Allen "Al" Davis (born July 4, 1929 in Brooklyn,
New York) attended Wittenberg, graduated from
Syracuse University, and went on to become an icon
of the fledgling American Football League, first
with the Los Angeles Chargers and then with the
Oakland Raiders.

In 1963 at the age of 33, as the head coach and
general manager of the Raiders, Davis led them to
a 10-4 record and received unanimous American
Football League Coach of the Year honors, with a
team that had been 9-33-0 in its first three
years.

In 1966 he became the American Football League
Commissioner and brought the NFL to its knees by
orchestrating a masterful series of signings by
AFL teams of star NFL players, including 49ers
quarterback John Brodie, Bears tight end Mike
Ditka, and Rams QB Roman Gabriel. He believed the
NFL should have merged into the AFL, not the other
way around.

AFL Hall of Fame reporter Jerry Magee of the San
Diego Union says: "Al Davis taking over as
commissioner was the strongest thing the AFL ever
did. He thought the AFL-NFL merger was a detriment
to the AFL...it was a disappointment to him that
they merged." Had Al Davis been given the
opportunity to continue his efforts, the NFL would
have folded or capitulated to join the AFL. For
his contribution in making the AFL the genesis of
modern professional football, Al Davis is a hero
to American Football League fans, and is known as
"Mr. AFL".

A member of the American Football League for its
entire ten-year existence, and a member of the
American Football League Hall of Fame, today Davis
is the President of A.D. Football, Inc., the
managing general partner of the Oakland Raiders.

Today he is considered one of the most
controversial owners in the NFL. In 1982 he moved
the Raiders to Los Angeles where they remained
until 1994. In 1995 he moved the team back to
Oakland. Since then he has been involved in
lawsuits with both LA and Oakland.

Since then, he was named enemy in California,
Idaho (their favorite NFL team is the Denver
Broncos), Kansas (majority are Kansas City Chiefs
fans), and Colorado.