Between Al Davis and Charlie Finley, Oakland had its share of interesting owners.

As much as I am and grew up as a Raider hater I have mad respect for Al Davis. I would love to see a movie of his life

Yeah, Davis did somehow know what he was doing, he got old and lost it by the 2000's but from the mid 60's to the 80's Davis's drafts were the stuff of legends and the main reason they won three super bowls in ten years and at one time had the highest winning percentage in pro sports. I know bad Al Davis drafts in the 2000's are a meme but show the guy some respect, he is in the hall of fame for a reason.

I chatted with van Eeghen in a pub in London the day before that game against the Bears. He was great.

Al Davis wasn't always a joke

Van Eeghan was the raiders all-time leading rusher when he left for the Patriots

Raider fullbacks got the bulk of the carries back then. Van Eeghen was a great pick by Al.

The Raiders-Chiefs games of the 1960s-1970s were always the best games of the season. Great players on both sides. Marv Hubbard and Mark Van Eeghen as fullbacks from Colgate. Ed Podolak. Otis Taylor. Willie Lanier. Lamonica. Stabler. Buck Buchanan and Curly Culp. Aaron Brown. Bobby Bell. The Raiders' offensive line. Cliff Branch. I loved those games.

As much as I hate Al Davis, he had some of the best instincts in football history.

Al Davis really did kick off the pursuit of speed. If the offenses had stayed simple many more of his speed players would’ve worked out better. Instead they got plugged into systems where they were expected to read & adjust which takes a while to learn. By the time they learned they had lost a step. I think it’s why Davis went through so many coaches.

With Van Eeghan, it seemed to be typical Raiders stuff (many other teams did this as well at the time, like the Cowboys), where they'd have a player stashed away, buying his time until eventually becoming a starter (Ken Stabler, Todd Christiansen, & Jim Plunkett are some examples, along with the unique arrangement with Bo Jackson). Even back then, not a lot of teams had a fullback as their primary runner (Larry Csonka rotated with Mercury Morris & Jim Kiick, while John Riggins with the Jets & Washington Team is the only fullback with a full-time load I can think of from that era). bucking conventional thinking, another Raiders way (for the longest time, Al Davis was essentially the entire franchise's scouting department. I think Jerry Jones wanted to do Davis-like evaluations, but he doesn't have the football background for it).

This was back in AL Davis's glory years. From the 90's on till his death was a different story.

You also have to remember Al Davis drafted a Punter in the 1st round which was considered avant garde back in those days. That Punter went on to have a HOF career by the name of Ray Guy

Mark van Egghan should be in hall of fame.

The issue wasn't Al Davis and his drafting ..... It was his inability to realize that yes, his underlying approach to football is true and will always be true but the NFL progressed cerebraly from the 80s on. Offenses became much more intricate and with it, defensive adjustments.. ... The Raiders in the early 2000's until his death were incredibly easy to pick apart defensively because he still held old views of how it should be done.

Al Davis did a lot of amazing things in acquiring talent for the Raiders. Sure, between 2003-2011 things didn't work out so well (even Davis himself said that the last few years tarnished his legacy a little bit, although prior to his passing the team briefly recaptured a measure of respectability with back-to-back 8-8 seasons). My take is that maybe Davis slowed down a bit (I do believe his mind was still sound though), but the true problem is that the players the Raiders acquired in later years lacked heart and existed on reputation alone for example, what was Deangelo Hall's deal anyway? He demonstrated disposition issues with the Falcons, and didn't improve his lot with the Raiders, until righting himself a bit with Washington Team).

My favorite of your videos so far.

Do one on why the Raiders and 49ers dont play in the preseason anymore.

Mark was a stud !!

"...check out how he scouted Otis Sistrunk." (there's an asskicking involved)

Al Davis was nuts.

Fabian Washington is another great example of Davis drafting speed. Look at the players he went ahead of in the '05 draft...

I will always respect the AL Davis Raiders. Even before he died because although those teams were awful he was still there to implement his way and lead how ever he could. His son sucks.

I doubt Davis knew nothing about him beforehand. He was at the Shrine game after all.

Great video. I love these type of stories. Van Eeghan was a dependable role player for those late 70s early 80s Raider teams who most Raider fans forget about behind the bigger names the team had later. Marcus Allen, Bo Jackson, Harris, Wheatley and Garner. But Van Eeghan helped them win 2 super bowls in the era of Steelers and 49ers domination. Underrated player from the best era in football.

How many times are you going to say "Watching Van Eeghen running around in a gym" We got it the first five times.

Davis was a football genius for his time. He took scraps that other teams didn’t want and made them great. He would do this over and over again. The best example of this was Jim Plunkett. He also wasn’t afraid to think outside the box or do stuff that no one in the league was doing. That’s what made the Raiders so respected in those days. They were a tough team with players who had chips on their shoulders. Because he gave them a shot, they stayed loyal to the Raiders organization. There will never be a team like the old raiders again and there will never be a owner/Gm like AL again. He was a pioneer

Why Al Davis is in HOF and not you, Van Eeghan was a great player. He had a knack back then Al did!

You know it worked out in the end. Mark Van Eeghen went on to win 2 Super Bowls for them.

The greatest raider of them all Al Davis his team won 3 Super Bowls in a time when the NFL hated AL and his team

Not rocket science ; first step explosiveness, balance instinct. My teammate at UC Davis ( D2 1976) Rich Martini was mid round Raider pick . Was MVP League baseball and #1 Dodger pick . 3rd string Wr until senior year ( was put in one game as a sophomore; caught 3 balls , all TD s ) Pretty sure Davis saw that game tape . Size , hands and blazing speed . Never started , but was NFL player for about 6 seasons .

Nobody can sustain. Everyone has a prime at whatever they do and eventually pass it. Al's biggest mistake was not grooming a successor. When traveling became difficult, and then being pretty much unable to walk on his own, that's when his performance as GM fell off the cliff. Unfortunately, by the time the 90's came he became extremely paranoid and reclusive. After years of fighting the NFL, in business, with stadiums, with cities, coaches like Shanahan, players like Marcus Allen, that's when it truly started downhill for him. I could go into detail, and point out the good, bad, and ugly, but honestly I have nothing but respect for Al and just appreciate what he did for the League and the Raiders.

Awesome video subject

Back then players were discovered like this all the time. And it wasn't crazy to see championship sprinters on football teams as receivers. And for some it really worked out. Even if they were runners first and football players second.

Up until the mid 80s when his great players got old he consistently had winning teams 78 79 going 9-7 was unacceptable. In Al's prime he was the best. How the 70s Raiders don't have more rings is baffling. A lot of bad calls and bad luck and the damn steelers.

Al on the cover of some sports magazine on a Harley Davidson

I actually kind of understand it. There’s something called brain typing. There’s a popular guy with this that worked for the Reds and some other teams. People can send him tape and he’ll give you details about your brain type. ESPN did something on him a long time ago. He loved Peyton Manning but didn’t like Ryan Leaf. Maybe he exaggerated after the fact.

Al Davis drafted Lance Alworth , Fred Biletnikoff ( neither particularly fast ). With Van Egan , he was big horse and a bit of the mold of Hubbard. He drafted my college teammate, wanted to replace Biletnikoff. A lot faster , not near the instinct. 5th rounder , IR then got Super Bowl ring. Dude was #1 Dodger pick , so had pro skills . Wasn’t that good in college, one game caught 3 passes : all TD s

oh wow, he was a wonderful player for the Raiders

Hired first hispanic american coach, first african american coach, first female general manager, youngest coach, first owner to sue the nfl and win. He was also first owner to put an emphasis on speed vertical deep passing football, most teams were run first short pass second🏴‍☠️

Al Davis also liked players named Napoleon.

Raiders found Darren Waller warming up.

I do believe that Al Davis drafted JaMarcus Russell on pretty much the same basis.

Al Davis signing Willie Gault was so dumb. Then many years later went with drafting Darius Hayward Bey...

Just win baby!!!

Great guy I have his autograph card two time super bowl champion

This dude talked in circles for the entire video... jezuz

Colgate is still D1 don’t get it twisted

Van Eeghan was great. The Raiders actually had a lot of great white running backs

I thought Al Davis suffered from Harold Ballard senility. Owner of Toronto Maple Leafs. Made trades and coach hires from hell all the while thinking his choices couldn't be better. It was painful to be a fan of either.

Good video I do have some problems with the way Mr. Davis is viewed in this video like he was a blind squirrel that just happened to find his 3rd nut in a row. Al Davis knew football, sports and people. Thats why I believes he needs to be looked at as a scout, head coach, gm, owner and commissioner because thats who he was. He did all those jobs better than anyone given those positions at time. I believe the stats chasing and the me in team personalities that the media tends to push are killing the game plus the greed I’m sorry billionaire I’m not giving you welfare and keep the game on broadcast tv it grows the game keeps it relevant if you don’t end up like boxing Who’s the heavyweight champion of the world? I bet more people knew that in 1965 partly because it was in the public eye. It might be dumb to think he should be seen for what he did for the game and the people in the game.

#RealCommitmentToExcellentRightThereNoMatterWhatAnyoneSaidAboutMrDavisBackThenBecauseThatIsMyLastNameToo!

So. That's nothing. The early 1990's Cowboys drafted a few players, just based on how they ran from the cops!

Bo Jackson

And he stole money from Mike Shanahan.

Crap video. They saw film of Van Eeghen. They also knew he was smart. Ok...he looked good in the gym. Great. With that O-line, not to mention with the Snake, lots of folks would look good. MVE was a good player. Third round pick was a good choice...nothing magical. It certainly is NOT the craziest Al Davis story. I give you Larry Brown, Desmond Howard and Lane Kiffen...just to name a few.

Can you find a less annoying musical soundtrack or do you just like getting thumbed down?

This story could only happen to a white guy.