| Los Angeles Raiders | |||||||||||
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| General information | |||||||||||
| Founded | 1982 | ||||||||||
| Folded | 1994 | ||||||||||
| Headquartered | Los Angeles, California | ||||||||||
| Colors | Silver, black | ||||||||||
| Fight song | The Autumn Wind | ||||||||||
| Headquartered inEl Segundo, California | |||||||||||
| Personnel | |||||||||||
| Owner | Al Davis (1982–1994) | ||||||||||
| General manager | Al Davis (1982–1994) | ||||||||||
| Head coach | Tom Flores (1982–1987) Mike Shanahan (1988–1989) Art Shell (1989–1994) | ||||||||||
| Nicknames | |||||||||||
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| Team history | |||||||||||
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| Home fields | |||||||||||
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| League / conference affiliations | |||||||||||
National Football League (1982–1994)
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| Championships | |||||||||||
Conference championships: 1
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| Division championships: 4 | |||||||||||
| Playoff appearances (7) | |||||||||||
TheLos Angeles Raiders were a professionalAmerican football team of theNational Football League (NFL). The Raiders played inLos Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before moving back toOakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural 1960 season through 1981, and then again from 1995 to 2019.
The team's first home game in Los Angeles was at theLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 22, 1982, after a57-day player strike. They played their last game as a Los Angeles–based team on December 24, 1994. During their tenure in Los Angeles, the Raiders won four Division titles (AFC West), and oneSuper Bowl championship:1983 (XVIII).
After both the Raiders and theRams left Los Angeles after the1994 season, Los Angeles was left without an NFL team[1][2][3] until the2016 season.[4]
Before the 1980 season, Raiders ownerAl Davis attempted unsuccessfully to haveluxury boxes added to theOakland Coliseum. On March 1, 1980, he signed amemorandum of agreement to move the Raiders from Oakland to Los Angeles. The move, which required three-fourths approval by league owners, was defeated 22–0 (with five owners abstaining). When Davis tried to move the team anyway, he was blocked by aninjunction. In response, the Raiders not only became an active partner in anantitrust lawsuit filed by theLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum (who had recently lost theLos Angeles Rams toAnaheim), but filed an antitrust lawsuit of their own.[5] After the first case was declared amistrial, in May 1982 a second jury ruled in favor of Davis and the Los Angeles Coliseum, clearing the way for the move.[6][7][8] The Raiders finally moved to Los Angeles for the1982 season, playing their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
One major factor for Davis in moving to the Coliseum—despite its flaws as a football stadium—was his assumption that the NFL would eventually approvepay-per-view telecasts for its games; such a move would potentially have given the Raiders a virtual TV monopoly in Los Angeles, the nation's second-largest TV market. Davis also counted on being able to persuade the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission to renovate the facility, particularly by installing scores of luxury boxes. TheUCLA Bruins moved their home to theRose Bowl Stadium in response to the Raiders' arrival.[9][10]
The Los Angeles teams of the 1980s featured three future Hall of Famers—running backMarcus Allen, defensive linemanHowie Long, and cornerbackMike Haynes—and multisport sensationBo Jackson, who excelled in bothMajor League Baseball (MLB) and the NFL as a running back.[11]
In the strike-shortened1982 season, the team finished first in the AFC with an 8–1 record. They defeated theCleveland Browns in the first round of theAFC playoffs before losing to theNew York Jets in the second round.
In1983, the Raiders compiled a 12–4 record and a first-place finish in theAFC West. In theplayoffs, they convincingly defeated thePittsburgh Steelers 38–10 in the Divisional Round, andSeattle Seahawks 30–14 in the 1983 AFC Championship Game to advance toSuper Bowl XVIII against theWashington Redskins atTampa Stadium. With seven seconds remaining in the first half, linebackerJack Squirek intercepted aJoe Theismannswing pass at the Washington five-yard line and scored, sending the Raiders to a 21–3 halftime lead. Los Angeles sealed the game when Hall of Fame running backMarcus Allen reversed his route on a Super Bowl record run that turned into a 74-yard touchdown. The Raiders went on to a 38–9 victory and their third NFL championship. Allen, who was namedSuper Bowl MVP, set a Super Bowl record for most rushing yards (191) and combined yards (209).
The Raiders had another successful regular season in1984, finishing 11–5, but a three-game losing streak in late October and early November forced them to enter theplayoffs as the second wild card team. They were defeated by the Seahawks in the Wild Card Playoffs, 13–7. The1985 campaign saw 12 wins and another division title, but the first-seeded Raiders suffered a humiliating 27–20 defeat at the hands of theNew England Patriots in theDivisional Playoffs.
The Raiders' fortunes declined after the loss to the Patriots in the 1985 playoffs. From 1986 through 1989, they finished no better than 8–8 and posted consecutive losing seasons for the first time since 1961–62. Also,1986 saw Al Davis get into a widely publicized argument with running back Marcus Allen, whom he accused of faking injuries. The feud continued into1987, with Davis retaliating by signingBo Jackson to take Allen's place. However, Jackson was also aleft fielder forMajor League Baseball'sKansas City Royals, and could not play full-time until the baseball season ended in October. Even worse,another strike cost the NFL one game and prompted them to use substitute players. The Raiders fill-ins achieved a 1–2 record before the regular roster returned. After a weak 5–10 finish, head coachTom Flores moved to the front office and was replaced byDenver Broncos offensive coordinatorMike Shanahan. Shanahan coached the team to a 7–9 mark in1988, and Allen and Jackson continued to trade places as the starting running back. Low game attendance and fan apathy were evident by this point, and in the summer of 1989, rumors of a Raiders return to Oakland intensified when a preseason game against theHouston Oilers was scheduled at Oakland Coliseum.[13]
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As early as 1986, Davis began to seek a new, more modern stadium away from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the dangerous neighborhood that surrounded it at the time (which caused the NFL to schedule the Raiders'Monday Night Football appearances as away games). In addition to the team having to share the venue with theUSC Trojans, the Coliseum was aging and still lacked the luxury suites and other amenities that Davis was promised when he moved the Raiders to Los Angeles.[14] Finally, the Coliseum had 100,000 seats and was rarely able to fill all of them, and so most Raiders home games wereblacked out on television. In August 1987, it was announced that the city ofIrwindale, California paid Davis $10 million as a good-faith deposit for a prospective stadium site, though Davis later kept the deposit despite the bid being abandoned by the team. During this time Davis also almost moved the team toSacramento in a deal that would have included Davis becoming the managing partner of theSacramento Kings.[15]
Negotiations between Davis and Oakland commenced in January 1989, and on March 11, 1990, Davis announced his intention to bring the Raiders back to Oakland.[16] By September 1990, however, numerous delays had prevented the completion. On September 11, Davis announced a new deal to stay in Los Angeles, leading many fans in Oakland to burn Raiders paraphernalia in disgust.[17][18]
After starting the1989 season with a 1–3 record, Shanahan was fired by Davis, which began a long-standing feud between the two.[19] He was replaced by former Raiders offensive linemanArt Shell, who had been voted into thePro Football Hall of Fame earlier in the year. With the hiring, Shell became the firstAfrican American head coach in the modern NFL era, but the team still finished a middling 8–8.[20] In1990, Shell led Los Angeles to a 12–4 record. They beat theCincinnati Bengals in the divisional round of theAFC playoffs, but Bo Jackson had his leftfemur ripped from the socket after a tackle. Without him, the Raiders were crushed in the AFC Championship by theBuffalo Bills 51–3. Jackson was forced to quit football as a result, although surgery allowed him to continue playing baseball until he retired in 1994.
The team's fortunes faded after the loss. They made two other playoff appearances during the 1990s, and finished higher than third place only three times. In1991, Los Angeles got into the postseason as a wild card after a 9–7 regular season, but fell to Kansas City.1992 saw the Raiders drop to 7–9. This period was marked by the injury of Jackson in 1991, the failure of troubled quarterbackTodd Marinovich, the acrimonious departure of Marcus Allen in 1993, and the retirement of Hall of Fame defensive endHowie Long after the1993 season, where the Raiders went 10–6 and lost to Buffalo in the divisional round of the playoffs. The Todd Marinovich fiasco overshadowed the Raiders' 1991 and 1992 efforts. Marinovich was groomed from childhood to play football; his strict upbringing led to him being called "Robo QB" in the sports press. He attendedUSC and was the 24th overall pick in the 1991 draft. However, he struggled on field and was cut after the 1992 season due to repeated substance abuse problems.
Shell's five-plus-year tenure as head coach in Los Angeles was marked particularly by a bitter dispute between star running back Marcus Allen and Al Davis. The exact source of the friction is completely unknown but a contract dispute led Davis to refer to Allen as "a cancer on the team."[21] By the late 1980s, injuries began to reduce Allen's role in the offense. This role was reduced further in 1987, when the Raiders drafted Bo Jackson—even though he originally decided to not play professional football in 1986 (when drafted by theTampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round).[22] By 1990, Allen had dropped to fourth on the team's depth chart, leading to resentment on the part of his teammates. In late 1992 Allen lashed out publicly at Davis, and accused him of trying to ruin his career.[23][24] In 1993, Allen left to play for the rival Kansas City Chiefs. Shell was fired after posting a 9–7 record in the1994 season.
In May 1995 after the departure of the Rams forSt. Louis, the owners of the National Football League teams approved with a 27–1 vote with two abstentions, a resolution supporting a plan to build a $200 million, privately financed stadium on property owned byHollywood Park inInglewood for the Raiders. The stadium would have also been the home of theUCLA Bruins football team, opened in 1997, and been guaranteed at least twoSuper Bowls.[25] Al Davis balked and refused the deal over a stipulation that he would have had to accept a second NFL team at the stadium as soon as 1998.[26]
The team had also reconsidered the site adjacent toInterstate 210's junction withInterstate 605 inIrwindale, California, 18 miles east of Los Angeles.[27] Originally sought by the Raiders in 1987, plans continuously failed to materialize as the team looked to convert land formerly operated by a quarry as a candidate for a stadium site.[28][29] City officials in Irwindale offered Davis a $10 million deposit as an incentive to consider the site. Despite a further $10 million being invested by the city into environmental surveys, legal fees, and approvals for usage of the land.[30] For conflicted reasons, Davis accepted the $10 million from the city's bid, but later declined any future proposals for the site.[31][32]
On June 23, 1995, Davis signed aletter of intent to move the Raiders back to Oakland. The move was approved by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors the next month,[33] as well as by the NFL. The move was greeted with much fanfare,[34] and under new head coachMike White. Hollywood Park would later become the site of anNFL Stadium for their former rivals, theLos Angeles Rams and a division rival, theLos Angeles Chargers.
| Season | Coach | Super Bowl | Location | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Tom Flores | XVIII | Tampa Stadium | Washington Redskins | 38–9 |
| Total Super Bowls won: 1 | |||||
| Season | Coach | Location | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Tom Flores | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Seattle Seahawks | 30–14 |
| Total AFC Championships won: 1 | ||||
| AFL champions (1960–1969)§ | Super Bowl champions (1966–present)† | Conference champions* | Division champions+ | Wild Card berth# |
On February 19, 2015, the Raiders and the Chargers announced that they would build a privately financed $1.78 billionstadium inCarson, California if they were to move to the Los Angeles market.[48] Both teams stated that they would continue to attempt to get stadiums built in their respective cities.[49]
On April 22, 2015, the Carson City Council bypassed the option to put the stadium to public vote and approved the plan 3–0.[50] The council voted without having clarified several issues, including who would finance the stadium, how the required three-way land swap would be performed, and how it would raise enough revenue if only one team moved in as tenant.[51][52]
On May 19, 2015, the Chargers and Raiders announced that they had finalized a deal to secure land in Carson which was transferred to a joint powers authority in Carson after the 157-acre site was purchased by Carson Holdings, a company set up by the two teams.[50]
The league was skeptical of the site due to a poorly drawn structure to apply for local bonds to fund the construction; and preferred the Rams' stadium plan on a site at Hollywood Park in Inglewood (which was privately financed), another proposed stadium site rejected by the Raiders in 1995. In response,Jerry Richardson, then owner of theCarolina Panthers, who supported the plan, convinced Chargers ownerDean Spanos to recruitBob Iger, the then CEO ofThe Walt Disney Company. Iger was appointed non-executive chairman of the Carson stadium project.[53]
On January 4, 2016, the Raiders filed to move, as had the Chargers and Rams.[54][55]
Despite the sales pitch from Bob Iger, many owners held reservations about the Carson site, withJerry Jones even making a wise crack about Bob Iger.[56] The committee set up by the league initially recommended the Carson Site,[57] but the Chargers and Raiders were unable to secure the votes they needed to move. After hours of debate, the NFL owners voted to allow theSt. Louis Rams to move back toLos Angeles after a two-decade absence on January 12, 2016, with theSan Diego Chargers having the option to join them within a year.
It was still possible, however, for the Raiders to move as they could have moved into theRams' new stadium in Inglewood with the Rams if the Chargers opted to stay in San Diego.[58] On January 12, 2017, the Chargers opted to join the Rams in Los Angeles, thereby closing the door on the return of the Raiders to the city. Although with anAFC West rival playing in Los Angeles, the Raiders get at least one game in Los Angeles each season playing theLos Angeles Chargers.[59]
The Raiders’ time in Los Angeles boosted the team's popularity.Hollywood celebrities, notably thegangsta rap groupN.W.A., wore Raiders gear.Chuck D wears Raiders colors on the cover ofPublic Enemy'sIt Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, despite being aNew York Jets fan. "Everyone liked the Raiders," he said, "because they wore black and silver."[60] This period – chronicled by theESPN30 for 30 documentaryStraight Outta L.A. – is considered the beginnings ofRaider Nation.
Today,Southern Californians remain Raiders fans, more than two decades after they left.[61] Numerous Raiders fans are typically present during their annual matchup against the Chargers as well as games against the Rams atSoFi Stadium, Southern Californian fans are also known to make the 3-hour drive to the team's home games in Las Vegas.
