NFL: Raiders owner Al Davis dead at age 82, team confirms

[Radical]

Raiders owner Al Davis dead at age 82, team confirms
by Sam Wyche of NFL.com, contributed by The Associated Press

Quote:Al Davis, the iconic owner of the Oakland Raiders, passed away Saturday, a senior-ranking team official confirmed. He was 82.

During Davis' historic 48-year run with the Raiders, he won three Super Bowls and enjoyed 28 winning seasons, including a stretch of 16 from 1965 through the 1980.

The Raiders arrived in Houston on Friday night in preparation for Sunday's game with the Texans.

This clearly is a huge blow to the members of the franchise. In the conversation I had with a team official, he was very somber and described it as a tough time.

NFL meetings will take place in Houston on Monday and Tuesday and Davis' passing certainly will encompass the gathering of teams owners and league executives.

Davis, one of the most important figures in NFL history, is best known as a rebel, a man who established a team whose silver-and-black colors and pirate logo symbolized his attitude toward authority, both on the field and off.

It was Davis' rebellious spirit, that willingness to buck the establishment, that helped turn the NFL into the establishment in sports -- the most successful sports league in American history.

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