Sports Then and Now

Oakland Raiders managing partner Al Davis has passed away at the age of 82.

For all the jokes that have been made about the Oakland Raiders in recent years, there has always been a special aura around the “silver and black”. The reason for that was the man who built the Raiders practically from scratch, Al Davis. His death at the age of 82 is a huge loss not just for the Raiders, but for all of professional football.

Few could have predicted when the 33-year-old Davis became the youngest person in the history of professional football to hold the position of head coach and general manager at the same time that Davis would turn the Raiders into one of the iconic sports franchises in America.

Though he showed glimpses of brilliance immediately as the Raiders went 10-4 and Davis was named AFL Coach of the Year during his first season as head coach. He spent two more seasons as head coach and compiled an overall record of 23-16-3.

In April of 1966 Davis was named commissioner of the AFL, but his tenure would prove to be very short. While Davis was working to make the AFL stronger and more formidable in their competition with the NFL, other owners (without his knowledge) were working on an agreement to merge with the NFL. Davis ultimately opposed the merger because he felt the NFL was receiving excessive compensation from the AFL teams, but the merger still went through.

He ultimately resigned as commissioner and returned to the Raiders where he bought a 10 percent share of the team and became one of three general partners.  He also served as head of football operations as the Raiders played in Super Bowl II and continued to build a squad that would be among the best in football during the 1970s.

In 1972 he took control of the Raiders as managing general partner and served in that role until his death. Read the rest of this entry →

Jonathan Davies scores for Wales during the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals.

Wales coach Warren Gatland believes he is able to field a more rounded side than he has ever been able to put out before.

With all his star players returning from injury, the New Zealander has a full squad to choose from, and that was evident during their 22-10 victory over Ireland on Saturday to advance to the semifinals of the Rugby World Cup for the first time in 24 years.

He also believes that the blend of youth and experience in his side can only have a positive effect on results.

Gatland said: “The nice thing is I feel we have a balance we haven’t had before.

“We’ve got players who can get us across the gain line, we’ve got pace out wide, we’ve got a pretty special youngster (in wing George North), we’ve got loose forwards that can carry, loose forwards that can compete on the ball, a couple of big second rows and a more experienced front row, as well.” Read the rest of this entry →

Lionel Taylor

It was 50 years ago that the October Sports Then and Now Vintage Athlete of the Month became the first player in professional football history to catch 100 passes in a single season.

Reaching the century mark for receptions in a season has been accomplished by at least one NFL player in every season except one since 1990, but when Lionel Taylor caught 100 passes in just 14 games for the Denver Broncos it was an accomplishment that had never previously been approached.
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