Wide Receiver Jerry Rice and defensive back Ronnie Lott, both members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, played key roles in helping the San Francisco 49ers dominate the NFL in the 1980s when they won four Super Bowls.
However, both also starred for the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders late in their careers.
Lott signed with the L.A. Raiders as a free agent in 1991 and played two seasons with the Silver and Black, starting in all 16 games each season and leading the NFL with eight interceptions in his first season with the team while making 93 tackles.
While he made only one interception the following season, he was credited with 123 tackles and two fumble recoveries.
Lott ranks with Jack Tatum as the greatest Raiders to play safety.
“I always had some Raider in me because growing up, Jack Tatum was my idol,” Lott said after signing with the Raiders. “I patterned my game after Jack Tatum’s. If I couldn’t have played like Tatum, I couldn’t have played in the NFL.
"I feel it’s going to be a new challenge, not only to play a new position but to wear the Silver and Black. Growing up as a kid, I always emulated the Jack Tatums, the George Atkinsons, and the other Raiders defensive backs. I always admired this organization and how hard this team plays.
“The Raiders have always been a first-class organization and they will always be a first-class organization. I think they did what they did (by signing him) in the best interests of the organization.”
While Tatum is reviled for his legal hit that paralyzed Darryl Stingley of the New England Patriots in 1978, Lott is revered as one of the greatest safeties of all time, and Raider Nation in addition to Lott believes that Tatum ranks there too.
Rice, perhaps the greatest wide receiver of all time, was released by the 49ers after the 2000 season signed with the Raiders, joining fellow Hall of Famer Tim Brown to form one of the greatest wide receiver tandems of all time.
“Hey, I look good in it, man,” Rice said of his Silver and Black Jersey. “I’m glad to be here. I’m glad to be part of this. I’m living a dream right now. A situation like this doesn’t happen that often.
“After 16 years in the league, to come to a team of this magnitude, I’m excited about the possibilities. It was time to move on, and this is probably a great situation where I can jump-start my career again.”
Riced played from 2001-04 with the Raiders and made 243 receptions for 3,286 yards and 18 touchdowns while helping the Silver and Black reach Super Bowl XXXVII, where they lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers even though he caught a 48-yard touchdown pass from Rich Gannon.
“After that game, I went back to my room and I cried like a baby because I was so used to winning Super Bowls,” Rice said. “I was never before on the end of losing one. That hurt me so hard and plus, I wanted to help Tim Brown and the rest of those guys win a Super Bowl.
“Not to mention that I went across (San Francisco) Bay and Raider Nation accepted me with open arms. I was excited to play for the Raiders because they have such great fans and I wanted to help them with another Super Bowl.
“I will always be thankful that I had a chance to play for the Raiders, even for a relatively short time.”
Charles Woodson was a young defensive back for the Raiders at that time and remembers going against Rice and Brown in practice.
That had to help him eventually reach the Hall of Fame, too.
“I got to play with two guys who were just real professional about what they did,” Woodson said. “They came to work every day to work on their craft and get better. As a young player, you’re just able to kind of watch.
“You’re still young, so you’re still doing your own thing. But you always have those guys … kind of looking at them out of the corner of your eye, trying to see what they’re doing. I enjoyed my time with those guys and learned a lot from them.”
Rice and Lott are mostly remembered as 49ers, but Raider Nation has fond memories of them, too.
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