On Jan. 15, 1963, the American Football League Raiders made a 33-year-old Davis the youngest general manager and head coach in pro history. Davis earned Coach of the Year honors after leading the Raiders, 1-13 the season before, to the most significant year-to-year improvement in pro football history, a 10-4 mark. Although he sacrificed his coaching career to become AFL Commissioner following the 1965 season, the profession always remained important to him, partly because it served as the foundation for his contributions to football.
Persuaded by American Football League owners who viewed him as the perfect person to lead their battle against the established NFL, Davis reluctantly became league commissioner on April 8, 1966. Remarkably, Davis would spend less than 16 weeks in that role, but the shots his administration fired during that short period still reverberate today.
Within months, the two leagues had agreed to a merger that formed the league familiar to today’s fans, including as part of the agreement a world championship game now known as the Super Bowl. Having served as the driving force behind that merger, Davis resigned on July 25, 1966, returned to Oakland as head of football operations and purchased an interest in the franchise. Davis, who became managing general partner in 1972, teamed with head-coach successors John Rauch, John Madden and Tom Flores in building a stalwart that would become the league’s most successful franchise.
In 1992, Davis earned his own enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and for the first time stood at the familiar podium after someone else – his most successful Raiders coach, Madden – had introduced him. Davis took the opportunity to look back on the team that mirrored his life.
“Enshrinement is a reflection of a life’s work, a reflection of a love affair with the greatest game the world has ever known. This honor is a testament to a great organization, and to all the capable people that have poured their talent and enthusiasm and loyalty into the greatness of the Raiders, and the Raiders legend and mystique.”