The Raiders Legacy Didn't Start Fast

The Oakland Raiders were one of the eight teams in the inaugural season of the American Football League in 1960. Although they struggled early, the Silver and Black eventually became an AFL powerhouse.

However, the Raiders couldn’t keep up with the Kansas City Chiefs, San Diego Chargers, Denver Broncos, New York Jets, Houston Oilers, New England Patriots, and Buffalo Bills (some with different names) in the early years.

It took the Raiders 112 regular-season games before they finally reached the playoffs in 1967, but they showed they knew what to do once they got there by routing the Oilers, 40-7, in the AFC Championship Game.

Al Davis, who turned the Raiders in the right direction as a coach and general manager when he came to Oakland in 1963, was back from his sojourn as AFC Commissioner during the later days of the AFL-NFL War, and John Rauch had been named head coach in 1966.

Davis and the Raiders made a blockbuster deal before the 1967 season, trading quarterback Tom Flores and wide receiver Art Powell to the Buffalo Bills for quarterback Daryle Lamonica and wide receiver Glenn Bass.

Bass didn’t even make the team, but Lamonica, the former Notre Dame All-American from Fresno in Central California known as “The Mad Bomber,” immediately became one of the best quarterbacks in football.

“We were willing to wait a couple of years on Daryle,” Davis recalled years later. “We thought it would take time for him to fit into our system. We knew we could play defense, and we knew we could run the ball, but it was up to Daryle to get our passing game going.

“He did it sooner than we had expected.”

All Lamonica did in his first season in Oakland was pass for 3,228 yards and 30 touchdowns while leading the Silver and Black to a 13-1 record during the regular season.

With dual-threat running back Clem Daniels beating linebackers and even defensive backs deep before he was injured later in the season, it opened up other receivers for Lamonica, such as future Hall of Fame wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff, fullback Hewitt Dixon and tight end Billy Cannon.

The line provided the protection Lamonica needed, led by future Hall of Famers Jim Otto at the center and Gene Upshaw at left guard.

“This is the best team I’ve ever played on, and I’ve played on 18 of them,” said kicker-backup quarterback George Blanda, who played for four franchises before retiring in 1975 at the age of 48. “This team will not roll over and play dead for anyone. We weren’t awed by anyone.

“We had such a great offense with Daryle, Daniels, Freddy, all those guys, plus a great offensive line, not to mention an outstanding defense. Had Clem not gotten hurt late in the season, things could have turned out differently.”

Future Hall of Fame cornerback Willie Brown, who had seven interceptions that season, led a physically aggressive defense along with middle linebacker Dan Conners, who had seven total turnovers of his own, defensive end Big Ben Davidson, tackle Tom Keating, and linebacker Gus Otto.

Both units showed what the Raiders would be like that year when they trounced the Broncos, 51-0, in the first game of the season before beating the Patriots, 35-7, and the arch-rival Chiefs, 23-21, all of those games at the Oakland Coliseum, to start the season 3-0.

The Raiders went to Shea Stadium in New York the following week. Even though they limited quarterback Joe Namath to nine completions for 166 yards with two interceptions, the Jets defeated them 27-14, despite two touchdown passes by Lamonica.

But that was it, as the Raiders won their last ten games of the regular season before routing the Oilers in the AFC Championship Game.

However, Daniels sustained a knee injury in the ninth game of the season, and it was definitely a factor in Super Bowl II when the Green Bay Packers pulled away from a 13-7 lead late in the second quarter en route to a 33-14 victory at the Orange Bowl in Miami.

“Clem’s absence definitely had a great impact on that game,” said Lamonica, who threw two 23-yard touchdown passes to wide receiver Bill Miller. “The Chiefs’ linebackers, who were faster, couldn’t keep up with Clem, so I know the Packers couldn’t have either.

“Whether I would have been enough to win, I don’t know, but it would have been nice to see.”

Despite the loss, things changed for the Raiders, who often made the playoffs and won three Super Bowls in the next 17 seasons.

The Raiders' offseason workout schedule is as follows:

OTA Offseason workouts: May 22-23, May 25, May 31-June 2, June 12-15

Mandatory Minicamp: June 6-8

Rookie Minicamp: May 12-14

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