Al Davis - The Glory Years

Gathering unwanted players from around the league, Davis continued to build on the Raiders' powerful reputation. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the Raiders and Davis were despised for dirty play and even dirtier business tactics. Davis, on the other hand, had by now adopted his "just win, baby" attitude and continued unfazed by the criticism. Rumors spread that not only had Davis bugged the opposing team's locker room but that

Al Davis

he had an army of unofficial scouts spying on other teams and luring their players away from them. "I'd run into some high school coach and he'd tell me he was a Raider scout," said former player, Gene Upshaw. "Everybody was a Raider scout." Davis was also rumored to have been seen at a celebrity golf tournament hoping to find an unhappy player to steal. "Al can steal your eyeballs and convince you that you look better without them," said former Cleveland Brown's coach Sam Rutigliano. Inside the organization, however, Davis's players regarded him as a hero and remained loyal to the black and silver. His treatment of players was unparalleled in the league. The NFL even had to impose a maximum on the amount spent on Super Bowl rings after Davis's diamond studded design following the Raiders' 1980 victory.