It was no secret that Al Davis was a man who valued speed. “Everything else could be taught,” he’d often say. Because of that mentality, the Raiders quickly became a team built on speed—home to three of the fifteen Olympic gold medalists who went on to play in the NFL.
In 1962, the Raiders were 1-13. The following year, Al Davis was hired. His mindset was clear: “We weren't looking for first downs. We didn't want to move the chains. We wanted touchdowns. We wanted the big play, the quick strike." That philosophy quickly proved effective, turning the team’s record to 10-4 that very year.
In Davis’s early years with the Raiders, he played a role in recruiting Bo Robertson from the Chargers, where Davis had previously served as an assistant coach.
Robertson was the first Olympian to be drafted by the Raiders, after winning silver in the long jump—just a centimeter short of gold. His jump into the NFL was a natural progression, having been a three-sport athlete at Cornell.
The trade of a first-round draft pick for Robertson helped shape the Raiders into what they would become in the years that followed. And it was, in large part, thanks to players like Bo Robertson—players Davis prioritized for their ability to make big plays.
“Bo was the Raiders’ first world-class athlete. He helped create the feeling that we were on our way to greatness. He pioneered the Raider tradition of great speed,” Jim Otto once said.
Until the record was broken in 2007 by Chris Carr, Robertson held the Raiders’ record for career kickoff return yards and twice was among the League’s top ten receivers. He is the only person to ever have an Ivy League degree, a Ph.D., an Olympic medal, and an NFL career.
Two decades and two Super Bowl wins later, Al Davis still had his eye on some of the fastest men in the world.
Willie Gault qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team while at Tennessee, where he broke many records on both the field and the track. "Ladies and gentlemen, Willie Gault has run all the way to the State Capitol!” Vols broadcaster John Ward shouted as Gault ran back a 98-yarder against Vanderbilt, just a week after returning a 92-yarder in Kentucky.
However, the United States boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Instead of competing, Gault was one of 461 athletes to receive a Congressional Gold Medal.
After competing in the World Championships alongside Emmit King, Calvin Smith, and Carl Lewis as part of a world-record-setting 4×100-meter relay team, Gault was drafted in the first round by the Chicago Bears. Al Davis later traded for him in 1988, and Gault played five years with the Raiders.
Ron Brown, born in Los Angeles, received a call from Davis telling him the Raiders would draft him with their 54th pick in the 1983 NFL Draft—if he wasn’t selected before then. Brown was taken 13 picks earlier by the Cleveland Browns, a team he never played a down for because he was training for the 1984 Olympic Games.
Brown ran a 10.23 at the Olympic Trials, placing third behind Carl Lewis and Sam Graddy. That qualified him for the legendary 4x100-meter relay team, alongside Lewis, Graddy, and Calvin Smith. They went on to win gold at the 1984 Games in Brown’s hometown of Los Angeles, setting a new world record of 37.83 seconds.
“Sam Graddy brought it to me, I’d give it to Calvin—who at one time was a world record holder. He was the first one to go under ten flat. Then, he brought it to Carl Lewis, who at that time was the fastest man in the world,” said Ron Brown.
The Los Angeles Rams acquired the rights to Brown’s contract after it fell through with the Browns. While with the Rams, he became an All-Pro kick return specialist in 1985 before joining the Raiders in 1990.
Olympic medals didn’t automatically make you the fastest man in the NFL, though. That title was determined by the league’s own annual competition. Brown proved his speed, taking home the honors in both 1987 and 1990—beating Willie Gault in the final.
Once Brown finally suited up for the Raiders, he reverted to playing defensive back, his position at Arizona State. He was also reunited with his good friend and Olympic teammate, Sam Graddy, who was the Raiders’ starting receiver until 1992.
As Graddy’s time with the Raiders was winding down, James Jett was making his jump from being an All-American track and field sprinter at West Virginia University to finishing fifth—and beating Carl Lewis—in the 100 meters at the 1992 U.S. Olympic Trials in New Orleans, earning a spot on the 4x100-meter relay team.
Jett ran the first two rounds of the relay in Barcelona, but his spot was given to Lewis for the final, despite Jett initially qualifying ahead of him. Though he didn’t run in the final race, he and his teammates still took home the gold.
Al Davis wasted no time signing Jett as a free agent in 1993, right after his Olympic run. And Jett wasted no time making his mark as a Raider. The wide receiver racked up 771 yards and three touchdowns in his rookie season, earning a spot on the Pro Football Writers of America All-Rookie Team.
“I was on the field in one of those early games... I stood there and saw the big emblem on the side of one of my teammate’s helmets, and I got chills. It hit me—I was playing for the Raiders. First I’m in the Olympics. Now I’m playing for the Raiders,” said James Jett.
Over the next few seasons, Jett continued to improve. In 1996, he recorded 43 receptions for 601 yards and four touchdowns, and also won the title of the NFL’s Fastest Man.
The following season, he ranked second among NFL receivers with a personal-best 12 touchdowns in 1997, finishing with a career-high 46 receptions for 804 yards.
Some of the fastest men in the world were brought to the Raiders because of Al Davis’s obsession with speed—and going from a 1-13 record to 10-4, followed by 28 winning seasons and three Super Bowl victories, proved that the Raiders certainly had a “need for speed”.
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