Raiders Legend Stabler Explains Snake Nickname

How Stabler got his nickname

"Way back in grade school, down in south Alabama, right down the Gulf of Mexico. A little high school team down there in Foley, Alabama. I was playing on the Junior-Varsity team in the 8th grade. Our coach was a guy named Denzel Hollins. Coach Hollins gave me the nickname "Snake."

"I was returning punts out of all things, and you know how you cutback and you zig and zag, like a snake, and coach Hollins saw that, and you know he runs like a snake. And all my eighth-grade buddies around me heard Coach Hollins saying that, so they started calling me "Snake."

"It has shut for a while, but it stayed around. I heard it all the time. Up and down the streets, wherever I go, airports. You play with great teams, you play with great people. You know, you are going to have an opportunity to play for a long time and make great and memorable plays. You entertain people for a long time."

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Posted by RAIDER ReACTION SPORTS on Thursday, July 3, 2025

Per Raiders:

The Oakland Raiders, in the second round of the 1968 AFL-NFL Draft, selected quarterback Ken Stabler. A three-time All-America at Alabama, Stabler spent his first two seasons in the pros on the Raiders inactive/reserve squad, before joining the team in 1970 as a backup to Oakland's All-Pro quarterback Daryle Lamonica. 

Although his playing time steadily increased each of the next three seasons, it wasn't until 1973 and after the Raiders lost two of their first three games, that Stabler became a starter. That year he went on to lead the Raiders to the AFC Championship game, a 27-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

It was, however, the first of a string of five consecutive years that the Stabler-led Raiders advanced to the AFC title game, and the first of seven consecutive winning seasons with the "Snake" at the helm. 

In 1976, Stabler led the league in passing, finishing the season with a remarkable 103.4 passer rating. At the same time, the Raiders earned the right to represent the AFC in Super Bowl XI. In the Super Bowl Stabler completed 12 of 19 passes for 180 yards as the Raiders easily defeated the Minnesota Vikings 32-14.

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