Al Davis, 1929-2011

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeAl Davis, the owner of the NFL Oakland Raiders until his death Saturday at 82, was many things during his long career, which culminated in his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992.  He didn't get to where he was without stepping on a few toes along the way.

First, Davis was a winner.  He turned around a struggling Raiders franchise when they began in the American Football League in the early 1960s, first as a coach, then as managing general partner.  He used slogans such as "Just win, baby" and "Commitment to Excellence" to motivate his team, which must have worked because they won three Super Bowls and made many playoff appearances.  He never stopped running things on the field after he moved to the front office, often clashing with players and meddling with his coaches' decisions.

Davis was an innovator.  He wasn't like other NFL owners, not in the way he dressed (usually variations on silver and black) or how he ran his franchise.  He was the first to hire African-American and Latino head coaches, as well as a woman to be a team executive.  The Raiders were populated by players who either didn't fit in anywhere else, or whose circumstances made them liabilities.

Davis was a troublemaker.  Serving briefly as AFL commissioner in 1966, he tried to push his league forward through bidding wars with the NFL over players until the two leagues merged (which was done behind his back because he never supported it).  Then he started using the courts to get out of his commitments to the NFL and the Oakland Coliseum, resulting in the Raiders' move to Los Angeles in 1982.  By 1995, however, the team returned to Oakland under the cloud of more lawsuits, most of which have now been settled.

Now that Davis is gone, what will happen to the Raiders?  The team isn't anywhere near the powerhouse they once were after their last Super Bowl appearance in 2003, sometimes performing badly enough to qualify for a Number One draft pick.  Ownership is in question, even though it's been reported that Davis' son Mark would run the team.  And, of course, there's always the possibility of returning to Los Angeles.

Still, without the man who embodied the Silver and Black as much as his teams did, the Oakland Raiders and the NFL became a little bit duller.

P.S.:  The day after Davis' death, the Raiders defeated the Houston Texans 25-20 to advance their record this season to 3-2.  They just won, baby.