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Thoughts from the Dark Side
Top 25: Top 25 moments in Oakland Raider History-The top 10
The other day, I enumerated the worst ten moments in Raider History. Yesterday, I started the top 25 moments by counting down from 25 to 11. Tonight, it is time for the best of the best. The ten best moments in the history of the Oakland Raiders. I know that there will be some of you who think that I have missed something, and I am sure that the #1 moment will generate some discussion. Take a moment and enjoy reliving with me some of the best moments in the glorious history of the Oakland- Los Angeles - Oakland (again) Raiders.
#10 Oakland Raiders obliterate the Houston Oilers to represent the AFL in Super Bowl II 1967 (1968)
The earliest days of the Oakland Raiders, they were a rag tag bunch. If it hadn’t been for a loan from Bills’ owner Ralph Wilson, the Raiders probably would have folded in the early going. Now, the Raiders under their head coach John Rauch were about to represent the American Football League in the second head to head championship with the National Football League. The game against the Oilers was not even close as Daryl Lamonica led the Raiders to a 40-7 win. Even though the Raiders would ultimately be humbled by the Packers in the Super Bowl, this was an affirmation that the Raiders were among the elite teams in the junior league.
#9 Al Davis becomes a Raider 1963
The last several years, Al Davis has been a lightning rod for criticism, but there is no denying the importance of his being brought on as a head coach and general manager of the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders were 9-33 in their first three years of existence, and were floundering at the gate. In a move that would forever change the football world, Wayne Valley hired a young assistant coach from the San Diego Chargers by the name of Al Davis. It was Al who changed the colors from black and gold to Silver and Black, and he also immediately turned the Raiders around with a 10-4 record in 1963. Love him or hate him, he is a key figure in the history of the Oakland Raiders, and had he not been brought in the Raiders would not be the team that we know and love or love to hate today.
#8 Raiders defeat the Titans in the AFC Championship game 2002 (2003)
The first two years of the new millennium saw heart breaking ends to glorious seasons with the Siragusa flop and the Snow Job. Bill Callihan opened up the Raiders’ playbook and got the Raiders back to the AFC Championship. This time the Raiders were not to be denied. The Raiders took it to the Titans (In an interesting ironic twist, they used to be the Houston Oilers.) and proceeded to Super Bowl XXXVII. Like Super Bowl II, the result was not what was desired, but the Raiders were able to break though. As of this writing, that was the last key win for the Raiders.
#7 Ghost to the Post 1977 (1978)
This game ranks as one of the best games in the history of the NFL. If you ever get a chance to catch it on NFL Classic, do not miss it. Unless you have the History of the Raiders DVD which has that game on there. There were numerous lead changes between the Baltimore Colts and Oakland Raiders. Kenny Stabler drove the Raiders down to tie the game and send it into overtime. Both teams played to a standstill in the first overtime, which ended with the Raiders driving. In the second overtime period, The Snake drove the Raiders down and heaved a touchdown pass to Dave Casper, whose nickname was the ghost. On a key play during the drive to tie the game, Casper runs a post pattern whilst the wide-outs Freddie B and Branch run in patterns. That play normally went to one of the wide-outs, but Madden told the snake before the play to take a peek at “The Ghost to the Post,” which he did for a long completion. Hence the name of that game.
#6 Raiders Renaissance in the New Millennium
The Raiders had spent much of the 90s mired in unknown territory, mediocrity. After the collapse of 97, Al Davis hired a young energetic coach by the name of Jon Gruden who breathed a new life into the morbid franchise. In his four years as coach the Raiders won the AFC West twice and made the AFC Championship game once. (It would have been a second consecutive trip had it not been for a horrid call on a snowy night.)
#5 The Raiders Come Home 1995
As a Raider fan who as a kid got to see the Raiders at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum, this was a dream come true. I was heartbroken when they moved the first time, but I didn’t every call them the LA Raiders. In fact, even typing that phrase is disturbing to me to this day. The Raiders belong in Oakland, that is where their heart always has been.
#4 Super Bowl XI 1976 (1977)
The Oakland Raiders finally made it to the Big Game as a member club of the NFL instead of the AFL. Their victim on this day was the Minnesota Vikings who did not stand a chance. The Raiders were a team determined to take it all and they did with ease. The tandem of Gene Upshaw and Art Shell kept Vikings Hall of Fame defensive lineman Alan Page from registering a single tackle. Freddie Belitnikoff won the MVP award, but that entire team came together to do their damage.
#3 Super Bowl XVIII 1983 (1984)
The Raiders had lost to the Redskins in the regular season, and were an underdog as John Riggins had been an unstoppable force that year. The saying goes that when the unstoppable force meets the immovable object, something has got to give. The Raiders defensive line of Howie Long, Lyle Alzado, Reggie Kinlaw, and Greg Townsand on passing downs were the immovable force. The Redskins gave. The Raiders blasted them 38-9 and the game was not even as close as that score. Well, for the key moment to that game, I will quote reader OakFoSho, “Marcus Allen! You know the run! You know the game! Nuff Said!”
#2 Super Bowl XV 1980 (1981)
I am sure that the first thought everyone is having right now is “Why is this the top Super Bowl moment?” (Or why is the #1 not a Super Bowl? but that will be revealed in a moment.) This Super Bowl win is a special one to me, because it was the first Super Bowl I watched. My dad took me to a Super Bowl party with some of his friends from work and everyone there (except for one guy) was rooting for the Raiders. That game is what sealed my fate as a Raider for life. (And that includes having been to a Super Bowl in person a few years later.)
Other than the personal reasons, this Super Bowl is different from the other two Raider Lombardi trophies, because no one expected anything from this Raider team. The preseason predictions had them near the bottom of the AFC West as they were a team in transition. Al Davis was at war with the NFL and the City of Oakland trying to move the team to Los Angeles. There were distractions abound, but they came together as a team. It was their backup quarterback, Jim Plunkett, who had been reclaimed from the scrap heap who led the Raiders to this win. That is what makes this Super Bowl win a quintessential Raider moment. The Raiders were the scrappy underdogs all season who won it all.
And now the moment you have all been waiting for….
The top Raider moment of all time…
The moment to end all Raider moments…
without further ado….
#1 Raiders Break Through Against Pittsburgh 1976 (1977)
Since their Super Bowl appearance following the 1967 season, the Raiders now under John Madden had been unable to get back to the big game. The Steelers had ended the Raiders season in three of the past four years including the Immaculate Deception. The bad blood ran high as the Raiders and Steelers were two of the best teams in the NFL. They both played hard physical football, except for the Steelers crying about the hits by the Raiders secondary. At the beginning of the season, Chuck Knoll had called the Raiders’ safety tandem of Jack Taatum and George Atkinson the criminal element, and Akinson responded with a defamation suit. At that time, this was by far the most intense rivalry in sports, and in 1976 the Raiders were hungry to prove they could go all the way.
In the last game of the season, the Raiders played the Cincy Bengals on Monday Night Football. The Raiders had already clinched the playoffs and home field. If the Bengals won, the Steelers would be out of the playoffs. The Raiders held the fate of their arch rivals in their hands. The Raiders obliterated the Bengals, setting up a likely date with their rivals. Sure enough, it was time for the AFC Championship game and the Steelers came to Oakland. This time the Raiders would not be denied. The Raiders proved they could beat the Steelers and advanced to the Super Bowl, which was in its own way anti-climatic as they steamrolled the Vikings.
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26 Responses to “Top 25: Top 25 moments in Oakland Raider History-The top 10”
March 22nd, 2008 at 1:42 am
[…] 10 Raider moments Thoughts from the Dark Side | MVN - Most Valuable Network » Blog Archive » Top 25: Top 25 moments in… __________________ "While there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a […]
March 22nd, 2008 at 3:22 am
Wait a second — the 76 ‘breakthrough’ is as backhanded a “best ever” moment as there can be, since the Raiders finally beat the Steelers when Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier both were injured. That cannot be the #1 moment, it just can’t.
March 22nd, 2008 at 4:43 am
It took all of one post for someone to disagree with that.
You play with what you got…
March 22nd, 2008 at 5:24 am
Wow Patrick,
You got to see the Marcus Allen run in person?!?! I am obsessively jealous. I was one at the time, but its the moment my father always talked about, and I still have the VHS tape my dad recorded. The best part about the tape, other than the Allen run and the victory, are the commercials. Here are an OK one that I found on YouTube…..
Strohs Beer - Two men in a cabin (not what your thinking LDizzle!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....n/details/
Al’s Mandate is McFadden!
OakFoSho
March 22nd, 2008 at 7:10 am
Anthony, you guys lost, i don’t know why your complaining after all the times you cheated us. Don’t throw stones if you live in a glass house.
March 22nd, 2008 at 7:27 am
Nice list. Of course we all will disagree because different games meant different things to all of us. I would have to put the Super Bowls in the top 3 spots (XI would be #1 in my book because The Snake is my all time favorite football player). Also, the AFC Championship game against the Chargers should be on this list. It was a great game that the Raiders won with pure physical dominance in the end. They just kept running the ball and SD couldn’t stop it. That was Raider football defined. I knew, after that game, that the Eagles didn’t stand a chance against us in Super Bowl XV.
March 22nd, 2008 at 8:40 am
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March 22nd, 2008 at 8:53 am
well franco and rocky dont play defense and the score was 24-7. also the following year the same 2 met in week 1 or 2, cant remember. the raiders crushed them again… case closed.
March 22nd, 2008 at 9:09 am
Just so everyone knows how important that AFC chapionship game win over the steelers was, the Superbowl ring from that year, Al had the score (24-7) put on the side of the ring
March 22nd, 2008 at 9:19 am
I Have many Great ones…Like ‘83 when after losing twice to Seattle during the season, hearing them Calling themselves Raider-Busters… and the Seeing Marcus Allen ane Raiders Refuse to Lose to them again in the AFC Championship Game with a Dominating Performance.
Another of my Favorites is ‘93 when we got to Beat the Bronco’s not once, not twice, but 3 times in one season! (the last one being a Wild Card Playoff Game)
March 22nd, 2008 at 9:43 am
I’m just thinking that Al Davis should be a lot higher, probably #1. If it wasn’t for him, the Raiders wouldnt have had the talent (besides Jim Otto 1960), they wouldn’t have hired Madden, or gone back in time to bring back Al’s former starting QB Tom Flores as head coach.
Just think, from 1963 on, every player thats put on the Silver and Black had Davis’ finger prints all over the signing. People are now complaining about the money spent. What a load of crap. Is it your money? No. Does Al’s bank account effect you in any way? No. Its just the media over-reacting to make it look like the Raiders are just horrible no matter what.
Its not that, its simple economics. As the times go on, the prices go up. So what if he didnt want to pay for the players we just aquired? Then some other team would’ve swooped them up and the haters would criticize Al for not doing anything and being cheap.
Anyways, it all started with Al and his finger prints will always be left on the rosters 20 years from now even after he passes (which hopefully wont be anytime soon).
GO RAIDERS!
March 22nd, 2008 at 9:45 am
You know something I truly like your list, with the exception of #5. I love the Raiders and like you I have a difficult time calling them the Oakland Raiders. I buy and collect all things Los Angeles Raiders, I dont own anything that says Oakland and I resent the fact that there are so many so called Raiders fans up there who live less than an hour away and have never been to a Raiders game. I belong to a Raiders booster club here in Los Angeles and quite a few of us are season ticket holders, (in the black hole I may add). So you can miss all us Los Angeles Raiders Fans with your comment about not wanting to acknowledge our great city and show us some respect, the Raider Nation would not be the same with out us. As there is probably the same amount of fans every sunday or if not more of us from SO. CAL. Just remember wether they are in Oakland or Los Angeles, Raider fans for life.
March 22nd, 2008 at 12:06 pm
I totally agree that beating Pittsburgh in the 1976 AFC Title Game is number 1.
At that time the Raiders were known as a team that
“Can’t Win The Big One” - having lost the AFL/AFC Title Games in 1968 (Jets), 1969 (Chiefs) 1970 (Coits), 1973 (Dolphins) and 1974-75 (Steelers). Not to mention the 1977 AFC Title game to the Rob Lytle non-fumble call.
The Cover of SI following the 1976 AFC Title game shows Clarence Davis running thru the Steel Curtain and the headline is that “Oakland Wins A Big One”. I know this cuz that cover is framed on my wall.
Beating the Steelers and then the Vikings gave the Raiders total creditability.
Winning again in 1980 was pure joy.
All in all a great list.
Thanks
March 22nd, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Dillon — Given that I’m a lifelong Raider fan, your comment makes no sense. Of course, you can continue making idiotic assumptions, but you only look like a jackass.
Carry on.
March 22nd, 2008 at 1:10 pm
FoSho,
It was not a Raider Super Bowl that I atteneded, My dad took me to SB XIX at Stanford Staduim.
Maloso Omar,
I mean no disrespect to the fans in Southern California, as I have love for everyone in the Raider Nation.
March 22nd, 2008 at 3:26 pm
I am glad the 1967 AFL Championship Game made your list. It’s true. I was at that game. I was a 1966 and 1967 season ticket holder for the Raiders. Those were the first two years of the Oakland Coliseum. I moved to southern California in 1968.
I still have the program and ticket stub to that championship game. The cost of admission? Ten dollars!
March 22nd, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Patrick WELL PLAYED my man well played. I was indeed wondering how the #1 moment could not be a superbowl and I made sure I didn’t get the ending spoiled by accidentally peaking while reading #2. Indeed the Steelers win was the #1 moment. Much like the Colts breaking through against the Gaytriots to move on and win the superbowl. Everyone agreed that the REAL superbowl had already been played. The Viqueens were the lamest superbowl team all three times they went. For instance did you know that The Vikings only scored more than one TD in a Superbowl one time and it was a garbage TD at the end after they were already finished? The Steeler game was the moment and it started the Raiders on being great.
Also much like you, my love affair with the Raiders began with the first Raider superbowl I watched. It was the 84 game. I was just a kid and my family was going for the Raiders and the neighbor (of whom I hated) were going for the Redskins. And the rest is history. I feel cursed that I have never been able to see them win another one since then. I was forced to watch the 03 Superbowl in a sports bar in San Fran and there was a piece of shit punk ass guy sitting right behind me making a spectacle of his mockery when the Raiders made their mistakes. I have never come so close to killing a man in my life. But that is beside the point.
March 22nd, 2008 at 4:52 pm
haha freudian slip I suppose. I meant I didn’t want to accidentally “Peek” before #1 not “Peak”. I would have to have a Raider fetish or something. LMAO that just sounds terrible!
March 22nd, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Go ahead with your gay jokes OakFoSho. I lobbed this one to ya. And capitalizing on it is right in your maturity wheelhouse.
March 22nd, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Naw, naw, I won’t do it too ya! I’m feeling too kind with all these great moments to remember.
Al’s Mandate is McFadden!
OakFoSho
March 22nd, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Without Doubt, that win against the Steelers is the greatest of all the Raiders moments. The Raiders had their seasons ended three times by the Steelers and even today, the Steelers team of the 70s overshadows the greatness of the 70 Raiders. If it wasnt for that Immaculete reception, the Raiders may have had 4 superbowls right now.
March 22nd, 2008 at 6:57 pm
The beauty of a list like this is the debates. Any of the Super Bowl wins or the hiring of Al could have been number one. I have enjoyed all the responses.
March 23rd, 2008 at 5:02 pm
I agree Patrick. When I wrote my article “Raider Optimism”, it was a lot of fun thinking about the possiblities of this team this year and seeing other fans get excited as well. It is equally as fun to reminisce of the great Raider moments of years past. Every moment had a different level of importance to different people. So put the list in the order that is most important to you as a person and a fan and everyone else can do the same. Good times. I will likely be breaking out my “History of the Raiders” DVD in the next couple of days and watch some of these great moments all over again. For any of you that don’t have that DVD set, it is a MUST OWN for any Raider fan.
Jesus I just read over this comment and I sound like one of those Time Life collection commercials. Sorry about that. I just got a little carried away. I digress.
March 23rd, 2008 at 6:33 pm
As for must own DVDs, I have to put in a plug for the America’s Game Raider set….
Very well done…
March 26th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Living with my Dad(Steelers Fan) was hell when Pitt would walk by us for yet another SB trip! That win to get into SB XI was without a doubt, my greatest Raider moment ever!
Now if I could just see them win a SB as an Adult…….
March 27th, 2008 at 9:11 am
In the Ghost to the Post play, didn’t Stabler hit Casper in Qtr 4 not OT, which led to the FG to tie the game?
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