995-1998) and Network Associates Coliseum (1999-2004).
Oakland dominated the AFL and AFC West in the late sixties through to the mid-seventies. They have won 15 division titles including three AFL West (1967, 1968 and 1969) and 12 AFC West (1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1983, 1985, 1990, 2000, 2001 and 2002). The club has won four AFC Championships (1976, 1980, 1983, 2002) and three Super Bowl Championships. They were Super Bowl XI (1976), XV (1980) and XVIII (1983) champions. In 1967, the team won the AFL title.
Al Davis, who owns the team and serves as the general manager, was the head coach of the Raiders from 1963-1965. In three seasons, he was 23-16-3. In 1966, he became the commissioner of the AFL. During that time, Davis worked hard to ensure that the new league could compete with the NFL for talent and prestige. When it looked like the NFL and AFL might merge, Davis went back to the Raiders as a partner and head of football operations (1966-1969). In 1970, when the merger occurred, Davis worked to gain control of the team and did so through aggressive measures. By 1972, he was in total control of football operations. By 2005, Davis was the majority owner of the team. Davis was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992.
