The Oakland Raiders were probably the worst team in professional football before Al Davis took over as Coach and General Manager in 1963, and four seasons later, as Managing General Partner, he helped the Silver and Black reach Super Bowl II against the Green Bay Packers.
Davis traded with the Buffalo Bills for quarterback Daryle Lamonica before the 1967 season. All he did was lead them to a 13-1 record during the regular season, plus a 40-7 victory over the Houston Oilers in the American Football League Championship Game before 53,330 fans at the Oakland Coliseum, as Lamonica passed for two touchdowns and ran for another.
That gave the Raiders their only championship in the 10-year history of the AFL.
“I wanted to build the Raiders into the greatest franchise in professional sports, and I believe I did,” Davis said years later, although it didn’t happen that season. “I think that 1967 team got us started in that direction.
“We were willing to wait a couple of years on Daryle. We thought it would take time for him to fit into our system. We knew we could play defense, and we knew we could run the ball, but it was up to Daryle to get our passing game going.
“He did it sooner than we had expected.”
The 1967 Raiders won their first three games, 51-0 over the Denver Broncos, 35-7 over the Boston Patriots, and 23-21 over the arch-rival Kansas City Chiefs, before losing to the New York Jets, 27-14, at Shea Stadium in New York.
That was their last defeat for over three months before the Green Bay Packers beat them in Super Bowl II.
“Each game, I’m getting more confidence,” said Lamonica, who passed for 3,228 yards and 30 touchdowns that season. “I feel that I’m becoming a leader. I had to improve quickly because I knew they were counting on me. By playing regularly, the game plan is becoming second nature to me.
“I’m getting to the point where I can see situations on the field and use plays, in special instances, that aren’t even in our game plan. Someday I want to finish a game with 100 percent completions. But the fans don’t ask about your statistics. All they ask about is whether you win or lose.”
Said Raiders kicker and backup quarterback, Hall of Famer George Blanda: “This is the best team I’ve ever played on, and I’ve played on 18 of them.This team is not going to roll over and play dead. We’re not awed by the Packers.”
However, the Raiders were in Super Bowl II for only a half before Green Bay pulled away for a 33-14 victory at the Orange Bowl in Miami in the final game with the Packers under legendary Coach Vince Lombardi.
Unfortunately, the Raiders’ chances to beat the Packers probably ended in Week 9, when star running back Clem Daniels sustained a season-ending knee injury.
Daniels rushed for 5,138 yards and 30 touchdowns in his career and was even more of a deep receiving threat out of the backfield, with 203 receptions for 3,314 yards and 24 scores.
Even great Kansas City Chiefs linebackers Bobby Bell, Willie Lanier, and Jim Lynch could not stay with him, so Dave Robinson, Ray Nitschke, and Lee Roy Caffey of the Packers would have had their problems with Daniels.
Having to commit more than one defender to Daniels would have opened things up for Lamonica to throw the ball to wide receivers Fred Biletnikoff and Bill Miller, who did catch two touchdown passes in the game, and tight-end Billy Cannon.
However, as Lombardi told the Packers at halftime that this was his final game, something else was at play.
“Some of us old heads got together,” Hall of Fame guard Jerry Kramer said. “We decided that we would play the last 30 minutes for the old man. All of us love him and we didn’t want to let him down.”
And unfortunately, the Raiders didn’t have a chance in that last half.
From February 27 to March 4, 2024, the NFL Scouting Combine will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.
The NFL Draft will be held in Detroit, Mich., on April 25-27, 2024. The Las Vegas Raiders currently hold the No. 13 overall pick.
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