I hope this title does not strike people as offensive, because the phrase I used comes from a person I admired professionally and personally. With that said, let me acknowledge that we have lost two visionary individuals recently; both in their respective fields. Nonetheless, their ingenious actions have impacted how some of us operate on day to day basis as well as how we entertain ourselves. Unless you have been living under a rock for the past month, you should know that I am speaking of Steve Jobs, Co-founder of Apple, Inc. and Al Davis, Pro Football Hall of Fame Team and League Administrator of the Oakland Raiders.
As Steve Jobs impact on technology is comparable to that of Thomas Edison’s; Al Davis’s contribution to American Football is equivalent to Walter Camp’s, the Father of American Football. Al Davis was by far the prime force behind the fast pace movement of the NFL today. His use of the West Coast Offense made the game more exciting by utilizing the forward pass. His quick strike offensive approach accelerated the game and created the deep ball forward pass known as the “Bomb”.
Davis’s impact on the game of football extended further than the football field, but into the civil rights movement and affirmative action. Davis believed in civil rights and he backed it his beliefs when he refused to have the Raiders play a preseason game in the segregated Mobile, Alabama in 1965. In turn, he had the game moved to Oakland.
Davis’s most significant contribution to professional football as well as to other professional and collegiate athletics was the hiring of Art Shell as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders in 1989. Shell’s hiring made him the second African American to be the head coach of a professional football team (the first was Fritz Pollard), but the first in the current era of the NFL as we know it. This hiring move was monumental, because it slightly opened the door for other African Americans and minorities into the coaching and athletic administration professions.
The crazy old man the media depicted him as was not the man that his body of work reflected. Davis cared for his players and his staff. All former Raiders were family for life and he took care of them as such; unlike most professional owners. Needless to say, death is inevitable and we shall all meet our demise one day, but it will be our legacy that carries on and Al Davis has left an imprint on the sporting world that will be remembered for years to come.
As Steve Jobs impact on technology is comparable to that of Thomas Edison’s; Al Davis’s contribution to American Football is equivalent to Walter Camp’s, the Father of American Football. Al Davis was by far the prime force behind the fast pace movement of the NFL today. His use of the West Coast Offense made the game more exciting by utilizing the forward pass. His quick strike offensive approach accelerated the game and created the deep ball forward pass known as the “Bomb”.
Davis’s impact on the game of football extended further than the football field, but into the civil rights movement and affirmative action. Davis believed in civil rights and he backed it his beliefs when he refused to have the Raiders play a preseason game in the segregated Mobile, Alabama in 1965. In turn, he had the game moved to Oakland.
Davis’s most significant contribution to professional football as well as to other professional and collegiate athletics was the hiring of Art Shell as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders in 1989. Shell’s hiring made him the second African American to be the head coach of a professional football team (the first was Fritz Pollard), but the first in the current era of the NFL as we know it. This hiring move was monumental, because it slightly opened the door for other African Americans and minorities into the coaching and athletic administration professions.
The crazy old man the media depicted him as was not the man that his body of work reflected. Davis cared for his players and his staff. All former Raiders were family for life and he took care of them as such; unlike most professional owners. Needless to say, death is inevitable and we shall all meet our demise one day, but it will be our legacy that carries on and Al Davis has left an imprint on the sporting world that will be remembered for years to come.
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