NFL Team by Team Guide: Los Angeles Raiders
The Raiders franchise was established in 1960 in Oakland as a charter member of the old American Football League. The Raiders joined the NFL as part of the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. The franchise left Oakland in 1982 and played as the Los Angeles Raiders from 1982 through the 1994 season.
The Raiders returned to Oakland for the 1995 season and remained there until the 2020 season. In 2017, the Raiders could not negotiate a deal for a new stadium in Oakland applied to relocate to Las Vegas. The move to Sin City was made official in January of 2020.
The Raiders are a big draw nationally and often appear on Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football, and Thursday Night Football. Fans can watch regional and national broadcasts on CBS, FOX Sports, ESPN, and the NFL Network. Nearly the complete Raiders schedule is available for live streaming via services such as HULU, Amazon Prime Video, and CBS All Access.
Home of the Raiders
The Raiders have had several homes but primarily played in the Oakland Coliseum during their time there. They played in the Los Angeles Coliseum while in L.A. and now play in the brand new Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, right next to Las Vegas. The stadium seats 65,000 fans and is expandable to 72,000.
Championship History
The Raiders won their first championship of any sort in the AFL. They won the AFL West Division and went on to play in the second Super Bowl. The Raiders would win three of their 15 division titles in the AFL. The other 12 were AFC West crowns.
The franchise has won four AFC championships (1976, 1980, 1983, and 2002) and won three Super Bowls (1976, 1980, and 1983).
Best of the Raiders
Fourteen players that played primarily for the Raiders have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. None signifies the toughness and grit of the Silver and Black like center Jim Otto, who played his entire NFL career (1960-74) with the Raiders. Otto was a nine-time AFL All-Star, a 10-time first-team AFL All-Star, a three-time Pro Bowler.
Linebacker Ted Hendricks was another that typified the Raiders intensity. An eight-time Pro Bowl selection and a four-time first-team All-Pro, Hendricks played on all three of the Raiders Super Bowl championship teams. He is a member of the NFL’s 75th and 100th Anniversary All-Time Teams.
Like Hendricks, cornerback Willie Brown also played on all three Raiders Super Bowl championship teams. Brown played for the Raiders from 1967 to 1978 and was selected to the Pro Bowl four times and was a first- or second-team All-Pro four times. Brown would later serve the Raiders as their defensive backs coach.
Art Shell was one of the greatest offensive linemen in NFL history. He was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection who played his entire NFL career from 1968 to 1982 for the Raiders. He was a member of two Raiders Super Bowl championship teams and would later become the head coach of the Los Angeles Raiders from 1989 to 1994 and for the Oakland Raiders in 2006.
Author: Dan Anderson