John O'Quinn Field at Corbin J. Robertson Stadium (often referred to as simply Robertson Stadium ) was a multi-purpose stadium in Houston , located on the campus of the University of Houston . It was the home of the Houston Cougars football and women's soccer teams. The stadium was the first home for the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer from 2006 to 2011, as well as the first home of the American Football League 's Houston Oilers from 1960 to 1964.
183-639: On January 1, 1961, it hosted the American Football League Championship Game (for the 1960 title ). The Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Chargers (24–16) to become the league's first champions. It was also the site for pro football's first ever double-overtime game on December 23, 1962. The Oilers lost to the Dallas Texans (20–17) in that year's AFL title game . This was the only overtime game in
366-569: A pro football team of its own as well); given five other choices, Wilson negotiated with McGroder and brought the team that became the Bills to Buffalo. Buffalo was officially awarded its franchise on October 28. During a league meeting on November 22, a 10-man ownership group from Boston (led by Billy Sullivan ) was awarded the AFL's eighth team. On November 30, 1959, Joe Foss , a World War II Marine fighter ace and former governor of South Dakota ,
549-414: A seating capacity of 14,500. Public School Fieldhouse (later known as Jeppesen Gymnasium), a multi-purpose indoor arena which was constructed simultaneously, stood alongside. The stadium's first game was held before a crowd of 14,500 on September 18, 1942, when Houston's Lamar High School defeated Dallas' W. H. Adamson High School 26–7. HISD football games continued to be played at the stadium when
732-714: A wild card berth. After playoff victories against the Houston Oilers , Cleveland Browns , and San Diego Chargers , the Raiders went to Super Bowl XV , and clinched their second NFL championship in five years with a 27–10 win over the favored Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XV . With the victory, the Raiders became the first ever wild card team to win a Super Bowl. Two Super Bowl records of note occurred in this game: 1) Kenny King 's 80-yard, first-quarter, catch-and-run reception from Jim Plunkett remained
915-623: A 12-game schedule since 1947, changed to a 14-game schedule in 1961, a year after the American Football League instituted it. The AFL also introduced the two-point conversion to professional football 34 years before the NFL instituted it in 1994 (college football had adopted the two-point conversion in the late 1950s). All of these innovations pioneered by the AFL, including its more exciting style of play and colorful uniforms, have essentially made today's professional football more like
1098-476: A 2–2 start. After flying to Houston for a match with the Texans, the Raiders were stunned by the news that Al Davis had died at his home on October 8 after having been with the franchise for all but its first three years of existence. A last-second interception from Texans quarterback Matt Schaub allowed the Raiders to win that game, but in the next week's match with Cleveland (a 24–17 win), Jason Campbell sustained
1281-475: A 37–22 loss to the Houston Oilers . The Raiders were allowed to move to Candlestick Park for the final three home games of the 1960 season after gaining the approval of San Francisco's Recreation and Park Commission, marking the first time that professional football would be played at the new stadium. The change of venue, however, failed to attract larger crowds for the Raiders during their time at Candlestick Park, with announced attendance of 12,061 (vs.
1464-562: A city where a previous NFL franchise had failed in 1952 . While Hunt negotiated with the Bidwills, similar offers were made by Bud Adams , Bob Howsam , and Max Winter . When Hunt, Adams, and Howsam were unable to secure a controlling interest in the Cardinals, they approached NFL commissioner Bert Bell and proposed the addition of expansion teams . Bell, wary of expanding the 12-team league and risking its newfound success, rejected
1647-657: A contract with the Oakland Raiders. Bill King was hired for the play-by-play and Scotty Stirling (an Oakland Tribune sportswriter) was color commentator. When the University of California refused to let the Raiders play home games at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, they chose Kezar Stadium in San Francisco as their home field. The team's first regular season home game was played on September 11, 1960,
1830-560: A criminal for the hit. The Raiders won 13 regular season games and a close victory over New England (the only team to beat them in the regular season) in the first round of the playoffs . They then knocked out the injury-plagued Steelers in the AFC Championship to go to Super Bowl XI . Oakland's opponent was the Minnesota Vikings , a team that had lost three previous Super Bowls. The Raiders led 16–0 at halftime. By
2013-486: A decade. Led by veteran quarterback Rich Gannon , Oakland won their first division title since 1990, and advanced to the AFC Championship, where they lost 16–3 to the eventual Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens . The Raiders acquired all-time leading receiver Jerry Rice prior to the 2001 season. They finished 10–6 and won a second straight AFC West title but lost their divisional-round playoff game to
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#17327867094972196-524: A flashier style of play (just like the ABA in basketball), compared to the more conservative game of the NFL. Long passes ("bombs") were commonplace in AFL offenses, led by such talented quarterbacks as John Hadl , Daryle Lamonica and Len Dawson . Despite having a national television contract, the AFL often found itself trying to gain a foothold, only to come up against roadblocks. For example, CBS, which broadcast NFL games, ignored and did not report scores from
2379-667: A fourth-place finish in the AFC West after a loss in Week 11 dropped them to 0–10. The Raiders were the last team in the league that year to win a game, finally doing so the next week against their division rival, the Kansas City Chiefs, but they were defeated 52–0 by the Rams the next week. The Raiders did manage to defeat their geographic rival, the San Francisco 49ers, and defeated Buffalo in Week 16, which mathematically eliminated
2562-629: A late 4th-quarter touchdown amid three Miami defenders to win 28–26 and end the Dolphins' chances of a three-peat and a fourth consecutive Super Bowl appearance. In the 1975 season opener, the Raiders beat Miami and ended the Dolphins' 31-game home winning streak. With an 11–3 record, they defeated Cincinnati in the divisional playoff round , but again fell to the Steelers in the conference championship . In 1976 , Valley sold his interest in
2745-525: A little better on the field but had their own financial troubles. Attendance was so low for home games that team owner Harry Wismer had fans move to seats closer to the field to give the illusion of a fuller stadium on television. Eventually Wismer could no longer afford to meet his payroll, and on November 8, 1962, the AFL took over operations of the team. The Titans were sold to a five-person ownership group headed by Sonny Werblin on March 28, 1963, and in April
2928-469: A lucrative $ 36 million television contract with NBC (beginning in the 1965 season), which gave the league money it needed to compete with the NFL for players. Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney was quoted as saying to NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle after receiving the news of the AFL's new TV deal that, "They don't have to call us 'Mister' anymore". A single-game attendance record was set on November 8, 1964, when 61,929 fans packed Shea Stadium to watch
3111-458: A mix of AFL and CFL rules. While the Oilers found instant success in the AFL, other teams did not fare as well. The Oakland Raiders and New York Titans struggled on and off the field during their first few seasons in the league. Oakland's eight-man ownership group was reduced to just three in 1961, after heavy financial losses in their first season. Attendance for home games was poor, partly due to
3294-427: A new head coach from outside the Raiders organization for only the second time when he hired Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Jon Gruden , who previously worked for the 49ers and Packers under head coach Mike Holmgren . Under Gruden, the Raiders posted consecutive 8–8 seasons in 1998 and 1999, and climbed out of last place in the AFC West. Oakland finished 12–4 in the 2000 season, the team's most successful in
3477-403: A new professional football league to California and New York , but introduced the sport to Colorado , restored it to Texas and later to fast-growing Florida , as well as bringing it to Greater Boston for the first time in 12 years. Buffalo, having lost its original NFL franchise in 1929 and turned down by the NFL at least twice (1940 and 1950 ) for a replacement, returned to the NFL with
3660-404: A number of businessmen willing to invest in the new team. A limited partnership was formed to own the team headed by managing general partner Y. Charles (Chet) Soda , a local real estate developer, and included general partners Ed McGah, Oakland City Councilman Robert Osborne, F. Wayne Valley , restaurateur Harvey Binns, 1928 Olympic gold medalist Donald Blessing , and contractor Charles Harney,
3843-527: A playoff berth. In 1972 , with Wayne Valley out of the country for several weeks attending the Olympic Games in Munich , Davis's attorneys drafted a revised partnership agreement that gave him total control over all of the Raiders' operations. McGah, a supporter of Davis, signed the agreement. Under partnership law, by a 2–1 vote of the general partners, the new agreement was thus ratified. Valley
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#17327867094974026-712: A professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raiders . Between 1982 and 1994 , the team played in Los Angeles as the Los Angeles Raiders . The team's first home game was at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco, against
4209-579: A regional rivalry would be critical for the success of the new league, convinced Adams to join and found his team in Houston . Hunt next secured an agreement from Howsam to bring a team to Denver . After Winter and Boyer agreed to start a team in Minneapolis-Saint Paul , the new league had its first four teams. Hunt then approached Willard Rhodes, who hoped to bring pro football to Seattle . However, not wanting to undermine its own brand,
4392-511: A season-ending collarbone fracture. With backups Kyle Boller and Terrell Pryor considered unsuitable to replace him, the Raiders made a desperation bid with Cincinnati to acquire quarterback Carson Palmer , who had retired after a feud with that team, but was still under contract with them. With Al Davis's passing, Hue Jackson was effectively in charge of all on-field decisions and he finally convinced Bengals owner Mike Brown to give up Palmer in exchange for Oakland's 2012 first-round draft pick. With
4575-507: A second consecutive season. As part of the agreement to bring the Raiders back to Oakland the city agreed that they would increase the capacity of the Coliseum. The result was a structure of 20,000 capacity seating that became known as Mount Davis after Davis. The structure was completed in time for the 1996 season . After two more unsuccessful seasons (7–9 in 1996 and 4–12 in 1997) under White and his successor, Joe Bugel , Davis selected
4758-539: A similar result. The Oakland Raiders—who had easily beaten the Houston Oilers to win their first AFL championship—were overmatched by the Packers, 33–14. The more experienced Packers capitalized on a number of Raiders miscues and never trailed. Green Bay defensive tackle Henry Jordan offered a compliment to Oakland and the AFL, when he said, "... the AFL is becoming much more sophisticated on offense. I think
4941-443: A single game outside their own division or the weak NFC West. During all this time, Al Davis, who was now past his 80th birthday and in increasingly poor health, refused to hire a general manager or relinquish his absolute control of the team's on-field activities and he continued to make all major decisions regarding draft picks, trades, or signings himself. He came under fire both for this and for strategies that were out-of-step with
5124-620: A stadium with a baseball franchise. The baseball infield for the Oakland Athletics at the Oakland Coliseum was present during Raiders games during the early NFL seasons. The end of the MLB season correlated with the beginning of the NFL season, which forced the Raiders to play certain games on a dirt field. The Raiders began 2012 by losing a very poorly executed home opener on Monday Night Football to San Diego 22–14. The team
5307-637: A team of tough, take-no-prisoners players —such as future Hall of Fame offensive linemen Jim Otto , Gene Upshaw , and Art Shell ; linebacker Ted ("the Stork") Hendricks ; defensive end Ben Davidson ; and cornerback Willie Brown —who would occasionally cross the line into dirty play. Those teams also featured an additional foursome of future Hall of Fame players in tight end Dave Casper , kicker George Blanda , and wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff , as well as fiery quarterback Ken ("the Snake") Stabler . In 1970 ,
5490-503: A team to Miami. League expansion was approved at a meeting held on June 7, and on August 16 the AFL's ninth franchise was officially awarded to Robbie and entertainer Danny Thomas . The Miami Dolphins joined the league for a fee of $ 7.5 million and started play in the AFL's Eastern Division in 1966 . The AFL also planned to add two more teams by 1967. In 1966, the rivalry between the AFL and NFL reached an all-time peak. On April 7, Joe Foss resigned as AFL commissioner. His successor
5673-641: A variety of other sports events. The 1983 NCAA Track & Field Championship was held at Robertson Stadium prior to the removal of the track. On November 10, 2007, the Dynamo defeated the Kansas City Wizards in the 2007 MLS Western Conference final . The stadium also hosted international rugby games, with 13,000 fans turning out in December 2001 to watch the USA play South Africa . Robertson Stadium
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5856-550: The 1968 NFL season with a 13–1 record, and won the NFL title with a convincing 34–0 win over the Cleveland Browns. Led by their stalwart defense—which allowed a record-low 144 points—the 1968 Colts were considered one of the best-ever NFL teams. By contrast, the Jets had allowed 280 points, the highest total for any division winner in the two leagues. They had also only narrowly beaten the favored Oakland Raiders 27–23 in
6039-717: The 2004 season 5–11, with only one divisional win (a one-point victory over the Broncos in Denver). During a Week 3 victory against the Buccaneers, Rich Gannon suffered a neck injury that ended his season and eventually his career; he never returned to the team and retired before the 2005 season. Kerry Collins , who led the New York Giants to an appearance in Super Bowl XXXV and signed with Oakland after
6222-656: The AFL–NFL merger took place and the Raiders became part of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the newly merged NFL. The first post-merger season saw the Raiders win the AFC West with an 8–4–2 record and go all the way to the conference championship , where they lost to the Colts . Despite another 8–4–2 season in 1971 , the Raiders failed to win the division or achieve
6405-591: The Chargers in a 41–17 loss on December 4), 9,037 (vs. the New York Titans in a 31–28 loss on December 11) and 7,000 (estimated, vs. the Broncos in a 48–10 victory to close out the season on December 17) at Candlestick. The Raiders finished their first campaign with a 6–8 record, and lost $ 500,000, equivalent to $ 5.15 million in 2023. Desperately in need of money to continue running
6588-627: The Houston Cougars football team played their inaugural game in front of a crowd of 11,000 with Southwestern Louisiana (now known as Louisiana ). The University of Houston continued to host home football games there from 1946 to 1950 before moving to Houston Stadium in 1951 and then to the Astrodome in 1965. Prior to the 1957 football season, HISD changed policy at the stadium to disallow any teams with black students to play there despite this being previously allowed without issue. In 1958,
6771-463: The Houston Oilers on September 11, 1960, with a 37–22 loss. They played their last game as an Oakland-based team on December 29, 2019, a game which they lost 16–15 to make them finish 3rd in the AFC West , eliminate them from playoff contention, and suffer a late-season collapse after starting with a 6–4 record. A few months after the inaugural American Football League draft in 1959, the owners of
6954-557: The Los Angeles Chargers and Dallas Texans respectively. On January 16, 1965, the 1964 AFL All-Star game was also held there. On December 1, 2006, the stadium was host to the Conference USA Football Championship . On March 8, 2008, the stadium hosted the inaugural Space City Classic, a Houston-area high school all-star game. In January 2008 and 2009, the 83rd and 84th annual East–West Shrine Games were played at Robertson Stadium. The stadium hosted
7137-518: The NFL's Houston Texans and Dallas Cowboys competed against each other in a scrimmage at Robertson Stadium. It was the first public game for the Texans, which were an expansion team to the league. Several improvements were made in 2006 thanks in part to a $ 1.7 million donation from the Houston Dynamo . The lighting system was upgraded and a new scoreboard and a Philips Vidiwall video screen
7320-402: The New York Titans , Boston Patriots , Buffalo Bills , and the Houston Oilers , and a Western division of the Los Angeles Chargers , Denver Broncos , Oakland Raiders , and Dallas Texans . The league first gained attention by signing 75% of the NFL's first-round draft choices in 1960 , including Houston's successful signing of college star and Heisman Trophy winner Billy Cannon . While
7503-544: The Oakland Raiders to refuse to play the Houston Oilers at Jeppesen Stadium in a regular-season game. The Oilers remained at Jeppesen until 1964, when they moved into Rice Stadium . In 1966, the University of Houston developed a master plan that emphasized the acquisition of the stadium. Corbin J. Robertson, former UH Board of Regents member and Athletics Committee Chairman, funded its renovation in 1970, and
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7686-496: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers to sign him. In return, the Raiders received cash and future draft picks from the Buccaneers. The sudden move came after months of speculation in the media that Davis and Gruden had fallen out with each other both personally and professionally. Bill Callahan , who served as the team's offensive coordinator and offensive line coach during Gruden's tenure, was named head coach. Under Callahan,
7869-399: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers , coached by Gruden. The Raiders, who had not made significant changes to Gruden's offensive schemes, were intercepted five times by the Buccaneers en route to a 48–21 blowout. Some Tampa Bay players claimed that Gruden had given them so much information on Oakland's offense, they knew exactly what plays were being called. Callahan's second season as head coach
8052-577: The University of Washington was unwilling to let the fledgling league use Husky Stadium , and Rhodes' effort came to nothing (Seattle would later get a pro football team of its own in 1974 some time after the AFL-NFL merger during the construction of the Kingdome and began play in 1976). Hunt also sought franchises in Los Angeles, Buffalo and New York City. During the summer of 1959, he sought
8235-630: The World Hockey Association (1972–79) managed to have four of its six remaining teams merged into the National Hockey League , which actually caused the older league to contract a franchise, but WHA teams were forced to disperse the majority of their rosters and restart as expansion teams. The merged WHA teams were also not financially sound (in large part from the hefty expansion fees the NHL imposed on them), and three of
8418-472: The seating capacity to 36,000. This allowed for the largest attendance for the stadium ever of 37,981 when the Dallas Texans competed against the Oilers on December 23, 1962 for that year's AFL title game . At this time HISD continued its use of the stadium with an average of ten games per week. Making national headlines, the NAACP protested HISD's segregation policy in 1961, and formally asked players from
8601-645: The "vertical game", an aggressive offensive strategy based on the West Coast offense developed by Chargers head coach Sid Gillman . Under Davis the Raiders improved to 10–4, and he was named the AFL's Coach of the Year in 1963. Though the team slipped to 5–7–2 in 1964, it rebounded to an 8–5–1 record in 1965. He also initiated the use of team slogans such as "Pride and Poise", "Commitment to Excellence", and "Just Win, Baby"—all of which are registered trademarks . In April 1966, Davis left
8784-408: The 10-year history of the AFL. The stadium's capacity was 32,000. The stadium's record attendance in its final configuration was set at 32,413, when Houston hosted the 2011 Conference USA Championship Game on December 3. In June 2010, the University of Houston announced its intention to raze Robertson Stadium, and build a new stadium at the same site. The stadium was closed and demolished upon
8967-463: The 1953–1983 Baltimore Colts or to the current Indianapolis Colts franchise), played only one year in the NFL, disbanding at the end of the 1950 season. The league resulting from the merger was a 26-team juggernaut (since expanded to 32) with television rights covering all of the Big Three television networks (and since the 1990s, the newer Fox network ) and teams in close proximity to almost all of
9150-482: The 1962 season, Valley hired Al Davis , a former assistant coach of the San Diego Chargers, as head coach and general manager. At 33, he was the youngest person in over 30 years to hold the position of head coach, and the youngest person ever to hold the position of general manager, in professional football. Davis immediately changed the team colors to silver and black, and began to implement what he termed
9333-722: The 2002 expansion team restored professional football in Houston after the original charter AFL member Oilers relocated to become the Tennessee Titans . Kevin Sherrington of The Dallas Morning News has argued that the presence of AFL and the subsequent merger radically altered the fortunes of the Pittsburgh Steelers , saving the team "from stinking". Before the merger, the Steelers had long been one of
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#17327867094979516-468: The 2003 season, became the team's starting quarterback. In an effort to bolster their offense, in early 2005 the Raiders acquired Pro Bowl wide receiver Randy Moss via trade with the Minnesota Vikings , and signed free agent running back Lamont Jordan of the New York Jets. After a 4–12 season and a second consecutive last-place finish, Turner was fired as head coach. On February 11, 2006,
9699-465: The AFC with the rest of the former AFL teams after the merger helped them rebuild into a contender, drafting eventual- Pro Football Hall of Famers like Terry Bradshaw and Joe Greene , and ultimately winning four Super Bowls in the 1970s. Since the 1970 merger, the Steelers have the NFL's highest winning percentage, the most total victories, the most trips to either conference championship game, are tied for
9882-469: The AFL adopted the first-ever cooperative television plan for professional football, in which the proceeds were divided equally among member clubs. It featured many outstanding games, such as the classic 1962 double-overtime American Football League championship game between the Dallas Texans and the defending champion Houston Oilers . At the time it was the longest professional football championship game ever played. The AFL also appealed to fans by offering
10065-582: The AFL championship game. Jets quarterback Joe Namath recalled that in the days leading up to the game, he grew increasingly angry when told New York had no chance to beat Baltimore. Three days before the game, a frustrated Namath responded to a heckler at the Touchdown Club in Miami by declaring, "We're going to win Sunday, I guarantee it!" Namath and the Jets made good on his guarantee as they held
10248-596: The AFL than like the old-line NFL. The AFL's challenge to the NFL also laid the groundwork for the Super Bowl , which has become the standard for championship contests in the United States of America. The NFL also adapted how the AFL used the growing power of televised football games, which were bolstered with the help of major network contracts (first with ABC , later with NBC after the latter network lost NFL rights to CBS ). With that first contract with ABC,
10431-604: The AFL; concerns over having to split the New York metro area with the still-uncertain Jets were a factor in the Bears' bid being rejected. In 1965, Milwaukee officials tried to lure an expansion team to play at Milwaukee County Stadium where the Green Bay Packers had played parts of their home schedule after an unsuccessful attempt to lure the Packers there full-time, but Packers head coach Vince Lombardi invoked
10614-400: The Alameda County Board of Supervisors the next month, as well as by the NFL. The move was greeted with much fanfare, and under new head coach Mike White the 1995 season started off well for the team. Oakland started 8–2, but injuries to starting quarterback Jeff Hostetler contributed to a six-game losing streak to end the season, and the Raiders failed to qualify for the playoffs for
10797-429: The Bidwills began entertaining offers from would-be investors, and one of the men who approached the Bidwills was Lamar Hunt , son and heir of millionaire oilman H. L. Hunt . Hunt offered to buy the Cardinals and move them to Dallas , where he had grown up. However, these negotiations came to nothing, since the Bidwills insisted on retaining a controlling interest in the franchise and were unwilling to move their team to
10980-444: The Bills from playoff contention for the 15th straight year. Oakland's final record that season was 3–13. Their offense struggled mightily, averaging just 282.2 yards per game (last in the league). Quarterback and second-round pick Derek Carr proved to be a positive addition, serving as the starter for the entire season and set a Raiders record for most passing yards in one season by a rookie. Also, linebacker Khalil Mack , selected in
11163-399: The Browns' archrivals ) and Baltimore Colts (who shared the Baltimore -Washington market with the Washington Redskins ) to follow suit, and each team received US$ 3 million to make the switch. The remaining 13 NFL teams became part of the National Football Conference . Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver Charlie Joiner , who started his career with the Houston Oilers ( 1969 ), was
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#173278670949711346-535: The Chargers, 24–16, in the AFL Championship on January 1, 1961. Attendance for the 1960 season was respectable for a new league, but not nearly that of the NFL. In 1960, the NFL averaged attendance of more than 40,000 fans per game and more popular NFL teams in 1960 regularly saw attendance figures in excess of 50,000 per game, while CFL attendances averaged approximately 20,000 per game. By comparison, AFL attendance averaged about 16,500 per game and generally hovered between 10,000 and 20,000 per game. Professional football
11529-417: The Colts scoreless until late in the fourth quarter. The Jets won, 16–7, in what is considered one of the greatest upsets in American sports history. With the win, the AFL finally achieved parity with the NFL and legitimized the merger of the two leagues. That notion was reinforced one year later in Super Bowl IV , when the AFL champion Kansas City Chiefs upset the NFL champion Minnesota Vikings , 23–7, in
11712-436: The Cowboys and became the Kansas City Chiefs. As part of the merger agreement, additional expansion teams would be awarded by 1970 or soon thereafter to bring the league to 28 franchises; this requirement was fulfilled when the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers began play in 1976. In addition, had it not been for the existence of the Oilers from 1960 to 1996, the Houston Texans also would likely not exist today;
11895-423: The Eagles in Week 9 when quarterback Nick Foles threw a record seven touchdown passes. In Week 15, they gave up 56 points to the Chiefs. In 2014, Dennis Allen was fired after a 0–4 start and replaced by former Dolphins head coach and then-Raiders offensive line coach Tony Sparano for the remainder of the season. They became the first team to be mathematically eliminated from playoff contention and were guaranteed
12078-505: The Houston contract, and with Cannon the Oilers appeared in the AFL's first three championship games (winning two). On June 9, 1960, the league signed a five-year television contract with ABC , which brought in revenues of approximately $ 2.125 million per year for the entire league. On June 17, the AFL filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, which was dismissed in 1962 after a two-month trial. The AFL began regular-season play (a night game on Friday, September 9, 1960) with eight teams in
12261-426: The Jaguars. A home win over Denver in Week 15 saw the team approach a playoff spot, but faltered in a loss to the Colts which ensured that they would miss the postseason for the 8th straight year. By beating Kansas City in Week 17, the Raiders became the first team in NFL history to sweep their division and still not make the playoffs. Despite beginning to turn the team around, Tom Cable was fired by Al Davis soon after
12444-439: The Minnesota group joined the NFL in 1961 as the Minnesota Vikings . The older league also announced on August 29 that it had conveniently reversed its position against expansion, and planned to bring new NFL teams to Houston and Dallas, to start play in 1961. (The NFL did not expand to Houston at that time; the promised Dallas team – the Dallas Cowboys – actually started play in 1960, and the Vikings began play in 1961.) Finally,
12627-403: The NFL as the Minnesota Vikings . Los Angeles Chargers owner Barron Hilton demanded that a replacement for Minnesota be placed in California, to reduce his team's operating costs and to create a rivalry. After a brief search, Oakland was chosen and an ownership group led by F. Wayne Valley and local real estate developer Chet Soda was formed. After initially being called the Oakland Señors,
12810-421: The NFL before the AFL–NFL merger had folded completely: the three previous leagues named "American Football League" and the All-America Football Conference . From an earlier AFL (1936–1937), only the Cleveland Rams (now the Los Angeles Rams ) joined the NFL and are currently operating, as are the Cleveland Browns and the San Francisco 49ers from the AAFC. A third AAFC team, the Baltimore Colts (not related to
12993-418: The NFL by the mid-1960s, as well as successful franchise shifts of the Chargers from L.A. south to San Diego and the Texans north to Kansas City (becoming the Kansas City Chiefs ), the AFL established a dedicated following. The transformation of the struggling Titans into the New York Jets under new ownership, including the signing of University of Alabama star quarterback Joe Namath , further solidified
13176-414: The NFL for college talent, the AFL under Davis began to also recruit players already on NFL squads. Davis's strategy focused on quarterbacks in particular, and in two months he persuaded seven NFL quarterbacks to sign with the AFL. Although Davis's intention was to help the AFL win the bidding war, some AFL and NFL owners saw the escalation as detrimental to both leagues. Alarmed with the rate of spending in
13359-555: The NFL once the merger was completed. The league's last expansion team, the Cincinnati Bengals began play in the 1968 season, finishing last in the Western Division. While many AFL players and observers believed their league was the equal of the NFL, their first two Super Bowl performances did nothing to prove it. However, on November 17, 1968, when NBC cut away from a game between the Jets and Raiders to air
13542-462: The NFL over 20 years. In protest, Davis resigned as AFL commissioner on July 25 rather than remain until the completion of the merger, and Milt Woodard was named president of the AFL, with the "commissioner" title vacated because of Rozelle's expanded role. On January 15, 1967, the first-ever championship game between the two separate professional football leagues, the "AFL-NFL World Championship Game" (retroactively referred to as Super Bowl I ),
13725-520: The NFL quickly came to terms with the Bidwills and allowed them to relocate the struggling Cardinals to St. Louis, eliminating that city as a potential AFL market. Ralph Wilson , who owned a minority interest in the NFL's Detroit Lions at the time, initially announced he was placing a team in Miami , but like the Seattle situation, was also rebuffed by local ownership (like Seattle, Miami would later get
13908-401: The NFL was still emerging from thirty years of segregation influenced by Washington Redskins' owner George Preston Marshall , the AFL actively recruited from small and predominantly black colleges. The AFL's color-blindness led not only to the explosion of black talent on the field, but to the eventual entry of blacks into scouting, coordinating, and ultimately head coaching positions, long after
14091-482: The NFL's worst teams. Constantly lacking the money to build a quality team, the Steelers had only posted eight winning seasons, and just one playoff appearance, since their first year of existence in 1933 until the end of the 1969 season. They also finished with a 1–13 record in 1969 , tied with the Chicago Bears for the worst record in the NFL. The $ 3 million indemnity that the Steelers received for joining
14274-552: The New York Jets and Buffalo Bills. The bidding war for players between the AFL and NFL escalated in 1965. The Chiefs drafted University of Kansas star Gale Sayers in the first round of the 1965 AFL draft (held November 28, 1964), while the Chicago Bears did the same in the NFL draft. Sayers eventually signed with the Bears. A similar situation occurred when the New York Jets and the NFL's St. Louis Cardinals both drafted University of Alabama quarterback Joe Namath . In what
14457-537: The Oakland business community for calling his acquaintances "señor"), the fledgling team (and its owners) changed the team's name nine days later to the Oakland Raiders, which had finished third in the naming contest. The original team colors were black, gold and white. The now-familiar team emblem of a pirate (or "raider") wearing a football helmet was created, reportedly a rendition of actor Randolph Scott . Oakland Raiders games were broadcast locally on KNBC (680 AM;
14640-429: The Raiders after being named AFL Commissioner. Two months later, the league announced its merger with the NFL . With the merger, the position of commissioner was no longer needed, and Davis entered into discussions with Valley about returning to the Raiders. On July 25, 1966, Davis returned as part-owner of the team. He purchased a 10 percent interest in the team for US$ 18,000, equivalent to $ 169,034 in 2023, and became
14823-556: The Raiders again won Western Division titles, only to lose the AFL Championship to the eventual Super Bowl winners—the New York Jets (1968) and Kansas City Chiefs (1969). In 1969, John Madden became the team's sixth head coach, and under him the Raiders became one of the most successful franchises in the NFL, winning six division titles during the 1970s. It was during this period that the Raiders forged an image as
15006-443: The Raiders defeated their division rival with eight touchdowns (two passing, five rushing, and one interception return), setting a score of 59–14 for the most points in franchise history. After beating Seattle 33–3 and then Kansas City 23–20 for a third straight win, the Raiders went into their bye week with a winning 5–4 record. However, after the bye week, the Raiders fell to Pittsburgh and Miami before beating San Diego and losing to
15189-468: The Raiders finished the 2002 season 11–5, won their third straight division title, and clinched the top seed in the playoffs. Rich Gannon was named MVP of the NFL after passing for a league-high 4,689 yards. After beating the New York Jets and Tennessee Titans by large margins in the playoffs , the Raiders made their fifth Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl XXXVII . Their opponent was
15372-617: 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 an injunction . In response, the Raiders not only became an active partner in an antitrust lawsuit filed by the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (who had recently lost the Los Angeles Rams ), but filed an antitrust lawsuit of their own. After
15555-551: The Raiders reached the AFC Championship , but lost 27–10 to the Dolphins . In 1974 , Oakland had a 12–2 regular season, which included a nine-game winning streak. They beat the Dolphins in the divisional round of the playoffs in a see-saw battle before falling to the Steelers in the AFC Championship . The playoff game against the Dolphins is known in NFL lore as the Sea of Hands game in which running back Clarence Davis caught
15738-527: The Texans became the second AFL team to relocate. Lamar Hunt felt that despite winning the league championship in 1962, the Texans could not sufficiently profit in the same market as the Dallas Cowboys , which entered the NFL as an expansion franchise in 1960. After meetings with New Orleans , Atlanta , and Miami , Hunt announced on May 22 that the Texans' new home would be Kansas City, Missouri . Kansas City mayor Harold Roe Bartle (nicknamed "Chief")
15921-522: The United States. One franchise that did not share in this newfound success of the league was the Chicago Cardinals – owned by the Bidwill family – who had become overshadowed by the more popular Chicago Bears . The Bidwills hoped to move their franchise, preferably to St. Louis , but could not come to terms with the league, which demanded money before it would approve the move. Needing cash,
16104-419: The addition of new seating on the sidelines and end zones. A total of twenty luxury suites were also constructed above both sides of the stadium. The playing field itself was named in honor of Houston attorney John O'Quinn , a donor to the project, thus modifying its official name to "John O'Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium". Rodney Griffin was the first official groundskeeper of the facility. On August 2, 2002,
16287-493: The athletes: you were magnificent out there, you really were." The team would not see a repeat performance in 1981 , falling to 7–9 and a losing record for the first time since 1964. Prior to the 1980 season, Al Davis attempted unsuccessfully to have improvements made to the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum , specifically the addition of luxury boxes . On March 1, he signed a memorandum of agreement to move
16470-466: The athletic department changing leadership from Dave Maggard to Mack Rhoades, a new feasibility study was conducted instead. This study, conducted by AECOM for four months, was concluded in June 2010 with an announcement by the university to raze Robertson Stadium, and rebuild a new stadium at the location. On February 1, 2012, Athletic Director Mack Rhoades announced that demolition work would begin at
16653-406: The ball for the last play in AFL history. Hadl was named the game's Most Valuable Player . The AFL ceased to exist as an unincorporated organization on February 1, 1970, when the NFL granted 10 new franchises and issued a new constitution. Prior to the start of the 1970 NFL season , the merged league was organized into two conferences of three divisions each. All ten AFL teams made up the bulk of
16836-464: The biggest draft bust in NFL history, as well as poorly conceived trade acquisitions, such as the one to acquire Carson Palmer in 2011. Surveys of players across the league consistently showed that the Raiders had become one of the least desirable teams to play for. In addition, with the Miami Marlins obtaining their own ballpark in 2012, the Raiders became the last team in the NFL to still share
17019-500: The blessings of the NFL for his nascent league, as he did not seek a potentially costly rivalry. Within weeks of the July 1959 announcement of the league's formation, Hunt received commitments from Barron Hilton and Harry Wismer to bring teams to Los Angeles and New York, respectively. His initial efforts for Buffalo, however, were rebuffed, when Hunt's first choice of owner, Pat McGroder , declined to take part; McGroder had hoped that
17202-538: The builder of San Francisco's Candlestick Park, built on a bleak parcel of land he owned; the road leading to the stadium is known as Harney Way. A "name the team" contest was held by the Oakland Tribune , and the winner was announced April 4, 1960, as the Oakland Señors . After a few days of being the butt of local jokes (and accusations that the contest was fixed, as Soda was fairly well known within
17385-433: The champions of the respective leagues. The two leagues would be fully merged by 1970, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle would remain as commissioner of the merged league, which would be named the NFL. Additional expansion teams would eventually be awarded by 1970 or soon thereafter to bring it to a 28-team league. (The additional expansion would not happen until 1976.) The AFL also agreed to pay indemnities of $ 18 million to
17568-621: The championship game. NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle also became chief executive of the AFL from July 26, 1966, through the completion of the merger. During this time the AFL expanded, adding the Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals . After losses by the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders in the first two AFL-NFL World Championship Games to the Green Bay Packers (1966–67), the New York Jets and Chiefs won Super Bowls III and IV (1968–69) respectively, cementing
17751-545: The children's movie Heidi , the ensuing uproar helped disprove the notion that fans still considered the AFL an inferior product. The perception of AFL inferiority forever changed on January 12, 1969, when the AFL Champion New York Jets shocked the heavily favored NFL Champion Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III . The Colts, who entered the contest favored by as many as 18 points, had completed
17934-418: The concerns of both leagues over rapidly increasing player salaries, as well as the practice of player poaching. Hunt and Schramm completed the basic groundwork for a merger of the two leagues by the end of May, and on June 8, 1966, the merger was officially announced. Under the terms of the agreement, the two leagues would hold a common player draft. The agreement also called for a title game to be played between
18117-477: The conclusion of the 2011 season, Hue Jackson was fired and replaced by former Broncos defensive coordinator Dennis Allen , the first defensive-minded Raiders head coach since John Madden. At Davis's death, the once-elite franchise was a mess, with one of the NFL's oldest rosters, almost no salary cap space, and valuable first-round draft picks squandered on bust players, such as Robert Gallery, Darrius Hayward-Bey, and most especially JaMarcus Russell, widely considered
18300-521: The conclusion of the 2012 season. Robertson Stadium hosted its final event, the Cougars' season finale against Tulane , on November 24. The Cougars defeated the Green Wave 40-17 to finish their run at Robertson with a final record of 72-44-1. Official demolition of the stadium began on December 2, 2012, and major demolition began on December 10, 2012. Demolition continued through the end of 2012 when
18483-541: The conclusion of the Houston Cougars' 2012 football season. The replacement venue is TDECU Stadium . Houston Independent School District (HISD) had purchased West End Park from the Houston Buffaloes when they moved into Buffalo Stadium in 1928. The ballpark, which was also used for football and other athletic events, had originally been constructed in 1904, and was in need of replacement. It
18666-533: The contemporary NFL, in particular, his attempt to recreate the vertical game used by Daryle Lamonica and Jim Plunkett. Jamarcus Russell was drafted due to Davis's assumption that he had the proper physical traits needed for this style of play. The signing of Randy Moss in 2005 also proved a costly mistake that consumed large portions of salary cap space. The Raiders' biggest off-season moves were trading quarterback Bruce Gradkowski to Cincinnati and cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha to Philadelphia. With their new coach in place,
18849-483: The earlier All-America Football Conference (AAFC), as Bell had even given his public approval; but he died suddenly in October 1959, and individual NFL owners soon began a campaign to undermine the new league. AFL owners were approached with promises of new NFL franchises or ownership stakes in existing ones. Only the party from Minneapolis-Saint Paul accepted, and with the addition of Ole Haugsrud and Bernie Ridder
19032-436: The end, forcing their opponent into multiple turnovers, they won 32–14 for their first post-merger championship. The following season saw the Raiders finish 11–3, but lose the division title to 12–2 Denver . They settled for a wild card playoff berth, beating the Colts 37–31 in two overtime periods , but then falling to the Broncos 20–17 in the AFC Championship . During a 1978 preseason game, Patriots WR Darryl Stingley
19215-438: The entire home slate of games back to Robertson Stadium on campus for the first time since 1949. In 1996, adjacent Jeppesen Gymnasium , in need of heavy renovations, was demolished to make way for a new scoreboard. The stadium was heavily renovated in 1999 to bring it up to NCAA Division I-A (now Division I FBS) standards for football venues. The playing surface was lowered nine feet and the running track eliminated to facilitate
19398-430: The eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots , in a controversial game that became known as the " Tuck Rule Game ". The game was played in a heavy snowstorm, and late in the fourth quarter an apparent fumble by Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was recovered by Raiders linebacker Greg Biekert . The recovery would have led to a Raiders victory; however, the play was reviewed and determined to be an incomplete pass (it
19581-487: The first Hispanic head coach in NFL history. Flores led the Raiders to another 9–7 season, but not the playoffs. The following off-season, the popular gun-slinging quarterback Ken Stabler was traded to the Houston Oilers , a move which was unpopular and criticized at the time. In the fifth week of the 1980 season , starting quarterback Dan Pastorini broke his leg and was replaced by former number-one draft pick Jim Plunkett . Plunkett led Oakland to an 11–5 record and
19764-530: The first case was declared a mistrial , in May 1982 a second jury found in favor of Davis and the Los Angeles Coliseum, clearing the way for the move. With the ruling, the Raiders finally relocated to Los Angeles for the 1982 season to play their home games at the Los Angeles Coliseum. On June 23, 1995, Davis signed a letter of intent to move the Raiders back to Oakland. The move was approved by
19947-501: The first years of the AFL saw uneven competition and low attendance, the league was buttressed by a generous television contract with the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), followed by a contract with the competing National Broadcasting Company (NBC) for games starting with the 1965 season, that broadcast the more offense-oriented football league nationwide. Continuing to attract top talent from colleges and
20130-477: The fledgling league badly needed credibility. Rounding out this mix of potential talent were the true "free agents", the walk-ons and the "wanna-be's", who tried out in droves for the chance to play professional American football. After the AFL–NFL merger agreement in 1966, and after the AFL's Jets defeated an extremely strong Baltimore Colts team, a popular misconception fostered by the NFL and spread by media reports
20313-571: The four were forced to relocate within 20 years. Like the WHA, The American Basketball Association (1967–76) also managed to have only four of its teams merged into the National Basketball Association, and the rest of the league was forced to fold. Both the WHA and ABA lost several teams to financial insolvency over the course of their existences. The Continental League , a proposed third league for Major League Baseball that
20496-702: The franchise, a meeting of local civic leaders and businessmen was called, chaired by former United States Senator William Fife Knowland , editor of the Oakland Tribune ; Edgar Kaiser of Kaiser Steel; developer Robert T. Nahas; and Oakland City Councilman Robert Osborne. Also attending the meeting were Oakland Mayor Clifford E. Rishell; City Councilmen Frank J. Youell, Felix Chialvo, Glenn E. Hoover, Fred Maggiora, John C. Houlihan, Dan Marovich, and Howard E. Rilea; Alameda County Board of Supervisors President Kent D. Pursel; and County Supervisors Emanuel P. Razeto, Leland W. Sweeney, and Francis Dunn. The gathering found
20679-438: The hiring of 31-year-old USC offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin , the youngest coach in franchise history and the youngest coach in the NFL. In the 2007 NFL Draft, the Raiders selected LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell with the #1 overall pick. Kiffin coached the Raiders to a 4–12 record in the 2007 season . After a 1–3 start to 2008 and months of speculation and rumors, Al Davis fired Kiffin on September 30, 2008. Tom Cable
20862-485: The initial AFL drafts, they inherited Minnesota's selections. A special allocation draft was held in January 1960, to allow the Raiders to stock their team, as some of the other AFL teams had already signed some of Minneapolis' original draft choices. In November 1959, Minneapolis-Saint Paul owner Max Winter announced his intent to leave the AFL to accept a franchise offer from the NFL. In 1961, his team began play in
21045-433: The innovations introduced by the AFL immediately and a few others in the years following the merger. One was including the names on player jerseys. The older league also adopted the practice of using the stadium scoreboard clocks to keep track of the official game time, instead of just having a stopwatch used by the referee. The AFL played a 14-game schedule for its entire existence, starting in 1960. The NFL, which had played
21228-417: The innovative AFL. While it has been alleged this snub was on orders from the NFL, it is more likely the arrangement was mutual due to the equally bitter rivalry between CBS and NBC. After the merger agreement was announced, CBS agreed to report AFL scores. The AFL took advantage of the burgeoning popularity of football by locating teams in major cities that lacked NFL franchises. Hunt's vision not only brought
21411-504: The last AFL player active in professional football, retiring after the 1986 season, when he played for the San Diego Chargers . The American Football League stands as the only professional traditional outdoor football league to successfully compete against the NFL. When the two leagues merged in 1970, all ten AFL franchises and their statistics became part of the new NFL. Every other professional league that had competed against
21594-537: The last championship game to be played between the two leagues. The Vikings, favored by 12½ points, were held to just 67 rushing yards. The last game in AFL history was the AFL All-Star Game , held in Houston's Astrodome on January 17, 1970. The Western All-Stars, led by Chargers quarterback John Hadl , defeated the Eastern All-Stars, 26–3. Buffalo rookie running back O. J. Simpson carried
21777-413: The last remaining structures were taken down and all major demolition/cleanup activities were completed by the end of January 2013. Groundbreaking ceremonies for the new stadium took place in early February, 2013. Prior to its demolition, Robertson Stadium had hosted many football games. The 1960 AFL Championship game and 1962 AFL Championship game were played at Robertson Stadium by the Oilers against
21960-427: The league has always had good personnel, but the blocks were subtler and better conceived in this game." The AFL added its tenth and final team on May 24, 1967, when it awarded the league's second expansion franchise to an ownership group from Cincinnati , Ohio , headed by NFL legend Paul Brown . Although Brown had intended to join the NFL, he agreed to join the AFL when he learned that his team would be included in
22143-479: The league merged itself out of existence. The AFL's free agents came from several sources. Some were players who could not find success playing in the NFL, while another source was the then newly-formed Canadian Football League . In the late 1950s, many players released by the NFL, or un-drafted and unsigned out of college by the NFL, went North to try their luck with the CFL (which formed in 1958), and later returned to
22326-465: The league – the Boston Patriots , Buffalo Bills , Dallas Texans , Denver Broncos , Houston Oilers , Los Angeles Chargers , New York Titans , and Oakland Raiders . Raiders' co-owner Wayne Valley dubbed the AFL ownership " The Foolish Club ", a term Lamar Hunt subsequently used on team photographs he sent as Christmas gifts. The Oilers became the first-ever league champions by defeating
22509-645: The league's claim to being an equal to the NFL. In 1970, the AFL was absorbed into the NFL. The ten AFL franchises joined three existing NFL teams- the Baltimore Colts , the Cleveland Browns , and the Pittsburgh Steelers -to form the merged league's American Football Conference . During the 1950s, the National Football League had grown to rival Major League Baseball as one of the most popular professional sports leagues in
22692-509: The league's reputation among the major media. As fierce competition made player salaries skyrocket in both leagues, especially after a series of "raids", the leagues agreed to a merger in 1966 . Among the conditions were a common draft and a championship game played between the two league champions first played in early 1967, which would eventually become known as the Super Bowl . The AFL and NFL operated as separate leagues until 1970, with separate regular season and playoff schedules except for
22875-550: The league, Hilton Hotels forced Barron Hilton to relinquish his stake in the Chargers as a condition of maintaining his leadership role with the hotel chain. The same month Davis was named commissioner, several NFL owners, headed by Dallas Cowboys general manager Tex Schramm, secretly approached Lamar Hunt and other AFL owners and started negotiations with the AFL to merge. A series of secret meetings commenced in Dallas to discuss
23058-404: The longest touchdown Super Bowl pass play for the next 16 years; and 2) Rod Martin 's three interceptions of Eagles' quarterback Ron Jaworski still stands today as a Super Bowl record. Reflecting on the last ten years during the post-game awards ceremony, Al Davis stated "...this was our finest hour, this was the finest hour in the history of the Oakland Raiders. To Tom Flores, the coaches, and
23241-528: The merger. The return of football to Kansas City was the first time that city had seen professional football since the NFL's Kansas City Blues of the 1920s; the arrival of the Chiefs, and the contemporary arrival of the St. Louis Football Cardinals , brought professional football back to Missouri for the first time since the temporary St. Louis Gunners of 1934. St. Louis would later regain an NFL franchise in 1995 with
23424-523: The more established NFL throughout its existence. It was more successful than earlier rivals to the NFL with the same name, the 1926 , 1936 and 1940 leagues, and the later All-America Football Conference (which existed between 1944 and 1950 but only played between 1946 and 1949). This fourth version of the AFL was the most successful, created by a number of owners who had been refused NFL expansion franchises or had minor shares of NFL franchises. The AFL's original lineup consisted of an Eastern division of
23607-470: The new American Football Conference . To avoid having an inequitable number of teams in each conference, the leagues voted to move three NFL teams to the AFC. Motivated by the prospect of an intrastate rivalry with the Bengals as well as by personal animosity toward Paul Brown , Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell quickly offered to include his team in the AFC. He helped persuade the Pittsburgh Steelers (
23790-429: The new owners changed the team's name to the New York Jets . The Raiders and Titans both finished last in their divisions in the 1962 season. The Texans and Oilers, winners of their divisions, faced each other for the 1962 AFL Championship on December 23. The Texans dethroned the two-time champion Oilers, 20–17, in a double- overtime contest that was, at the time, professional football's longest-ever game. In 1963,
23973-456: The offer. On his return flight to Dallas, Hunt conceived the idea of an entirely new league and decided to contact the others who had shown interest in purchasing the Cardinals. In addition to Adams, Howsam, and Winter, Hunt reached out to Bill Boyer , Winter's business partner, to gauge their interest in starting a new league. Hunt's first meeting with Adams was held in March 1959. Hunt, who felt
24156-400: The phrase "World Champions"), Gillman approached NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle and proposed a final championship game between the two teams. Rozelle declined the offer; however, the game would be instituted three seasons later. A series of events throughout the next few years demonstrated the AFL's ability to achieve a greater level of equality with the NFL. On January 29, 1964, the AFL signed
24339-423: The previous home season between Kezar and Candlestick, the Raiders moved exclusively to Candlestick Park in 1961, where total attendance for the season was about 50,000, and finished 2–12. Valley threatened to move the Raiders out of the area unless a stadium was built in Oakland, but in 1962 the Raiders moved into 18,000-seat Frank Youell Field (later expanded to 22,000 seats), their first home in Oakland. It
24522-555: The rechristened Oakland Raiders officially joined the AFL on January 30, 1960. The AFL's first major success came when the Houston Oilers signed Billy Cannon , the All-American and 1959 Heisman Trophy winner from LSU . Cannon signed a $ 100,000 contract to play for the Oilers, despite having already signed a $ 50,000 contract with the NFL's Los Angeles Rams . The Oilers filed suit and claimed that Rams general manager Pete Rozelle had unduly manipulated Cannon. The court upheld
24705-660: The relocation of the LA Rams to the city. The Rams moved back in 2016. In the case of the Dallas Cowboys, the NFL had long sought to return to the Dallas area after the Dallas Texans folded in 1952, but was originally met with strong opposition by Washington Redskins owner George Preston Marshall , who had enjoyed a monopoly as the only NFL team to represent the American South. Marshall later changed his position after future-Cowboys owner Clint Murchison bought
24888-528: The rights to Washington's fight song " Hail to the Redskins " and threatened to prevent Marshall from playing it at games. By then, the NFL wanted to quickly award the new Dallas franchise to Murchison so the team could immediately begin play and compete with the AFL's Texans. As a result, the Cowboys played its inaugural season in 1960 without the benefit of the NFL draft . The Texans eventually ceded Dallas to
25071-551: The school district renamed the stadium "Jeppesen Stadium" for school board member Holger Jeppesen, who had vigorously lobbied for its construction. In 1960, the Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the American Football League , and arranged to lease the stadium from HISD as their home stadium. The team was owned by Bud Adams , a wealthy Houston oilman who upgraded Jeppesen Stadium for professional football use. Part of Adams' upgrades were expanding
25254-424: The season ended for remarking "I finally began to feel that we weren't losers." Davis then promoted offensive coordinator Hue Jackson to the head coaching position in his first public appearance since November 2009. The physically frail, but still sharp Davis explained his decision to fire Cable by saying "If .500 isn't losing, then I don't know what losing is." Some critics also argued that the Raiders failed to win
25437-426: The season progressed. A three-game losing streak in December badly harmed their playoff chances, but up to Week 17, they remained in contention to clinch the division. However, the Raiders lost a must-win game at home to San Diego and so for the ninth year in a row failed to make the playoffs or produce a winning record. Despite rumors of selling the team, Al Davis's family indicated that they would retain ownership. At
25620-483: The season was somewhat ameliorated by the fact that four of the Raiders' five wins were against opponents with above-.500 records. At the end of their 2009 campaign, the Raiders became the first team in NFL history to lose at least 11 games in seven straight seasons. In 2010, the Raiders had a better draft than those of the previous years and also cut the underachieving Jamarcus Russell in May after he showed up to minicamp overweight. Replacing him as starting quarterback
25803-543: The second most trips to the Super Bowl (tied with the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos , trailing only the New England Patriots ), and have won six Super Bowl championships, tied with the Patriots for the most in NFL history. Perhaps the greatest social legacy of the AFL was the domino effect of its policy of being more liberal than the entrenched NFL in offering opportunity for black players . While
25986-608: The stadium include The Eagles with Jimmy Buffett as warm up in 1977, Pink Floyd during their In The Flesh Tour , and Alice Cooper in 1980. Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) operates the METRORail Purple Line Robertson Stadium/UH/TSU station , which served Robertson Stadium and now serves TDECU Stadium. [REDACTED] Media related to Robertson Stadium at Wikimedia Commons †= Team's stadium under construction or refurbishment at time 1 = A team used
26169-461: The stadium was bought for US$ 6.8 million by the University of Houston. In 1980, it was renamed "Robertson Stadium" in his honor. Beginning with the 1994 season, the Houston Cougars football team began splitting their home schedule with the Astrodome and Robertson Stadium. The University of Houston ended its lease agreement to hold home football games at the Astrodome before the 1998 season, moving
26352-430: The stadium when their permanent stadium was unable to be used as a result of damage. American Football League The American Football League ( AFL ) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference . The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with
26535-684: The states to play in the AFL. In the league's first years, players such as Oilers' George Blanda , Chargers/Bills' Jack Kemp , Texans' Len Dawson , the NY Titans' Don Maynard , Raiders/Patriots/Jets' Babe Parilli , Pats' Bob Dee proved to be AFL standouts. Other players such as the Broncos' Frank Tripucka , the Pats' Gino Cappelletti , the Bills' Cookie Gilchrist and the Chargers' Tobin Rote , Sam DeLuca and Dave Kocourek also made their mark to give
26718-738: The station later became KNBR ), with Bud (Wilson Keene) Foster handling play-by-play and Mel Venter providing color analysis. Foster, the "Voice of the California Golden Bears", had a long career in radio, 1945–1955 as the "Voice of the Oakland Oaks" of the defunct Pacific Coast League; Foster was the first 1946–1949, 1951–1953, "Voice of the San Francisco 49ers". After the 1962 season, Foster would only call CAL (University of California at Berkeley) football until his retirement. Raider games, 1963–1965 were heard on KDIA 1410 AM, with Bob Blum and Dan Galvin. In 1966. KGO Radio 810 signed
26901-432: The team announced the return of Art Shell as head coach. In announcing the move, Al Davis said that firing Shell in 1995 had been a mistake. Under Shell, the Raiders lost their first five games in 2006 en route to a 2–14 finish, the team's worst record since 1962. Oakland's offense struggled greatly, scoring just 168 points (fewest in franchise history) and allowing a league-high 72 sacks . Wide receiver Jerry Porter
27084-543: The team opened 2011 in Denver for their first prime-time appearance in three years. On a rain-slicked Monday night, Oakland won an extremely sloppy game 23–20 after repeated penalties and Broncos mistakes. Kicker Sebastian Janikowski also booted a 63-yard field goal for only the third time in NFL history. In Week 2, the Raiders lost a wild shootout match in Buffalo 38–35, beat the Jets 34–24, and then lost to New England 31–19 for
27267-605: The team playing in the San Francisco Bay Area —which already had an established NFL team (the San Francisco 49ers )—but the product on the field was also to blame. After winning six games in their debut season, the Raiders won a total of three times in the 1961 and 1962 seasons. Oakland took part in a 1961 supplemental draft meant to boost the weaker teams in the league, but it did little good. They participated in another such draft in 1962. The Titans fared
27450-753: The team's exclusive lease, and additionally, signed an extension to keep some home games in Milwaukee until 1976. In June 1965, the AFL awarded its first expansion team to Cox Broadcasting of Atlanta . The NFL quickly counteroffered insurance executive Rankin Smith a franchise, which he accepted; the Atlanta Falcons began play as an NFL franchise for the 1966 season. In March 1965, Joe Robbie had met with Commissioner Foss to inquire about an expansion franchise for Miami . On May 6, Robbie secured an agreement with Miami mayor Robert King High to bring
27633-451: The team's third general partner—the partner in charge of football operations. On the field, the team Davis had assembled and coached steadily improved. With John Rauch (Davis's hand-picked successor) as head coach, the Raiders won the 1967 AFL Championship , defeating the Houston Oilers 40–7. The win earned the team a trip to Super Bowl II , where they were beaten 33–14 by Vince Lombardi 's Green Bay Packers . The following two years,
27816-427: The team, Valley received a $ 400,000 loan from Buffalo Bills founder Ralph Wilson , equivalent to $ 4.12 million in 2023. After the conclusion of the first season Soda dropped out of the partnership, and on January 17, 1961, Valley, McGah and Osborne bought out the remaining four general partners. Soon after, Valley and McGah purchased Osborne's interest, with Valley named as the managing general partner. After splitting
27999-467: The team, and Davis—who now owned only 25 percent of the Raiders—was firmly in charge. The Raiders beat Pittsburgh in a revenge match on the season opener and continued to cement their reputation for hard, dirty play by knocking WR Lynn Swann out for two weeks in a helmet-to-helmet collision. Al Davis later tried to sue Steelers coach Chuck Noll for libel after the latter called safety George Atkinson
28182-488: The threat of the AFL would be enough to prompt the NFL to expand to Buffalo. On August 14, 1959, the first league meeting was held in Chicago, and charter memberships were given to Dallas, New York, Houston, Denver, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis-Saint Paul. On August 22, the league officially was named the American Football League at a meeting in Dallas. The NFL's initial reaction was not as openly hostile as it had been with
28365-772: The top 40 metropolitan areas, a fact that has precluded any other competing league from gaining traction since the merger; failed attempts to mimic the AFL's success included the World Football League (1974–75), United States Football League (1983–85), the United Football League (2009–2012) and the AAF (2019), and two iterations of the XFL ( 2001 and 2020 ), in addition to the NFL-backed and created World League of American Football (1991–92). The AFL
28548-413: The trade for Palmer complete, Kyle Boller was still needed to start their Week 7 matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs. During the contest, Boller threw three interceptions to open the game while Palmer replaced him early in the second half. However, he also threw three interceptions, and the Raiders lost to the Chiefs 28–0. With the AFC West extremely weak, the Raiders vacillated between 3rd and 1st place as
28731-558: The yet-unnamed Minneapolis franchise accepted an offer to join the established National Football League as an expansion team (now called the Minnesota Vikings ) in 1961, sending the AFL scrambling for a replacement. At the time, Oakland seemed an unlikely venue for a professional football team. The city had not asked for a team, there was no ownership group and there was no stadium in Oakland suitable for pro football (the closest stadiums were in Berkeley and San Francisco ) and there
28914-623: Was Jason Campbell , traded from Washington. The outlook for the team improved, but it was not apparent after they opened by suffering a 38–13 rout in Tennessee. Returning to Oakland, the Raiders defeated St. Louis and then lost a 21–20 game in Arizona. After a home loss to Houston, they beat their division rival Chargers 35–27 for the first time in seven years, and then lost the "Battle of the Bay" to San Francisco. The Week 7 game in Denver set records as
29097-435: Was 32,207 when Houston defeated SMU on November 19, 2011. It was also the first time ESPN came to Houston to host College GameDay . The university hired the architecture firm of Leo A. Daly to assess the stadium and develop a plan for the long-term improvement of the facility. Plans were proposed to replace the end zone sections with an integrated bowl and add an upper deck that would increase capacity to 50,000, but with
29280-490: Was Oakland Raiders head coach and general manager Al Davis , who had been instrumental in turning around the fortunes of that franchise. That following May, Wellington Mara , owner of the NFL's New York Giants , broke a "gentleman's agreement" against signing another league's players and lured kicker Pete Gogolak away from the AFL's Buffalo Bills. In response to the Gogolak signing and no longer content with trying to outbid
29463-465: Was a temporary home for the team while the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum was under construction. Under Marty Feldman and Red Conkright —the team's second and third head coaches since entering the AFL—the Raiders finished 1–13 in 1962, losing their first 13 games (and making for a 19–game losing streak from 1961 and 1962) before winning the season finale, and attendance remained low. After
29646-574: Was acquired soon thereafter to bring the original site total to 59.7939 acres (241,977 m). The area of land is now bound by Holman Street, Wheeler Street, Scott Street, and Cullen Boulevard . The stadium was then constructed as a joint project between HISD and the Works Progress Administration by the Fretz Construction Company. Named the "Public School Stadium", it was completed in 1942, and had
29829-493: Was added. This was completed in August 2006. The Dynamo used the stadium for its first six seasons, leaving after 2011 for a new soccer-specific stadium in downtown Houston, BBVA Compass Stadium . With its final seating, the largest attendance for a single game at Robertson Stadium was set at 32,413, when Houston was defeated by Southern Miss on December 3, 2011 in the 2011 C-USA Championship Game in Houston. Prior to this, it
30012-607: Was already a successful NFL franchise in the Bay Area in the San Francisco 49ers . However, the AFL owners selected Oakland after Los Angeles Chargers owner Barron Hilton threatened to forfeit his franchise unless a second team was placed on the West Coast. Accordingly, the city of Oakland was awarded the eighth AFL franchise on January 30, 1960, and the team inherited the Minneapolis club's draft picks. Upon receiving
30195-413: Was also the most successful of numerous upstart leagues of the 1960s and 1970s that attempted to challenge a major professional league's dominance. All nine teams that were in the AFL at the time the merger was agreed upon were accepted into the league intact (as was the tenth team added between the time of the merger's agreement and finalization), and none of the AFL's teams have ever folded. For comparison,
30378-521: Was because of this that a larger, modern venue began being planned by school board officials. Prior to the construction of Robertson Stadium, the University of Houston campus had been built nearby in 1939. In March 1940 the HISD, who were in control of the university at the time, purchased the undeveloped site for a stadium from the Settegast Estate for $ 75,550.16. Another 7 acres (28,000 m)
30561-401: Was benched by Shell for most of the season in what many viewed as a personal, rather than football-related, decision. The Raiders also earned the right to the first overall pick in the 2007 NFL draft for the first time since 1962, by virtue of having the league's worst record. One season into his second run as head coach, Shell was fired on January 4, 2007. On January 22, the team announced
30744-643: Was considerably less successful. Oakland finished 4–12, their worst showing since 1997 . After a late-season loss to the Denver Broncos , a visibly frustrated Callahan exclaimed, "We've got to be the dumbest team in America in terms of playing the game." At the end of the 2003 regular season, Callahan was fired and replaced by former Washington Redskins head coach Norv Turner . The team's fortunes did not improve in Turner's first year. Oakland finished
30927-412: Was furious when he discovered this, and immediately filed suit to have the new agreement overturned, but the court sided with Davis and McGah. That year would see the team achieve a 10–3–1 record and another division title. In the divisional round of the playoffs , they were beaten by the Steelers 13–7 on a play that would later be known as the Immaculate Reception . With a record of 9–4–1 in 1973 ,
31110-429: Was instrumental in his city's success in attracting the team. Partly to honor Bartle, the franchise officially became the Kansas City Chiefs on May 26. The San Diego Chargers, under head coach Sid Gillman , won a decisive 51–10 victory over the Boston Patriots for the 1963 AFL Championship. Confident that his team was capable of beating that season's NFL champion Chicago Bears (he had the Chargers' rings inscribed with
31293-429: Was knocked out of the game. The loss of Heyward-Bey inspired the rest of the team, which rallied to tie the game 31–31, and with 4 seconds left, Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 43-yard field goal to win the game 34–31. In the end though, the Raiders finished the 2012 season 4–12. During 2013, there was little apparent sign of improvement as the Raiders once again finished 4–12, including a particularly embarrassing loss to
31476-424: Was named as his interim replacement, and officially signed as the 17th head coach of the Oakland Raiders on February 3, 2009. Their finish to the 2008 season would turn out to match their best since they lost the Super Bowl in the 2002 season. However, they still finished 5–11 and ended up third in the AFC West , the first time they did not finish last since 2002. They produced an identical record in 2009; however,
31659-411: Was named the AFL's first commissioner. Foss commissioned a friend of Harry Wismer's to develop the AFL's eagle-on-football logo. Hunt was elected President of the AFL on January 26, 1960. The AFL's first draft took place the same day Boston was awarded its franchise, and lasted 33 rounds. The league held a second draft on December 2, which lasted for 20 rounds. Because the Oakland Raiders joined after
31842-413: Was plagued by fumbles and dropped passes, and did not score a touchdown until near the end. On the bright side, defensive performance was decent and helped contain the Chargers' passing game. After another miserable loss in Miami, the Raiders returned home to take on Pittsburgh in Week 3. In the 4th quarter, trailing by 10, wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey collided with Pittsburgh safety Ryan Mundy and
32025-426: Was played in Los Angeles. After a close first half, the NFL champion Green Bay Packers overwhelmed the AFL champion Kansas City Chiefs, 35–10. The loss reinforced for many the notion that the AFL was an inferior league. Packers head coach Vince Lombardi stated after the game, "I do not think they are as good as the top teams in the National Football League." The second AFL-NFL Championship ( Super Bowl II ) yielded
32208-487: Was ruled that Brady had pump faked and then "tucked" the ball into his body, which, by rule, cannot result in a fumble – though this explanation was not given on the field, but after the NFL season had ended). The Patriots retained possession of the ball, and drove for a game-tying field goal. The game went into overtime and the Patriots won, 16–13. Shortly after the 2001 season, the Raiders made an unusual move that involved releasing Gruden from his contract and allowing
32391-413: Was still primarily a gate-driven business in 1960, so low attendance meant financial losses. The Raiders, with a league-worst average attendance of just 9,612, lost $ 500,000 in their first year and only survived after receiving a $ 400,000 loan from Bills owner Ralph Wilson. In an early sign of stability, however, the AFL did not lose any teams after its first year of operation. In fact, the only major change
32574-455: Was that the AFL defeated the NFL because of the Common Draft instituted in 1967. This apparently was meant to assert that the AFL could not achieve parity as long as it had to compete with the NFL in the draft. But the 1968 Jets had less than a handful of "common draftees". Their stars were honed in the AFL, many of them since the Titans days. Oakland Raiders National Football League ( 1970 – 2019 ) The Oakland Raiders were
32757-409: Was the Chargers' move from Los Angeles to nearby San Diego (they would return to Los Angeles in 2017). On August 8, 1961, the AFL challenged the Canadian Football League to an exhibition game that would feature the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Buffalo Bills , which was attended by 24,376 spectators. Playing at Civic Stadium in Hamilton, Ontario , the Tiger-Cats defeated the Bills 38–21 playing
32940-400: Was the venue for several concerts. In 1972, ZZ Top , The Doobie Brothers , Wishbone Ash , & Willie Nelson performed at Robertson Stadium. In June 1974 Jesse Colin Young and The Beach Boys opened for Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young and in July of the same year, Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen and The Eagles opened for The Allman Brothers . Other concerts held at
33123-432: Was to begin play in 1961, never played a single game, largely because MLB responded to the proposal by expanding to four of that league's proposed cities. Historically, the only other professional sports league in the United States to exhibit a comparable level of franchise stability from its inception was the American League of Major League Baseball , which made its debut in the early 20th century. The NFL adopted some of
33306-434: Was tragically injured by a hit from Raiders FS Jack Tatum and was left paralyzed for life. Although the Raiders achieved a winning record at 9–7, they failed to qualify for the playoffs. After ten consecutive winning seasons and one Super Bowl championship, John Madden left the Raiders (and coaching) in 1979 to pursue a career as a television football commentator. His replacement was former Raiders quarterback Tom Flores ,
33489-429: Was viewed as a key victory for the AFL, Namath signed a $ 427,000 contract with the Jets on January 2, 1965 (the deal included a new car). It was the highest amount of money ever paid to a collegiate football player, and is cited as the strongest contributing factor to the eventual merger between the two leagues. After the 1963 season, the Newark Bears of the Atlantic Coast Football League expressed interest in joining
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