In addition to the team having to share the venue with the USC Trojans, the Coliseum was aging and still lacked the luxury suites and other amenities that Davis was promised when he moved the Raiders to Los Angeles.
Īs early as 1986, Davis began to seek a new, more modern stadium away from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the dangerous neighborhood that surrounded it at the time (which caused the NFL to schedule the Raiders' Monday Night Football appearances as away games). Low game attendance and fan apathy were evident by this point, and in the summer of 1989, rumors of a Raiders return to Oakland intensified when a preseason game against the Houston Oilers was scheduled at Oakland Coliseum. Shanahan led the team to a 7–9 mark in 1988, and Allen and Jackson continued to trade places as the starting running back. After a weak 5–10 finish, head coach Tom Flores moved to the front office and was replaced by Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan. The Raiders fill-ins achieved a 1–2 record before the regular team returned. Even worse, another strike cost the NFL one game and prompted them to use substitute players. However, Jackson was also a left fielder for Major League Baseball's Kansas City Royals, and could not play full-time until the baseball season ended in October. The feud continued into 1987, and Davis retaliating by signing Bo Jackson to take Allen's place.
Also, 1986 saw Al Davis get into a widely publicized argument with running back Marcus Allen, whom he accused of faking injuries. From 1986 through 1989, they finished no better than 8–8 and posted consecutive losing seasons for the first time since 1961–62. The Raiders' fortunes declined after the loss to the Patriots in the 1985 playoffs. The 1985 campaign saw 12 wins and another division title, but the first-seeded Raiders suffered a humiliating 27–20 defeat at the hands of the New England Patriots in the Divisional Playoffs.ġ986–1989: Struggles, beginning of the end Īllen ( center) led the Raiders to a championship in Super Bowl XVIII and earned MVP honors as he rushed for a record of 191 yards, including a memorable 74-yard touchdown run.
They were defeated by the Seahawks in the Wild Card Playoffs, 13–7. The Raiders had another successful regular season in 1984, finishing 11–5, but a three-game losing streak in late October and early November forced them to enter the playoffs as the second wild card team. The Raiders built a 21–3 halftime lead over Washington en route to a 38–9 victory and their third NFL championship. in the playoffs, they convincingly defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Divisional Playoffs and Seattle Seahawks in the AFC Championship Game to advance to Super Bowl XVIII against the Washington Redskins. The following season, the team compiled a 12–4 record and a first-place finish in the AFC West. They defeated the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the playoffs before losing to the New York Jets in the second round. In the strike-shortened 1982 season, the team finished first in the AFC with an 8–1 record. The Raiders finally relocated to Los Angeles for the 1982 season, playing their home games at the Los Angeles Coliseum. After the first case was declared a mistrial, in May 1982 a second jury ruled in favor of Davis and the Los Angeles Coliseum, clearing the way for the move. In response, the Raiders not only became an active partner in an antitrust lawsuit filed by the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (who had recently lost the Los Angeles Rams to Anaheim), but filed an antitrust lawsuit of their own. When Davis tried to move the team anyway, he was blocked by an injunction. The move, which required three-fourths approval by league owners, was defeated 22–0 (with five owners abstaining). On March 1, 1980, he signed a memorandum of agreement to move the Raiders from Oakland to Los Angeles. Prior to the 1980 season, Raiders owner Al Davis attempted unsuccessfully to have improvements made to the Oakland Coliseum, specifically the addition of luxury boxes.
0 kommentar(er)
