Birdwell Was Key to Raiders Eleven Angry Men
Raider Maven has chronicled the careers of three members of the vaunted front four in the famed Eleven Angry Men of Defense on the Oakland Raiders in 1967, and last but certainly not least in defensive tackle Dan Birdwell.
The 6-4, 250-pound Birdwell was selected in the fifth round (No. 62 overall) of the 1962 National Football League Draft out of the University of Houston by the Detroit Lions, and also by the Raiders in the sixth round (No. 44 overall) in the American Football League Draft that same year.
Naturally, Birdwell signed with the Raiders, where he became a starter as a rookie and played eight quality seasons.
Even though sacks were not an official statistic in those days, Birdwell is credited with 32½ in his career, which undoubtedly is much fewer than he actually had, and when the Raiders racked up 67 sacks for 666 yards in 1967, he was credited with 14½ including one for a safety while playing with fellow defensive tackle Tom Keating and defensive ends Ike Lassiter and Ben Davidson.
The Raiders went 13-1 in 1967 and routed the Houston Oilers, 40-7, in the AFL Championship Game as Birdwell had one of three sacks of quarterback Pete Beathard, but they lost to the Green Bay Packers, 33-14, in Super Bowl II as Birdwell made five tackles and had one of four sacks against quarterback Bart Starr.
“You have to play this game like somebody just hit your mother with a two-by-four,” said Birdwell, who was an AFL All-Star in 1968 and probably would have claimed numerous awards if not for the other all-stars in the Raiders lineup.
More than 50 years after he took his last snap for the Raiders, Birdwell is still fourth all-time in games played by a defensive tackle for the Silver and Black with 96, which is second all-time for all players in franchise history for a player drafted by the team.
During the 1967 regular season, when the Raiders’ plane arrived in Houston for a game against the Oilers, the team was met by police, who took Birdwell into custody because he was behind in alimony to his former wife.
Managing General Partner Al Davis pulled some strings and got Birdwell released in time to play a key role as the Raiders beat the Oilers, 19-7, at Rice Stadium.
“Dan knew that the police were not showing up just to escort us to the hotel,” Raiders wide receiver Rod Sherman said. “They were there to escort him to jail. So Birdwell pushes all the way from the coach section through first class, and then we don’t see him. He’s not at the hotel that night for a bed check.
“All we know is that Al Davis pulled whatever strings needed to be pulled to get Dan out of jail. I think Dan made it to the pregame meal before we got on the busses to go to the game. When you ask about Dan Birdwell stories, that’s the one that comes to mind. He was quite a character.”
Birdwell made several tackles in that game and had a sack of Beathard as the Raiders held the Oilers to 154 total yards and forced three turnovers.
Said the judge who let Birdwell go, obviously an Oilers fan: “Had I known he was going to play such a key role in the game, I would have kept him in jail for several more hours.”
After the Raiders beat the New York Jets, 43-32, in the famous Heidi Game in 1968, Birdwell told quarterback Joe Namath after he was sacked four times in the game, in which Birdwell reportedly punched Namath in the groin: “That’s No. 1, Mr. Namath.”
Tragically, Birdwell died of a massive heart attack at the of age 37 on Feb. 14, 1978. Birdwell was found dead by one of his three children as she returned from school after being ill for several days with fever, aches, pains, and other flu‐like symptoms, his wife, Diane, said.
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