Raiders Owner Al Davis Dies

[keithlewis]

R.I.P.

The NFL has lost one of its most influential and colorful figures.

Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis has died at the age of 82. The news was announced Saturday morning on the team’s web site. The team said he died at his home in Oakland on Saturday morning.

Davis’ career in football dates to 1950. He served as a coach, general manager and even commissioner (in the American Football League that merged with the NFL in 1970) before becoming the Raiders’ principal owner in 1972.

Under his ownership tenure, Oakland won three Super Bowl titles. Davis also holds the record for most Hall of Fame induction speeches given with nine for players and coaches who worked under him, including John Madden and the late Gene Upshaw. Davis himself was inducted into the Hall in 1992.

Davis helped revolutionized offense in the early 1960s by implementing an aggressive passing game he referred to as the “vertical game.” Davis’ other fabled mantra was “Just win, baby!” The Raiders did that for most of Davis’ tenure, posting 34 seasons of .500 or better in his 48 years with the franchise.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/Oakl ... ?gt1=39002