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Copyright 1997 The Chronicle Publishing Co. *
The San Francisco Chronicle

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DECEMBER 3, 1997, WEDNESDAY, FINAL EDITION

SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. B1; WEDNESDAY SPECIAL

LENGTH: 1096 words

HEADLINE: Chiefs Offer Allen Refuge That Raiders Never Did

BYLINE: Ron Kroichick, Chronicle Staff Writer

BODY:
Once he does retire, once he lands in the end zone for the final time, Marcus Allen will leave many lasting images on the NFL landscape.

There he leans, propelling himself across the goal line for another touchdown. Or there he cuts, quickly changing direction. Or there he flees, reversing fields on the longest run from scrimmage in Super Bowl history.

These images will take Allen into the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Even so, his career will be remembered just as much for his bitter, lingering feud with Raiders owner Al Davis.

Allen spent 11 seasons with the Raiders; he's nearing the end of his fifth year in Kansas City. But he speaks of his time with the Chiefs in a near-reverential tone, as if he found his personal slice of football heaven.

''Words are inadequate to describe my time in Kansas City,'' Allen said. ''All I ever wanted was to just play football. This allowed me to do that, without all the peripheral things I had to deal with on that other team.''

That other team visits Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday. The Raiders, careening toward one of the worst seasons in their proud history, will collide with the man most closely linked to their last moment of greatness.

Allen ran for a then-record 191 yards in Super Bowl XVIII, on Jan. 22, 1984. That was the last time an AFC team won the Super Bowl, the last time the Raiders sat atop the football world.

Allen eventually danced his way to franchise records for most rushing touchdowns (79) and most yards rushing (8,545). Now, he holds the NFL record for rushing touchdowns (121) and ranks sixth on the rushing list (12,123).

He accumulated most of these glitzy numbers in Los Angeles, wearing a silver-and-black uniform. Tradition dictates that players enter the Hall of Fame as a member of the team for which they played the longest.

No matter. Allen, not surprisingly, plans to stride into the Hall in the red and white of the Chiefs.

''That would be the right thing to do,'' he said.

Allen's messy parting with the Raiders has been well documented. It seemed like a closed case, at least until Allen released his autobiography earlier this year.

His feud with Davis burst onto the public scene on Dec. 14, 1992, when Allen vented during an interview with ABC's Al Michaels. By then, Allen had vanished into obscurity.

The Raider version suggests he could not handle playing behind Bo Jackson. Allen's version suggests Davis was angry that he could not control Allen.

In the ABC interview, Allen accused Davis of trying to ruin his career and his Hall-of-Fame chances. Nearly five years later, Allen was more specific in his book.

''I hated Al Davis, not only for what he'd done to me but for the way he treated virtually everyone in the organization,'' Allen wrote. ''. . . The problem was, I stepped outside Al's box of control.

''I refused to be intimidated by him. I saw how he dealt with people in a manner that smacked of slavery, and I wanted no part of it.''

Raiders executive assistant Al LoCasale, who first joined the team in 1969, defended the way that Davis treats his employees.

''That's pure (baloney),'' LoCasale said of the passage in the book. ''One-point-one million dollar-a- year slavery is what most people in America would like to attain. . . .

''Look at all the people who have been here for a long time or the people who have come back. This is where they want to be, and that's the guy (Davis) they want to work for.

''As (former head coach) Art Shell said, Marcus was a cancer in the organization. He needed to be cut out for the organization to continue to live.''

Allen also wrote that Davis wanted to select Walter Abercrombie, not Allen, with the 10th overall choice in the 1982 draft. Davis was in court on the day of the draft, busy with one of his lawsuits against the league.

According to the book, then- Raiders personnel director Ron Wolf -- now Green Bay's general manager -- decided to take Allen. ''If you pick him, he's your guy, not mine,'' Davis reportedly told Wolf.

LoCasale said Davis made the final decision to draft Allen. Tom Flores, the coach of the Raiders at the time, concurred.

''There was no question Marcus was the guy, all the way around,'' Flores said. ''He asked me once, and I told him there was never a doubt. I love Marcus, but facts are facts.''

At any rate, Allen's strange standoff with Davis might have prolonged his career. Here he stands, at age 37, still gliding into the end zone, still making defenders miss.

Allen carried the ball fewer than 70 times in three of his last four seasons with the Raiders. Those are typically prime years for an athlete, from age 29 to 32.

Such inactivity helps explain why Allen is still going strong in 1997.

''That allowed him not to get beat up at a time his body was probably ready to go, 'Kerplunk,' '' Chiefs running backs coach Jimmy Raye said. ''He probably banked three or four extra years in his back pocket.''

Allen, who has left open the possibility of playing next season, no longer starts. But he collects plenty of playing time as Greg Hill's backup; Hill has carried the ball 135 times, Allen 101.

His niche remains short-yardage and goal-line plays. Allen qualifies as the most productive running back in these situations in NFL history. The reasons vary.

Raiders cornerback Albert Lewis pointed to the way Allen runs, leaning forward. He offers tacklers a small target, and he always falls forward.

Raiders safety Eddie Anderson talked of Allen's knowledge of defenses. They were teammates (1987-92) and occasionally had dinner together; Allen often spent the meal giving Anderson tips on his defensive assignments.

''Everything is instinctive,'' Allen said. ''I don't know what I'm doing half the time in those situations, but I do know what I anticipate. . . . It's like trying to squeeze through a rathole.''

Somehow, he keeps making it to the other side.
 
Copyright 1996 Associated Press*
All Rights Reserved*
The Associated Press

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December 8, 1996, Sunday, AM cycle

SECTION: Sports News

LENGTH: 759 words

HEADLINE: Allen vs. Davis Is One Nasty Feud

BYLINE: By ROB GLOSTER, AP Sports Writer

DATELINE: OAKLAND, Calif.

BODY:
The Chiefs-Raiders rivalry is based on decades of helmet-cracking hits and lingering hatreds.

Chiefs coaches Art Shell and Gunther Cunningham remain bitter about being dumped by the Raiders. Oakland running back Harvey Williams feels he was overlooked during three unhappy seasons in Kansas City.

But none of those animosities is nearly as intense as the feud between Raiders owner Al Davis and Chiefs running back Marcus Allen.

When the AFC West teams meet Monday night, Davis will be glowering from his box as Allen once again seeks vengeance against his former team.

It has been nearly four years since Allen, who holds the Raiders' career and season rushing records, accused Davis of a personal vendetta at halftime of a Monday Night Football game.

"He told me he was going to get me," Allen said on national TV during a Raiders-Dolphins game in Miami. "I think he's tried to ruin the latter part of my career, tried to devalue me. I think he's trying to stop me from going to the Hall of Fame."

Allen, who had just one carry on that Monday night, played two more games for the Raiders and then moved to Kansas City as a free agent after the 1992 season. He now says he'll go into the Hall of Fame as a Chief.

Davis has not forgotten that verbal assault.

"Someday the trash that emanates from Marcus has to be answered," Davis said two weeks ago. "It was a sneak attack on a Monday night. We have to answer it at some time."

There have been many theories about the origin of the animosity between Allen, for 11 years the best and most popular player on the Raiders, and a man who once referred to his star tailback as a "cancer on the team."

Davis was in the process of moving the Raiders from Oakland to Los Angeles when he chose Allen with the 10th overall pick in the 1982 NFL draft. Allen, a Heisman Trophy winner at Southern California, became an instant fan favorite.

Allen has theorized that Davis wanted to draft someone else, and was coerced by team officials into choosing him. Former Raiders players have suggested Davis was jealous of Allen's popularity.

Former Raider cornerback Lester Hayes said he believed it started during the 1987 players' strike, when Allen refused to cross the picket line.

Allen was selected as captain several years in a row by the Raiders players, who said he didn't get the job one season because Davis ordered them to vote again after they had selected Allen.

After rushing for a club-record 1,759 yards in 1985 and being honored as the league's MVP, Allen's playing time gradually was curtailed while Davis effusively praised tailback Bo Jackson.

When Allen fumbled to lose a game, he said Davis screamed an obscenity at him and yelled, "I should have traded you."

Allen, who had a year-to-year contract and did not get a raise from 1989 until the end of his Raiders career, was reduced to being primarily a third-down back by the early 1990s.

His career got a reprieve in Kansas City, and he has used the past four seasons to set a series of NFL records. Last year, in a game at Oakland, he became the first man in league history to rush for 10,000 yards and catch passes for 5,000 yards.

Not surprisingly, the two best games Allen has had with the Chiefs have come against the Raiders. He ran for 132 yards against the Raiders in 1994 and 124 yards last season.

"Any time you leave a team, the human side comes out in you and you want to prove a point," Allen said.

Allen has run for 514 yards and caught passes for 141 more yards in seven games against the Raiders, all of which the Chiefs have won.

"When we play him, he's most definitely a danger," said Raiders wide receiver Tim Brown. "The guy has a lot of emotions when it comes to playing the Raiders, and he will do whatever he can to make this organization look bad on the field."

Allen, 36, who set an NFL record of 112 rushing touchdowns two weeks ago, leads the Chiefs with 628 yards on the ground and nine TDs this season. He also is third on the team with 24 catches and remains one of the NFL's best blocking backs.

Even though Chiefs quarterback Rich Gannon swears he's "never heard Marcus say one word about the Raiders in the two years I've been here," those who know Allen tell a different story.

Williams was in his third, and final, season with Kansas City when Allen joined the team in 1993.

"If you cut Marcus Allen open right now, he probably still bleeds silver and black," Williams said, referring to Oakland's team colors. "He loved the Raiders, man, and used to talk about them all the time."
 
Copyright 2002 Associated Press*
All Rights Reserved

December 22, 2002, Sunday, BC cycle

SECTION: Sports News

LENGTH: 568 words

HEADLINE: Sanders says he's in discussions with Raiders

BYLINE: By JANIE McCAULEY, AP Sports Writer

DATELINE: OAKLAND, Calif.

BODY:
Deion Sanders is discussing coming out of retirement to join the Oakland Raiders for the playoffs.

"I may come back to a playoff team," he said Sunday on CBS Sports' "NFL Today," where he's a studio host. "I've made contact, I have spoken to my attorney, we have spoken to the Oakland Raiders."

Raiders senior assistant Bruce Allen would not confirm the team was negotiating with Sanders, a cornerback who retired after the 2000 season and 11 years in the NFL.

But Allen didn't deny it, either.

"No, I can't say it's false," Allen said. "Yes, he did say that, didn't he? I think he's always liked the Raiders. I think he's having some fun imagining the possibilities. Everything is possible. Earlier in the week, we were short on corners."

Allen said it wouldn't happen Sunday, when the Raiders defeated the Denver Broncos 28-16 to clinch their third straight AFC West title.

One fan at the Coliseum welcomed the idea, holding a sign reading "Deon come to Oaktown," although she misspelled his first name.

Aside from Pro Bowl safety Rod Woodson, who has started every game this season, the Raiders' secondary has been reeling.

Cornerback Charles Woodson played in a limited number of plays Sunday despite a cracked fibula in his right leg, but did not start and was not in uniform in the second half. Tory James, who has a similar injury and had surgery Dec. 12, could return for next Saturday's regular-season finale against Kansas City, Allen said.

"I don't know if Deion's old enough to play on our team," Allen said of the 35-year-old Sanders. "He's got to wait a year or two."

Quarterback Rich Gannon turned 37 on Friday, receiver Jerry Rice is 40 and Tim Brown is 36. Rod Woodson is 37 and linebacker Bill Romanowski is 36.

And the Raiders believe this is their best shot of getting to the Super Bowl before salary cap restrictions force major changes to the roster.

Rod Woodson liked the thought of Sanders playing beside him.

"If we can get him in here, he would add to our arsenal," Woodson said.

Right tackle Lincoln Kennedy wasn't as excited about the possibility.

"I don't want anybody coming in and jumping on the wagon with us," Kennedy said. "I want to win with the guys we have."

Sanders said he hadn't made a decision.

"I'm really thinking about the whole situation," he said. "I'm not going to say I have an offer from the Raiders."

How soon would he go?

"I could get off this desk right now and go," he said. "I wouldn't come back for a full season. I would never come back for a full season, because I love my job, and I love you all out there. But I tell you what, it is intriguing for a playoff run, when it all counts. I like that aspect of it."

Later in the show, during a rundown of the playoff picture, fellow analyst Boomer Esiason noted the Raiders have a "tenuous" hold on the top spot in the AFC.

"That's why I'm somewhat hesitant," Sanders said. "Because you've got to understand ... I'm watching Oakland. Because this is Custer's last stand. The old-timers, this is your last stand. They're $45 million over the cap next year. That's why right now it's evident that they do what they must do."

Calls to Sanders' agent were not immediately returned Sunday.

Sanders finished his career with 474 tackles, 385 of them solo, 48 interceptions, 10 forced fumbles and eight touchdowns. He also was a standout kick returner.
 
Copyright 2002 Associated Press*
All Rights Reserved

December 24, 2002, Tuesday, BC cycle

SECTION: Sports News

LENGTH: 543 words

HEADLINE: Sanders won't be joining Raiders

BYLINE: By DAVE GOLDBERG, AP Football Writer

DATELINE: NEW YORK

BODY:
Deion Sanders will not become a member of the Oakland Raiders. Nor will he return to the NFL this season.

The San Diego Chargers, one of five AFC teams to put in claims, were awarded the former All-Pro cornerback Tuesday. As a result, Sanders can't fulfill his plan of returning to football with Oakland.

Nor can he play for the Chargers because he will have to be placed on its reserve-retired list, the same list he was on with Washington, which released him Monday.

The only way Sanders could have returned this season was to clear waivers and then sign with the team of his choice, presumably the Raiders.

According to a source within the league who requested anonymity, all the teams that claimed Sanders were AFC teams that didn't want to face him in the playoffs. In addition to San Diego, Sanders was claimed by Indianapolis, Tennessee, Pittsburgh and Kansas City.

The Titans and Steelers, along with the Raiders, are the only teams in the conference assured of playoff berths.

The Raiders, at 10-5, are tied for 27th on the claiming list. The Chargers, at 8-7, are tied with Kansas City for the worst record among teams who put in claims. San Diego was given the first shot at Sanders because of a weaker strength of schedule.

The Chargers are barely alive in the playoff hunt. They must beat Seattle on Sunday, then get help from several other teams in other to clinch a wild-card spot.

"We will always do what's in the best interest of the San Diego Chargers, for now and for the future," Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer said in a statement. "We have not been eliminated from playoff contention. We're not going to concede anything to what could be a potential playoff opponent. We're going to continue to put ourselves in the best possible position to be successful.

"Should Deion decide he wants to play in the future, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss that with him at the appropriate time," Schottenheimer said.

The Raiders, according to senior assistant Bruce Allen, did not put in a claim for Sanders.

"My reaction is the same reaction I had yesterday," Oakland coach Bill Callahan said. "It was all speculation. Nothing's changed. I'm pleased with the guys that we have that are working."

Coincidentally, in September 2001, Sanders called Washington "a team in disarray" and said Schottenheimer, then the Redskins' coach, was the reason he retired rather than return to the team.

"I was in a stage of my career where I didn't want to accept change," Sanders said at the time. "I came in under the assumption that (ex-coach) Norv Turner was going to be in place. I didn't see a winning forecast in the future. (Owner) Dan Snyder allowed Schottenheimer to have control of the whole situation. This is the 21st century. Guys are not buying into his system."

The 35-year-old Sanders announced Sunday he was considering a comeback.

"I may come back to a playoff team," he said Sunday on CBS Sports' "NFL Today," where he's a studio host. "I've made contact, I have spoken to my attorney, we have spoken to the Oakland Raiders."

Sanders finished his career with 474 tackles, 385 of them solo, 48 interceptions, 10 forced fumbles and eight touchdowns. He also was a standout kick returner.
 
Copyright 1997 The Denver Post*
All Rights Reserved *
The Denver Post

November 19, 1997 Wednesday 2D EDITION

SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. D-01

LENGTH: 774 words

HEADLINE: Shanahan takes Davis to school

BYLINE: By Adam Schefter, Denver Post Sports Writer

BODY:
Denver coach Mike Shanahan views losing and Oakland owner Al Davis in the same way. Yet Shanahan now is willing to make concessions to both.

Shanahan said he is willing to forget about the $ 250,000 he says Davis still owes him - if Davis will donate the money, plus interest, to the Oakland Unified School District. It is a plan Shanahan has been working on since August but did not finalize until Monday, one week before the Broncos play the Raiders.

"This has been an eight-year fight and I would like to put this behind me," Shanahan said of his financial dispute with his former boss from the 1988-89 seasons.

"It's a lot of money going into an educational system that could really use the money. Al Davis will hopefully feel he has won the battle by not paying me and do the right thing for the Oakland School District."

Yet Raiders chief executive Amy Trask said the Raiders owe Shanahan nothing. In fact, she said, it is the other way around. Trask said at the time the Raiders hired Shanahan as their head coach in 1988, he signed a promissory note for a loan from the team that was in the "range of what he erroneously is reporting we owe him."

"Mr. Shanahan," Trask said, "owes us money."

Informed the Raiders thought he still owed them money, Shanahan laughed and said simply to refer to the NFL's 1990 ruling.

In 1990, in Los Angeles, the NFL conducted an internal hearing and issued a ruling in Shanahan's favor. NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue determined Davis still owed Shanahan $ 250,000 from the three-year contract Shanahan signed with the Raiders in 1988. The Raiders appealed Tagliabue's decision, and NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Tuesday the league still is awaiting a response from Shanahan's lawyers.

Trask said she believes she knows why there was no response from Shanahan's lawyers.

"Mr. Shanahan and other Broncos officials perjured themselves at that hearing," Trask said. "We obtained proof of that perjury. We contacted the NFL. We contacted Mr. Shanahan's lawyer and we brought that perjury to their attention and they dropped the whole subject. We've never heard a peep from the NFL or from Mr. Shanahan again on this matter, other than to read about this every time the Raiders play the Broncos when he goes on the media circuit.

"I've never spoken to anybody prior to this week, but frankly, enough is enough. I'm tired of Mr. Shanahan disparaging the Raiders' organization and disparaging the Raiders' owner, and I've had enough. It's disturbing to me, and it's tremendously disturbing and sad that he would continue to spin these yarns and talk about money that he alleges that we owe him, which we don't. But he doesn't tell anybody that it was determined that he owes us money."

Speaking to the perjury charges, the Raiders claimed Shanahan demanded to be paid the difference between what he would have earned with the Raiders and what he was earning with the Broncos, who hired him as their quarterbacks coach shortly after the Raiders fired him.

But the Raiders claim they have proof the Broncos failed to disclose all the money they were paying Shanahan.

In the past, Shanahan has said Davis told him the money he was owed would be paid - unless Shanahan took a job with the Broncos, the team Shanahan had worked for before the Raiders hired him. Once Shanahan rejoined the Broncos, Davis refused to pay.

The only one who wants to be paid now is the Oakland Unified School District. Vernon Hal, the district's assistant superintendent for business services, said he received a telephone call Monday from Shanahan telling him about his possible new-found riches.

"I had heard that I might be hearing from the Denver Broncos, but to hear directly from Coach Shanahan actually was surprising to me," Hal said. "He told me what the skinny was, that he'd like to do this and he'd been talking to some folks about it. And he thought the Oakland public schools would be a good place to land the funds and I told him, 'Yeah, we definitely want and need the money, and I thought that our sports programs would be a good place to put that money.'

"If it happens, it'll be great. Everybody's telling us that it may not happen for a while because of all the issues surrounding the receipt of the money from Al Davis to him, and all the bad blood that's related to all that. That part I don't know too much about. But if it comes to pass and a check is cut, we'll be more than happy to take it."

Hal said he is anxious to see whether Davis and the Raiders pay the money. If they are unwilling, he said he will speak to them about working out some type of arrangement to help his district.
 
Copyright 1995 Associated Press*
All Rights Reserved

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The Associated Press

June 23, 1995, Friday, AM cycle

SECTION: Sports News

LENGTH: 1307 words

BYLINE: By DENNIS GEORGATOS, AP Sports Writer

DATELINE: OAKLAND, Calif.

BODY:
After a 13-year road trip, Al Davis says the Raiders are just coming home, baby!

The maverick owner said it all with his signature on a letter of intent committing the Raiders to leave Los Angeles and come back this season to Oakland, the city he abandoned in 1982.

In return, the board governing the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum has agreed to an $ 85 million stadium modernization and a $ 31.9 million loan to the team to help it complete the relocation in time to play in Oakland this season. In addition, terms call for the team to receive up to another $ 10 million for construction of training facilities here.

The NFL called a league meeting for the week of July 10 to act on the move, which would leave Los Angeles - the nation's second-largest media market - without a football team. Two months ago, the league allowed the Rams' to leave Anaheim for St. Louis.

The league opposed Davis' move to Los Angeles, but he won an antitrust suit that cleared the way for the Raiders' departure and other franchise shifts. In addition, many NFL owners will be reluctant to block the Raiders' return because they have moved their franchises or might want to do so in the future.

"For the first time, a team that has left a town has come home!" Mayor Elihu Harris exulted. "The words Oakland and Raiders are synonomous, and even when they went to Los Angeles, it choked on many people's throats to have to put Los Angeles and Raiders together. And it wasn't just the smog that made it happen."

As politicians and coliseum officials exchanged handshakes and high-fives, the coliseum parking lot was the scene of an impromptu tailgate party celebrating the Raiders' return. About a dozen people outfitted in the team's trademark silver and black regalia chanted "The boys are back in town," and "We want the Raiders."

"Oh man, I think I'm about to explode," said Ricky Ricardo Jr., owner of nearby Ricky's cafe and an unofficial spokesman for local fans who clung to hopes that the team would someday return.

As a testament to their hopes, the front table at Ricky's is decked with Raider paraphernalia and carries a sign, "Reserved for Al Davis."

Davis turned his back on an NFL-backed proposal calling for construction by 1997 of a $ 250 million stadium at Hollywood Park in Inglewood in favor of going back to Oakland, where the Raiders had 12 consecutive years of sellouts before heading south.

"That was a better financial deal for the Raiders," said Coliseum board member Ed De Silva, who helped negotiate the terms with Davis. "But he wants to come back to Oakland. He wants to come back a city where he can win."

The pact, approved unanimously at the end of a 29-minute Coliseum board meeting, must still be reviewed by the Oakland City Council and the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.

"The Raider organization has chosen to relocate to Oakland. We look forward to a dynamic 1995 season," said a statement from the Raiders faxed to news organizations, with the word "Los Angeles" blacked out on the letterhead.

The NFL issued a terse statement that offered no opinion on the move, which must be approved by 23 of its 30 clubs.

A league source who spoke on condition of anonymity said that if the move was approved, the NFL's expansion process would be speeded up and Los Angeles could get another team, or even two teams, by 1998.

The signed copy of the agreement, presented to Oakland Coliseum president George Vukasin during a dramatic news conference, brought relief and a round of hugs and smiles among the officials assembled to discuss the Raiders' return.

"As far as the Raiders and the Oakland Coliseum, it's done. We have a deal," said coliseum board member Ed De Silva, who helped negotiate the terms with Davis. "Now it will go on to the city and county for approval and final determination."

Davis was represented at the meeting by former Raiders center Jim Otto, a Hall of Famer.

"He asked me to take some notes and be prepared to do a lot of work in Oakland in the next few months," Otto said. "We have a lot of work to do to bring the team here when all this consummates, and I'll be part of putting it together.

"This is where the Raiders belong. We're the Oakland Raiders," Otto added. "Al Davis always wanted to come back from Day 1. He never wanted leave."

The Raiders left in 1982 in a dispute over stadium improvements. They overcame league attempts to block the move by winning an antitrust suit that eventually cost the NFL millions of dollars in damages and legal fees. The city of Oakland also lost millions in an ill-fated suit to try to gain control of the team through eminent domain, which the Raiders fought off in court.

Ezra Rapport, Oakland's deputy city manager, said that unlike the failed 1990 proposals, the current agreement doesn't have any public subsidies for the Raiders. He said there are no revenue guarantees for the team, and the stadium modifications will benefit both baseball and football.

The Oakland Coliseum, which would be expanded to 65,000 seats for football and 48,000 for baseball, also is home to the Oakland Athletics. The number of luxury suits, which Davis lacked at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, would be doubled to 175.

The agreement also calls for the Raiders to pay $ 500,000 annually in rent, for there to be a $ 1 surcharge on all tickets to support school projects and for the Raiders to be allowed to raise money through personal seat licenses.

The personal seat licenses, which fans will have to buy to get season tickets, will range from $ 250 in the upper deck to $ 4,000 at the 50-yard line.

While Oakland officials and residents were celebrating, some in Los Angeles were wishing the Raiders good riddance.

"The likely Raider move will actually be greeted by many Los Angeles area football fans, because it will mean that the Los Angeles area will be guaranteed three NFL telecasts every Sunday morning and afternoon here instead of just the two that were here in the past," said Steven Herbert, press deputy for Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich.

In their statement, the Raiders thanked their fans in both Los Angeles and Oakland who had adopted Davis' phrase of "Just win, baby!"

"It hurts. It cuts me like a knife, I'm still in shock," said Terri McCurtis, 25, who was at Raiders' headquarters Friday to inquire about season tickets. "I'm mad, and nobody's here to be mad with me. I was supporting them. Don't blame it on me. Don't blame it on the fans. It's not fair."

Coincidentally, the Raiders' announcement came on the day that 18 moving vans left Anaheim for St. Louis, carrying away loads of Rams' equipment.

Other teams are eyeing a move to Los Angeles, which will be without an NFL team for the first time in 50 years.

Arizona Cardinals general counsel Thomas Guilfoil told the Tribune Newspapers in Phoenix that "the door is not shut on a move."

Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill is said to be unhappy that local officials haven't followed through on what he believes was a commitment to eventually build him a new stadium, preferably a domed one.

Rumors of a Raiders return have circulated for years, but they gained momentum a few weeks ago when club officials with tape measures began charting the size of the press box during an Oakland Athletics game.

"The Raider organization worked long and hard with the NFL to develop the state of the art Hollywood Park stadium opportunity and it remains a viable site attractive to NFL teams," the Raiders said in their statement. "The inadequate stadia in the Los Angeles area for the interim years influenced our decision. We wish Hollywood Park well."

Sources told the Los Angeles Times that Davis was concerned the Hollywood Park stadium would not be completed by 1997, forcing him to spend three years in the crumbling Los Angeles Coliseum.
 
Copyright 1995 The New York Times Company *
The New York Times

July 9, 1995, Sunday, Late Edition - Final

SECTION: Section 8;** Page 4;** Column 4;** Sports Desk**

LENGTH: 1064 words

HEADLINE: PRO FOOTBALL;
Raiders' Divorce Made in Heaven

BYLINE: *By TOM FRIEND**

DATELINE: LOS ANGELES, July 8

BODY:
Their fans were about leather and mace. Their stadium was rubble, their practice facility was a deserted school and their marketing department was on wheels.

The Raiders rented in Los Angeles for 13 years, had an option to buy but, in the end, preferred to move back in with their parents (Oakland). The legacy they leave behind is a paddy wagon.

They did not break the bank in Los Angeles, but one of their fans did. A Southern California man, with a severe Raider addiction, robbed several local savings and loans so he could afford tickets to both home and away games. He was arrested, did time and politely asked the Raiders' owner, Al Davis, for a job.

"I'll understand if you don't want me in payroll," the man said.

It used to be, if the Raiders were coming to town, you hid the women and children; in Los Angeles, the fans hid.

The police at the Los Angeles Coliseum packed riot gear, some of the ticket holders needed to be frisked at the door, and then the Raiders wondered why they ended up with baseball-sized crowds.

The Rams beat them out of town by a couple of months, and now -- with the smell of Ben-Gay in the air -- training camp opens next week without a single team in Los Angeles. Nobody's crying.

On the day the Raiders announced their escape last month, only one fan protested. He climbed in the face of defensive end Nolan Harrison, who had said Los Angeles prefers sushi over football.

Fan: "You talked bad about L.A., man."

Harrison: "We never belonged here. Can you honestly say L.A. showed us support? Thirty thousand is not going to cut it, man."

Fan: "Don't you talk bad about us."

Harrison: "Listen, you're just sore we're leaving. Our season ticket prices are the same as across the league, but how come we don't sell out? What do they cost? Thirty five bucks? You mean to tell me, you can't afford $35 eight times a year?"

Fan: "No, I can't. Got priorities."

Harrison: "Well, there you go. Your priorities are out of whack."

There was a cursory "Save the Rams" campaign in Anaheim, but no one passed around a petition to save the Raiders. In Philadelphia or in Washington, the mood of the city is dictated by whether the Eagles or Redskins win; in Los Angeles, the mood is set by earthquakes, mud slides, brush fires, floods, Hugh Grant, gridlock and juries.

There is enough blame to go around for everyone, but the first problem was a stadium that has had loose concrete, poor sight lines, nary a luxury box and no metal detectors. The prototypical Raider fan was from the harsher side of town. He drove a souped-up car, or a motorcycle, and brought his vulgar disposition to the game. The weekly arrests were in double figures and a bleacher gang once beat a Pittsburgh Steeler fan senseless. One league general manager, after being heckled at the Los Angeles Coliseum, said last year, "The toughest part about playing the Raiders is getting off the bus." Another player warmed up before a game, peered at the crowd and said, "Here we are at San Quentin."

So, it was no place for a station wagon full of children, and the attendance -- except for the rare Dallas and San Francisco games -- suffered for it. The Raiders also never pounded on the door of corporate Los Angeles and their idea of print advertising was the National Football League standings on the agate page.

It was also difficult to build a fan base when their business philosophy was predicated on threats.

Davis threatened to bolt for Irwindale, threatened to return to Oakland, threatened to settle in Baltimore -- all scare tactics to get the Coliseum commission to build luxury boxes with wet bars.

But, in the process, he alienated a season-ticket fan base that sometimes did not receive its renewal applications until August.

As for Davis's marketing approach, it was tantamount to driving around with a megaphone, announcing next week's opponent. His advertising scheme was circa 1963: on wheels. Raider billboards were placed only on taxicabs and buses, although Davis's argument was, if the Raiders needed more market penetration, then why did they lead the league in merchandise sales?

To the players' credit, a few (such as defensive end Anthony Smith and wide receiver Tim Brown) delved into low-income areas to do community-relations work, but that did little to fuel attendance.

In fact, the day Marcus Allen left was the day Los Angeles football died. Allen was the only player synonymous with the city, a player so Hollywood that he wore a jeans jacket during warm-ups. But the last straw for the Raiders was when Allen tapped Al Michaels on the shoulder three years ago and told a "Monday Night Football" audience that Davis was the devil.

The running back had a Heisman Trophy from the University of Southern California, not to mention a fan club, and Davis was envious. Eventually, Davis turned bitter over Allen's fumbles, underpaid him, accused him of a phantom ankle injury and told his coach, Art Shell, to bench him. Allen then broke the sacred Raider oath and spoke out, saying Davis had been "out to get him." Los Angeles sided with Allen.

Davis naturally banished him to Kansas City, and away went Raider soul. Bo Jackson could have assumed control, but his hip would not let him, and a town that needs marquee to nudge itself onto the Santa Monica Freeway to the stadium had only Jay Schroeder.

But fans have never been that rabid here, anyway. Super Bowl I at the Coliseum did not sell out or even cause a traffic jam. On a 1988 evening when Kirk Gibson delivered a ninth-inning World Series thrill, a third of the Dodger Stadium crowd was in the parking lot. Look closely at the replay of his game-winning home run, and the brake lights are evident. Los Angeles fans arrive late, leave early. They come to be seen, not to see. Jack Nicholson brings binoculars to his front-row seat at Laker games -- for the scenery, not to check if Nick Van Exel has green eyes.

The fans here want spicy tuna at the concession stands, a concourse clean enough to eat off and an owner, like the Lakers' Jerry Buss, who stays out of the way. Disney's Michael Eisner and the Hollywood mogul Michael Ovitz are said to have stadium blueprints in the works, but, for now, this city is about to receive a football novelty: television doubleheaders.

Or, as Harrison told that lone protester, "Just a 45-minute flight to Oakland, dude."
 
Copyright 1991 The Atlanta Constitution *
The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

September 22, 1991, Sunday

SECTION: SPORTS; SECTION G; PAGE 03

LENGTH: 595 words

HEADLINE: Raiders players liken mystique to brotherhood

BYLINE: By Jeff Schultz Staff writerlos/angeles; football; organizations; behavior

BODY:
Given the standard level of paranoia that permeates NFL offices,*this analogy probably won't sit well with a certain commissioner. But*since when have the NFL and the Raiders been chums, anyway?

What follows, then, is an explanation about the often-heard*"mystique" of the Oakland/Los Angeles/(Your City Here) Raiders from Eddie*Anderson, the team's starting free safety by way of Warner Robins High*and Fort Valley State.

"There's definitely something to it. It's like there's some bond*between everybody," Anderson said. "It's like you have to be in the*family to know what's going on - kind of like the Mafia, the bad boys.*Al's the Godfather."

The Raiders and family head Al Davis, who visit the Falcons at*Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium Sunday, long have distinguished themselves*from other teams in various ways: some good (still holding pro sports'*top winning percentage since 1963 at .674), some bad (still the world's*leader in lawsuits).

The franchise also has been known to squeeze an extra season or two*out of players either too weathered or too obnoxious for other teams,*such as Jim Plunkett, Lyle Alzado and James Lofton. The most recent*additions are former San Francisco Plan B free agents Ronnie Lott and*Roger Craig, who join fellow castoffs Bob Golic, Max Montoya and Riki*Ellison. Lott (age 31) starts at strong safety. Craig (31) starts at*tailback, Golic (33) at left defensive tackle, Ellison (31) at middle*linebacker and Montoya (35) at right guard, although he is questionable*for today's game with a groin pull.

Craig, who had a career-high 27 carries against Denver two weeks*ago, said recently, "I just thought this was the perfect place to end my*career because of the way they respect players." That the Niners had been*trying to find a replacement for him for three seasons, then left him*unprotected after he fumbled away the NFC title game last season, also*may have had something to do with it.

Lott's departure was so unpopular in the Bay Area that the San Jose*Mercury News polled readers and the response was more than 8-to-1 (1,005*to 124) against the move.

He and Craig have been rejuvenated in L.A. The absence of Marcus*Allen (injury), Bo Jackson (baseball) and Greg Bell (waived) opened a*starting job for Craig. Lott was shifted from free safety to strong,*where his diminished speed is not as much a liability. He keys the run*defense and serves as Anderson's tutor.

"He knows the game," Anderson said. "He's smart. He knows how to*position himself. With that, he can last another two or three years, even*at that age."

Golic understands rejuvenation, having been left unprotected by*Cleveland two years ago. He also thinks he has a grip on this "mystique"*thing.

"I'll tell you when the mystique started: when you come down the*tunnel onto the field as a visitor. Those Raiderettes are intimidating,"*he said. "The way they stare at you, you think they could beat you up."

Seriously though, "There's the silver and black, the history, the*tradition. That's one reason why, when I had a chance to look around, I*chose the Raiders. I needed that kind of team."

Golic said coach Art Shell deserves credit for the team's*turnaround. The Raiders had become a commitment to mediocrity under Mike*Shanahan but are 21-10 (2-1 this year) since Shell took over in the fifth*week of the 1989 season.

This prompted Golic to reason, "Mike Shanahan probably couldn't beat*up anybody on the team. Art can beat up anybody he wants to. The*intimidation factor works well."
 
Copyright 2000 Daily News, L.P. *
Daily News (New York)

December 10, 2000, Sunday SPORTS FINAL EDITION

SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. 60

LENGTH: 889 words

HEADLINE: DAVIS ALWAYS STAYED COMMITTED TO RAIDERS EXCELLENCE

BYLINE: BY MIKE LUPICA

BODY:
His family moved to Brooklyn from Brockton, Mass., when Al Davis was 5 years old. So much of his childhood was spent in Crown Heights and Lincoln Terrace Park, in a different Brooklyn and a different New York. The other night he laughed and said, "I felt like I owned that park, I spent so much time in it," and then Davis told a story about meeting Mike Tyson at a dinner. The two started talking about growing up in Brooklyn, and then Davis told him where he grew up.

"Tyson turned to Don King and said, 'If he spent that much --ing time in Lincoln Terrace Park, then he really is a tough SOB,'" Davis said.

He has been that. He went to Erasmus Hall High because he wanted to be a basketball player. But it was football that became his life, all over the map, at the Citadel and Syracuse and finally with the Oakland Raiders. The past 40 years, all the winning and controversy and lawsuits against his league and the move from Los Angeles to Oakland and back, all the old Raider players so loyal to him and all the enemies he has made, are huge and colorful history in his sport.

Davis is one of the people who has changed modern football. He had as much to do with the NFL-AFL merger as the late Pete Rozelle or anyone. He fought with Rozelle about almost everything and is fighting with Paul Tagliabue because he thinks Tagliabue let Carmen Policy - who ran the 49ers and runs the Browns now - off much too easily for being a public cheat on the salary cap. Davis happens to be right about that. Policy got a $400,000 fine and lost draft choices. Davis thought he should have lost at least a year.

"(Policy) destroyed the integrity of the game on the field," Davis was saying the other night, in the middle of another Raiders-Jets week for him. "He cheated in Super Bowl seasons, and all the commissioner gives him is a slap on the wrist. (Policy) has no respect for the game itself. At the very least he should have been suspended for a year and then had to fight to get back in."

Then he was talking about Pat Bowlen of the Broncos, how he wants Bowlen to be next to stand in front of the commissioner of the league and explain some of the contracts that Denver players signed in the '80s and '90s.

"Don't get me started on these --ing guys," he said.

So he talked about the Raiders instead. Davis' Raiders went to the second Super Bowl and then won three, including one when they were the Los Angeles Raiders. In 1980, the Raiders become the first wildcard team to win it all, beating Dick Vermeil's Eagles in New Orleans. Now, after some hard times, after being out of the playoffs for five straight seasons, the Raiders are in first place again in the AFC West with three games left. Tonight, against the Jets in Oakland, maybe we will see how close the Raiders are to being all the way back.

People have been saying for years that Davis isn't what he was. Maybe by the end of tonight we will have a better idea about where everybody is in the AFC, especially if the Raiders are still in first.

"It's the same as it's always been, you have to do it on the field," Davis said. "You can't talk it. But I'll tell you one thing that's different now than it used to be, and it's that you look around in December and don't see a dominant team. In the old days, there'd always be at least one dominant team, sometimes more than that. Now there isn't. So we've got as good a chance as anybody else. We're gonna see who's dominant this week and the rest of the way. That's the whole ballgame. You don't have to dominate the whole season anymore, just from now to the finish."

The Raiders have been close the past couple of years. "Little things have killed us," Davis said. He was asked, after all the glory years before the '90s, how hard it has been to be out of the playoffs for this long.

"We didn't get it done," he said. "Now we've put ourselves in position to see if this year's different."

Davis talked about his young coach, Jon Gruden, and about a quarterback, Rich Gannon, who might be MVP of the league if the Raiders come into the playoffs as one of the top seeds in the conference.

"Did I know (Gannon) would be this good?" Davis said. "No. But I knew I saw a passion in him. I saw the kind of work ethic I felt would rub off on some of these other guys. I saw someone who'd hold himself to the highest possible standard before he'd do that with anybody else. People will laugh, 'cause it's been one of our mottos, but I saw that commitment to excellence. Gannon had something to prove. We've brought in a lot of guys like that over the years."

He went all the way back then, talked about how the Raiders gave George Blanda one more shot and did the same with Jim Plunkett, when everybody thought Plunkett was washed up. And there were other names: an old Jet named Burgess Owens who went with Davis and showed he had plenty left, and Ronnie Lott, and the late Lyle Alzado, and running back Greg Pruitt. Now there is Gannon, having an MVP year, the best year of his football life, at the age of 33.

"The real passion was to prove to everybody he had a lot left," Davis said.

Another big Raiders-Jets game tonight. Another December to find out if his team is the tough SOB he still is. More than Gannon or any of them, Al Davis is the Raider trying to show the world how much he has left.
 
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Copyright 1994 The Denver Post*
All Rights Reserved *
The Denver Post

January 7, 1994 Friday 2D EDITION

SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. D-01

LENGTH: 355 words

HEADLINE: Davis throws down the gauntlet Raiders owner: Broncos scared

BYLINE: Tom Kensler, Denver Post Sports Writer

BODY:
Denver Broncos players were greeted yesterday by a photo copy of something in that morning's edition of the Los Angeles Times.

Included in the Times' "Morning Briefing" section was a quote about the Broncos from Los Angeles Raiders president Al Davis to Art Spander of the San Francisco Examiner:

"They're scared to death of us."

On the copy distributed for the Broncos players, the quote was circled.

Hours later, it still stuck in the craw of Broncos coach Wade Phillips.

"(Davis) is representing the Raiders," Phillips said. "I don't mind players saying they're going to beat us. But when a guy challenges you and says you're scared, that challenges your manhood. That's getting personal. That's crossing the line, not to our team but to our players.

"That's personal when you say he doesn't have enough courage to play or he's scared of playing the game. This is a tough game, and it takes courage to play. Their players have courage and our guys have courage. That's gone beyond the hype of the game, when guys are guaranteeing a win. That's talking about the game, but this is saying guys don't have enough courage to play. I question that."

Phillips wasn't finished.

"He's their spokesman, so it came straight from the Raiders themselves," Phillips added. "If that's what they think, that's fine. I don't think it's right, and I think our guys are going to respond to that. We're not big on bulletin boards and all that kind of stuff, where a guy says this and a guy says that. That's one thing. But when it's personal, especially when a guy says they're scared of something **

"They might be scared of snakes, but they're not scared of playing a football game - against any team. It's challenging your courage and your manhood.

"I don't think it's an appropriate statement for one thing. But they're allowed to say what they want to. And we're allowed to get mad about it, too."

Some of the Broncos are.

"I think we'll definitely use that as a motivational tool," H-back Shannon Sharpe said. "Sunday, we'll see who's scared of who."

Said safety Dennis Smith: "I'm so scared I may hurt somebody."
 
Copyright 2002 The Chronicle Publishing Co. *

The San Francisco Chronicle

OCTOBER 31, 2002, THURSDAY, FINAL EDITION

SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. C1

LENGTH: 619 words

HEADLINE: Walsh credits Davis for providing blueprint

SOURCE: Chronicle Staff Writer

BYLINE: Kevin Lynch

BODY:
Against the anticlimactic backdrop of an exhibition game, the two men emerged. Once Al Davis and Bill Walsh strolled out onto the field Aug. 24 at Network Associates Coliseum, an enlivened murmur flowed through the crowd.

Photographers encircled the two men, clicking photographs with the verve of the paparazzi. Reporters and sideline hangers-on joined the knot, hoping to capture a pearl of wisdom from the pair's conversation.

This exquisite little piece of theater likely will be replayed Sunday, when the 49ers once again descend on Oakland. That's when Davis' Raiders will play Walsh's 49ers in a regular-season clash.

Any history of the NFL could not be written without these two men. Davis is the Raiders. The organization's part owner, chief decision-maker and onetime coach.

Walsh's influence on the 49ers is nearly as great. Now a team consultant, Walsh has served as coach, president and twice as general manager. Even when the 49ers won two Super Bowls without him (1989, '94), coach George Seifert was using Walsh's offense, his techniques, practice habits and many of his players.

The combined eight Super Bowl trophies between the two teams have Davis' and Walsh's fingerprints smeared all over them. Both men have peered at the other across the bay, and both have maintained a relationship despite the acrimony that, at times, seethed between the two camps.

In fact Walsh greatly credits Davis for setting the foundation for Walsh's Hall of Fame coaching career.

"He set a standard of excellence that I appreciated and emulated over a period of time," Walsh said this week from his office at the 49ers' Santa Clara facility.

Walsh's first NFL coaching job was with the Raiders in 1966, and in that year he gleaned a lot from Davis.

"It gave me a perspective on football that I never would have had," Walsh said from behind an orderly desk stacked with pink message slips. "I was enlightened. In learning that system, it gave me a foundation to pull from. Without that, I'm unsure where my mind would have gone."

Back then, Davis' idea of offensive football was built on Sid Gillman's schemes. Gillman, the onetime coach of the Chargers and many other teams, is regarded as the father of the modern passing game.

"Al added his own nuances to it," Walsh said. The extensive use of the tight end and employing running backs as receivers is something Davis and later Walsh borrowed from Gillman's system.

While Walsh owes Davis much for the development of the "West Coast" offense, Walsh found working for Davis a challenge.

When asked what it was like to be in Davis' employ, Walsh chuckled, and issued this cryptic comment.

"Next question."

Nevertheless, Walsh believes Davis left the coaching ranks too early. "I could never understand why Al left coaching," Walsh said. "I've never asked him about it. He just had such a great mind and he communicated brilliantly. He talked the player's language."

Davis ended a 17-year coaching career in '66 to become commissioner of the American Football League.

Davis, who rarely speaks to reporters, didn't respond to an interview request. But Davis will respond to Walsh. He convinced Walsh to return to the Bay Area with him on the same flight this summer from Canton, Ohio, where both were performing Hall of Fame duties. If only to be a stowaway in first class on that plane.

"We spent four hours and we talked about every topic you could think of," said Walsh, who described Davis as well-read and opinionated on a variety of topics including politics.

"I have a feeling that we think a lot alike," Walsh said. "Even if our personalities are somewhat different."
 
Copyright 1989 The Sporting News Publishing Company *
The Sporting News

October 16, 1989

SECTION: FOOTBALL; NFL Notebook; Pg. 50

LENGTH: 598 words

HEADLINE: Looking Ahead to Week 6

BODY:
Kansas City at Los Angeles Raiders: This is a rematch of the second game of the season, won by the Chiefs, 24-19, that sparked a feud between Raiders Managing General Partner Al Davis and Chief's President Carl Peterson.

In the week before the game, the Chiefs were upset because the Raiders were a day late in sending their game tape to the Chiefs' coaching staff. The Chiefs also accused the Raiders' advance publicity man of trying to spy on practice and sneaking into the coaches' offices.

To top off the week, the Chiefs turned down a late request by the Raiders to practice the day before the game at Arrowhead Stadium. Instead, the Raiders worked out on a high school field.

After the game, Davis approached Peterson, reportedly stuck a finger in his chest and said, "We're gonna get you."

Peterson supposedly responded, "- - - - you, Al."

The Raiders have won five of their last six games at home against the Chiefs.

...
 
Copyright 1998 The New York Times Company *
The New York Times

*View Related Topics*

October 12, 1998, Monday, Late Edition - Final

SECTION: Section D;*Page 5;*Column 1;*Sports Desk*

LENGTH: 790 words

HEADLINE: Sports of The Times;
Was or Wasn't There A Spy Up on High?

BYLINE: *By DAVE ANDERSON*

DATELINE: EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.

BODY:


...

The lore of spying, or the suspicion of being spied upon, is probably as old as the National Football League itself. Whenever a helicopter hovered anywhere near the Jets' practice in the week before a game with the Oakland Raiders three decades ago, Coach Weeb Ewbank would glare at it.

"Al Davis has somebody up there watching us," Ewbank would growl, referring to the Raiders' managing general genius. "Don't do anything until that 'copter leaves."

Then and now, Davis enjoyed a sinister reputation. Harland Svare, the San Diego Chargers' coach who had been a linebacker with the Giants, once sat in the visiting locker room at the Oakland Coliseum and shouted at a light fixture.

"I know you're up there, Al Davis," Svare yelled. "I know you're up there."

Told later of Svare's accusation, Davis did not hesitate to perpetuate his sinister reputation.

"The thing wasn't in the light fixture," Davis said. "I'll tell you that much."

...
 
Copyright 1995 P.G. Publishing Co. *
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania)

December 10, 1995, Sunday, TWO STAR EDITION

SECTION: SPORTS, Pg. D10

LENGTH: 1144 words

HEADLINE: BAD VS. BAD;
Steelers in Oakland to revive savage rivalry with Raiders

BYLINE: Ed Bouchette, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

DATELINE: OAKLAND, Calif.

BODY:
Back home in Columbus, Ga., young Brentson Buckner sat on his daddy's knee and listened to stories about the old rivalry between the Steelers and Oakland Raiders.

This wasn't Mr. Rogers spinning stories. It was bald Otis Sistrunk, a Columbus native, a schoolmate of Buckner's father, and a fierce member of the Raiders defensive line from 1972 until 1979, when Steelers vs. Raiders defined sport at its most savage.

''The Raiders were all I knew for a while,'' said Buckner, the Steelers' defensive end. ''The Raiders were everything.

''They had some great games with the Steelers, like the Immaculate Reception here. It was a great rivalry.

''Maybe we can start it back up.''

...

Fans throw things from the stands the way George Atkinson once swung his forearm at Lynn Swann's head. Coliseum officials have beefed up security and plan to cut off beer sales in the third quarter today.

It begins when the team buses pull into the stadium and the fans start throwing garbage at them. They rocked the buses of the Cowboys and broke a window on a Kansas City bus last Sunday. Inside the stadium is no better.

A Dawg Pound-like section has formed 8 feet behind the visitors' bench and everything from insults to batteries are hurled at the players. Chiefs General Manager Carl Peterson was nearly hit in the head with a battery last Sunday.

''I came down to the field with about seven minutes left, and the first thing I thought, 'What am I doing here without a helmet?' '' said Peterson.

Chiefs assistant coach Art Shell, who played for the Raiders in the 1970s, made his first trip back to Oakland in 14 years and spent much of the game dodging fruit thrown at him.

''These aren't the people I remember,'' Shell said.

...
 
donovan said:

Chiefs assistant coach Art Shell, who played for the Raiders in the 1970s, made his first trip back to Oakland in 14 years and spent much of the game dodging fruit thrown at him.

''These aren't the people I remember,'' Shell said.

...
Click to expand...
Just think what the fans would throw at him now. :rotf:
 
Copyright 2005 Financial Times Information
All Rights Reserved
Global News Wire
Copyright 2005 FDCHeMedia Inc
Regulatory Intelligence Data

January 12, 2005

ACC-NO: A200501121E7-A48E-GNW

LENGTH: 756 words

HEADLINE: FORMER NFL STAR GLAD TO SERVE SOLDIERS

BODY:


FORT LEWIS, Wash. (Army News Service, Jan. 12, 2005) -- Fort Lewis isn't necessarily where one would expect to find a former All-Pro defensive tackle, a guy who earned a Super Bowl ring, someone who knows John Madden better as his coach than as a network football analyst.

It's been a quarter-century since he traded his No. 60 Oakland Raiders jersey for civilian clothes, but Otis Sistrunk looked comfortable recently as he sat at his desk in the stadium he manages on post. The memorabilia on the wall behind him recalled his glory days with the Raiders.

Sistrunk, who never played college football, was a 1974 All-Pro selection and was an integral part of the Madden-coached Oakland team that dispatched the Minnesota Vikings, 31-14, in Super Bowl XI, Jan. 9, 1977, at Pasadena, Calif.

All that is behind him now.

"In the NFL, we think we can play forever, but we can't," said Sistrunk, 60. "When I got out of football - I'll be honest with you - I didn't know what I was going to do."

Sistrunk lasted seven years in the NFL and spent a couple more as a beer salesman. One day when he was at Fort Benning on business, a lieutenant colonel asked if he'd be interested in coaching the post football team. His government career was born.

"I didn't know I was going to be here 20-something years," said Sistrunk, now approaching his 22nd anniversary as an Army employee. His second career required no bigger jump than the one he made from high school to the Raiders via semi-pro football.

"My whole thing was to go overseas and work," said Sistrunk of his early motivation with the Army. "My grandmother was sick and my mother was sick, so I couldn't go away."

Instead, he spent a dozen years at Fort Benning, attending to the sports and fitness needs of Soldiers.

"It was a challenge to me," Sistrunk said. "It was very interesting. I got a chance to know a lot of people."

When the opportunity presented itself, he transferred to Fort Lewis. He's been there ever since.

"I enjoy working at Fort Lewis," Sistrunk said. "I had opportunities to go overseas . and different places, but I love Fort Lewis. When I go out of town, that's the first thing I tell people - I work at Fort Lewis."

Sistrunk does travel frequently to appear at charity golf events and to speak with school children. He had started going to Oakland area schools with Raider linebacker Phil Villapiano when both were still active players.

"We would go to the schools and talk to the kids about staying in school, don't do drugs, turn yourself into a lady or a man," Sistrunk said.

A decade later, when he was working in the gym at Fort Benning, Sistrunk was approached by a young, female second lieutenant who said she wanted to thank him. She told him that she was in one of those Oakland classrooms that he and Villapiano had visited. She wound up going to college, getting into ROTC and joining the Army.

"I've never seen her since," Sistrunk said. "We know we saved one person. There's probably more."

Sistrunk still uses his NFL background as currency at Fort Lewis. Some Soldiers just want to sit on his office couch and talk football. Others have more pressing matters on their minds.

"Sometimes it helps if you sit here and talk to a young kid," Sistrunk said. "I tell young Soldiers, If you've got a problem, come in here and talk to me. Try to stay out of trouble.' The longer you stay out of trouble, the longer you'll stay in the military."

"Otis has really shared his knowledge and experience with all," said Lonnie Meredith, head coach of the Army flag football team that defeated Navy in early December at Cowan Stadium on Fort Lewis. Sistrunk served as one of Meredith's assistant coaches.

"He's a true role model, one that you can access daily," Meredith said. "He has always helped everyone that approaches him with guidance and direction. He shares his ideas and thoughts with others."

"Otis has been a plus to the program not because of his playing football in the NFL, but because of his ability to work with a variety of people, from privates to generals," said Jerry Weydert, sports director at Fort Lewis, who lauded Sistrunk's "willingness to do what is needed to get the job done."

If the Oakland Raiders were once like a family to him, Sistrunk now is part of another one - the Army.

"I just love the military," Sistrunk said. "I look forward to coming here every day. It's been rewarding for me. You can't make everybody happy, but I try to do my best.

"We try to do the best we can to serve the Soldiers. It's a challenge to me every day."
 
Copyright 2002 Associated Press*
All Rights Reserved*
The Associated Press

February 4, 2002, Monday, BC cycle

SECTION: Sports News

LENGTH: 436 words

HEADLINE: Inspired by ex-Raider, paralyzed man walks again in Reno

BYLINE: By MARTIN GRIFFITH, Associated Press Writer

DATELINE: RENO, Nev.

BODY:
Former Oakland Raiders linebacker Phil Villapiano's prodding and Super Bowl ring helped put a 35-year-old man from Livermore, Calif., back on his feet.

With Villapiano and hundreds of people cheering him on at a casino Super Bowl party Sunday, Mitch Oellrich got out of his wheelchair and took his first unaided steps since a diving accident in 1999. Previously, Oellrich moved with the aid of crutches and a body harness.

He returned to his wheelchair later and faces more rehabilitation to walk longer distances.

The emotional ceremony came only 2 1/2 months after Oellrich's chance encounter with Villapiano at a tailgate party Nov. 18 in Oakland changed his life.

After the Raiders-San Diego Chargers game, Villapiano asked the wheelchair-bound Oellrich about his condition.

A discouraged Oellrich discontinued his rehabilitation in May 2000 and did not go back until after the meeting with Villapiano.

"I really couldn't have done this without Phil's encouragement," said Oellrich, a die-hard Raiders' fan since the 1970s. "He told me, 'You're a Raider and you can do it."'

In an impulsive act, Villapiano gave a discouraged Oellrich his Super Bowl ring to motivate him not only to resume his rehabilitation, but to double his workouts so he could walk again.

Oellrich protested, but the former All-Pro insisted that he could only return the ring once he could walk.

Since then, Villapiano has phoned Oellrich at least twice a week to encourage him in his four-hour daily workouts.

Oellrich returned the ring Sunday after taking about 10 steps - with the help of a cane - across the stage at the Silver Legacy Resort Casino and going immediately back into his wheelchair.

"I love this thing, but I love it even more now," Villapiano said while gazing at the ring. "It really did some good. What he did is more important than winning the Super Bowl. I don't think I've ever been more touched in my life."

Villapiano, who played for the Raiders from 1971 to 1980 and for the Buffalo Bills from 1980 to 1984, won the ring with the Raiders' 32-14 win over the Minnesota Vikings in the 1977 Super Bowl.

While Oellrich faces more rehabilitation, Sunday's first steps represented a major accomplishment for a man whose doctors once doubted that he would walk again.

Before Sunday, he was only able to walk short distances with crutches and a body harness. Now, he can walk with a cane and no harness, which is used to prevent falls.

"I feel so good. I didn't want him to fail," said Villapiano, who now lives in Rumson, N.J. "He has a lot more work, but he's on his feet now."
 
Copyright 1997 P.G. Publishing Co. *
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania)

December 11, 1997, Thursday, SOONER EDITION

SECTION: SPORTS, Pg. C-5

LENGTH: 287 words

HEADLINE: HARRIS' CATCH IMMACULATELY KEPT SECRET

BYLINE: GENE COLLIER

BODY:
The 25-year controversy over whether Frenchy Fuqua touched the Terry Bradshaw pass that wound up in the hands of Franco Harris for what is known as the Immaculate Reception got a bizarre overlay yesterday when Harris refused to say definitively that he caught the carom before it hit the ground.

''I have never answered that question,'' Harris said on a conference call with Bradshaw, Fuqua and writers preparing stories on the silver anniversary of football's most famous play. ''I've never mentioned it to anybody. I cannot say.''

Asked if the implication was that ball hit the carpet, Harris said, ''not necessarily. There is no implication. I've just never answered that.''

''You guys are killin' me,'' said Bradshaw. ''I know the Frenchy controversy, but this is the first time I've heard of this. Now I'm really depressed. I don't even know if I threw the son of a gun.''

While Fuqua has kept his end of the play secret - had he touched it, the play would have been illegal because at the time, a forward pass could not touch two offensive players - the matter of Harris' catch has never been at issue.

Steelers vice president Joe Gordon, who said he'd never before heard the question raised, said the Raiders wouldn't have raised the issue if they had thought it was legitimate. ''Not a clean catch? It would have been the first thing that came to their minds.''
*
In NFL Films footage shot from the end zone, Harris can be seen approaching the ball and appearing to catch it, but the nose of the football closer to the ground is not visible.

The PG will present a special look back at the Immaculate Reception, including an article written by Franco Harris, in Sunday's ''Steelers Extra.''
 
Copyright 1997 Daily News, L.P. *
Daily News (New York)

December 21, 1997, Sunday

SECTION: Sports; Pg. 122

LENGTH: 2280 words

HEADLINE: STEEL OF THE CENTURY!
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS LATER, 'IMMACULATE' STILL INIMITABLE

BYLINE: BY HANK GOLA

BODY:

...

"I was feeling pretty good until everybody told me it was bouncing all over the football field."

Bradshaw has fun playing around with Fuqua and Harris, neither of whom has divulged whether their parts in the controversial play were legal.

"You know what? I don't even think I threw that SOB either," Bradshaw said. "The fun thing is, it keeps that knife in the Raiders' back."

Frenchy Fuqua

...

"The whole time I was thinking, 'Boy I'm having a lousy game (16 carries, 25 yards) and this is my opportunity to be a hero.' I was wide open but the pass protection had broken down," Fuqua said. "The next thing he (Bradshaw) rolls out to his right and I knew he had a heck of an angle to throw it all the way back to his left so I started coming toward him.

"At that time I could see Jack, who had come off the post (route). I could glimpse him, then I could hear his footsteps, then I could hear him breathing."

Fuqua ended up three yards back from the force of the hit.

"Tatum cold-cocked me, there's no doubt about it," he said. "I'm laying on the ground and he's got a smile from ear-to-ear. He's jumping around. And like in slow motion, I really don't hear the crowd, I see the expression on Jack go from an ear-to-ear smile to a frown."

After the play, Tatum told Fuqua to fess up.

"He said, 'You touched that ball Frenchy. Tell them you touched it.' And you know what? I was so dazed. I almost said I did."

Fuqua claims he's the only one who really knows if the ball went off him but he promised owner Art Rooney he wouldn't tell.

"I said, 'Chief, I want to tell so bad.' And he said, 'Keep it immaculate.' "

...

Harris, who thinks he got some time when the Raiders paused in disbelief, stiff-armed Warren at the 10. And he is protecting the second mystery whether he caught or trapped the ball.

"I really can't answer that question, I really can't. I wish I really had an answer," Harris said.

...

Phil Villapiano

...

"If I was as lazy as Franco, it would have been an easy catch for me, because Franco was on my outside."

Villapiano said he even had a good angle on Harris after the catch, "but the tight end, John McMakin, smart player, hit me right in the back of the legs. The biggest clip ever. No call."

...

John Madden

...

Madden's problem isn't with the call. It's with the fact that the officiating crew took 10 minutes to make it. It wasn't until after an on field conference and a call upstairs to supervisor Art McNally that referee Fred Swearingen signaled touchdown. To this day, you can still hear the upset in Madden's voice.

"My argument was in the history of football, when a guy runs in the end zone, they call it a touchdown, that's it. In this one, they didn't call anything," Madden said. "I ran out on the field. They were having one of those crew conferences. They say to me, 'We don't know what happened. Get off the field.'

"So I said, 'I tell you, I know you don't know what the hell happened.' So I go off the field, they huddle, huddle, huddle, huddle, still haven't called a touchdown. The other guy (Swearingen) goes over to the Pirates dugout and gets on that baseball phone, never said what they talked about and then he comes out to the middle of the field said it was a touchdown.

"My whole point all these years was if you knew it was a touchdown, then call it a touchdown. If you didn't know it was a touchdown, then how the hell did you find out?"

Madden says he's still bothered by it.

"Here it is 25 years later and I'm acting like a little kid," he said. "It was the finality of it all. You know how coaches say, 'Hell, we'll get them next week.' We didn't even have another play. It was over. We had nothing. You wander around, you still don't know what the hell happened."

Art McNally

NFL supervisor of officials

Many people still think that McNally looked at the play from the press box and told Swearingen what call to make . . . in other words, it was the first unofficial use of instant replay. Not so, he says.

"Adrian Burk, the back judge, signaled touchdown and the next thing, we've got a big conference with all the officials," McNally recalled.

"The thing that went through my mind was don't tell me the officials are having a block on the rule. I had an opinion from the get-go and I looked at one shot on instant replay and in my mind, Tatum is coming up very strong and I felt the ball hit his chest. Frenchy Fuqua was reaching high, not with both hands but with his left hand. I had no qualms whatsoever. But what went through my mind was are they talking about the possibility that this thing isn't going to count?"

According to McNally, the play would have been illegal only if the ball went off Fuqua to Harris without ever touching Tatum. Once a defensive player made a touch, the rule was off.

"So there goes Swearingen underneath to the dugout," said McNally. "I'll never forget, Swearingen told me, 'Two of my officials ruled that the ball was touched by opposing players. Two guys told me it was Tatum and also Fuqua.' So I said, 'Everything is fine, go ahead and go.' "

...
 
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