Al Davis Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement speech | Raiders

there's seven Raiders out there now those seven Raiders are in the Hall of Fame they need a scout an assistant coach and a head coach and a commissioner general manager and an owner and today they get the best and he walks down that stadium crowd cheers the public address announcer says simply from the Raiders al davis he can't be denied his dream today becomes reality al Davis [Applause] [Applause] thank you John Madden someone pointed out John Madden was a brilliant coach he's a loyal friend Iraida his record is self-explanatory his hundred and three victories and ten years of head coaching parallels the best in the history of the game we're all so proud of John John Madden will take his rightful place in the Hall of Fame in the very near future we think so much alike that I think he stole my speech or at least they took most of it last night I want to thank the Hall of Fame selection committee for your tenacity in selecting me to the Hall of Fame as the great Winston Churchill once said you never gave in never gave him never never accept the convictions of honor and courage and you fought for my selection as well as another and many numerous media people throughout the country I shall never forget that I am grateful to you the enshrinement is a reflection of a life's work a reflection of a love affair with the greatest game the world has ever known but this honor is a testament to a great organization and to all the capable people who have poured their talent enthusiasm loyalty into the greatness of the Raiders and the Raiders legend and mystique I was born lucky I was blessed with a great mother and father no one had to tell me to love my mother and father based on a commandment they raised their children with strong discipline and a strong faith in God good health throughout my life has been another blessing with many lasting friendships that I treasure with great love and loyalty my parents wanted me to have the values and virtues of what is still the American Way of life hard work dedication commitment loyalty and respect for the dignity of man I wanted to introduce immediately today my mother Rose who was here seated in the front row she's over 90 years old my brother Jerry and his family and of course my dad who isn't here who was a proud guy and a self-starter I'm sure he is looking down on us today my parents in their own way encouraged me to dominate I attended this quick story in Florida it was about six years ago I was seated in a very prominent restaurant with my mother and some of the top people in professional football some of the top writers and we were talking about signing of players and my mother asked me how are you doing and I said I've got problems I haven't signed my canes Todd Christensen Lester Hayes and I named two others and I said they just want too much money her answer was without them what kind of team you're gonna have give them the money you can't take it with you and I gave them the money I learned early on in life that if you're gonna lead if you're gonna dominate the golden rule do unto others as you would have others do unto you is not necessarily right you must treat people in a paramilitary situation they way they want to be treated not the way you want to be treated to do that you must learn about them learn their cultures and allow for their individual differences we never wanted our players or even off friends to fit into rigid personality moles there's a place in this world for Mavericks stand up for principled defy custom at times be right do not hurt others that individualism encouraged me to go forward and my heroes my heroes when as a young boy dared me to dream I had come from Brockton Massachusetts to Brooklyn New York over 50 years ago I was about six years old we had no TV little radio and eight great newspapers they were my eyes and ears pro-football had little popularity but I was immediately inspired by ten great organizations at the very young age between 6 and 12 the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers let me tell you what the Yankees represented they represented size power dynasty intimidation the homerun the ability to take place from other teams and put that Yankee uniform on them and they would play great the dodges of Branch Rickey was speed the development of young players fundamentals a way of playing the game and the willingness to pioneer I always thought early on you could take these great qualities of these organizations and encompass them into one as a famous American said I had a dream a dream to someday build and maintain the finest organization in the history of sports an organization that would be the most imitated the most respected and the most feared organization its field a standard of excellence by which all others would be judged a chill went through my body last night as I met with many of the special people who I went to school with lived with played with coached with coached and for a few brief moments I remembered many of the special people who can't be here today it was well over fifty years ago as I told you that I started this long journey in Brooklyn New York at public school 189 Winthrop junior high school and a famed Erasmus Hall High School my boyhood friends Danny Glassman and Stan Roberts a here today from there I went to Wittenberg College in Springfield Ohio and Syracuse University and we just had a recent reunion of all the great athletes from Syracuse and here today Bernie Custis a great quarterback my teammate and Bobby Wallach a great basketball player my first job I was 21 years old at Adelphi college in Garden City Long Island Herman Mason a great magazine writer gave me a chance to write newspaper and magazine articles that attracted the coaches around the country I then at 24 years old had a team called Fort Belvoir Virginia it was a team that fought to be the number one service team in the nation last night seven of the great players were here from that team and I was certainly on it I worked in 1954 as a scout for the Baltimore Colts and we've Eubank then on to the Citadel and there I had a great player Angelo Koya who's with me to this day as a scout for the Raiders and in 1957 Don Clark the late Don Clark a magnificent human being hired me as an assistant coach at Southern Cal there I coached to the greatest players who ever played this game Willie wood a Hall of Famer and Ron mix a Hall of Famer Dorothy Clark is here today I go to 1960 when the American Football League prospers a new league was formed I want to tell you I learned at a very early age to be great and just win you need great players and boy does that help you win I joined the last Angeles charges in 1960 and went to work for Sid Gillman who sits on his stage as a Hall of Fame enshrining it was like a science laboratory to learn study by a master I never thought that anyone could outwork Al Davis I loved every day of work look forward to it and I have great respect for Sid and of course his wife Esther who at that time was to me the standard bearer for football coaches wives from the charges the great Lance Alworth the great Ron mix I here today you know it was in 1963 that it was on to Oakland I was 33 years old I was the head coach general manager and I can remember attack pressure the vertical game the bump-and-run just win baby dominate commitment to excellence the fame silver and black pro football's dynamic organization take what you want pride and poise and I could go on and on the reborn players the Holy Roller the miracles of George Blanda goes to the post the Immaculate reception but time doesn't allow it I want to pay tribute to the vision of a man such as Ed McGaw who was one of the founders of the Raiders and whose confidence in the destiny of the Raiders and myself never waving to another fine gentleman I hear today al locust Al and Ron wolf who are with me for over 25 years masters of detail George Anderson our trainer and dick romansky still with the Raiders have been with me over 30 years the rate of standard bearers John did it for me I'd like to do it again because I love them the indestructible Jim Otto George Blanda the greatest clutch player the game has ever known Willie Brown the magnificent cornerback Gene Upshaw the only player who played in the Super Bowl as a starter in the 60s the 70s and the 80s Ted Hendricks the consummate linebacker Fred Biletnikoff isn't with us today he's a coach for the Raiders 14 years and I don't have to tell you about his artistry and of course the magnificent art shell the giant head coach of the Raiders today and then you take Tom Flores a star player who coached us to two Super Bowls you throw in Alday vez and you've had his diverse a group as you could find in this world and yet there was a common bond they played for the organization they wanted a win for the organization they loved their organization and most of all they loved each other in 1966 I became Commissioner of the American Football League I did not want to give up coaching but our league was in a struggle for survival the merger came quickly in 1966 and there's no question that pro football has become the most exciting mass entertainment in the history of the world for a moment I wish you all of you would bear with me I'd like to talk to the great war warriors who were here today some hundred and who's some who are no longer with us but whose memories we cherish I say to those great Raider warriors let me take you back a few years to Frank you'll field to the Oakland Coliseum to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and have you all individually introduced once again to the roar of the crowd and we can never forget those great fans the raw would be deafening to see you all in those silver and black uniforms to hear the national anthem relive the moments of the fill of victory and the agony of the feet to those of us who saw your battle to the top over the last three decades we will never forget you you know rate of football was always emotional we love to take those memorable trips throughout the league and we were hated we were feared but we were respected this community is the cradle of professional football when our heroes of the past become all legends of the future and we all know time never really stops for the great ones it reaches out and wraps them in a cloak of immortality what a great inspiration to come to this Field of Dreams every year to walk through the hall and walk through its exhibits and to pay tribute to this great class I know Len Barney I used to studying John Mackey was a favorite of mine and jr. Riggins I call him Junior God how he wanted to play for the Raiders and how I wanted him but they said no not the American Football Conference will let him go over there to the National Football Conference and then to the great class to the great class that sits here behind me the greatest players who've ever played this game I've always said that the rate is my family we have a realization that we have a debt to them and we have a debt to each other and they know that I'll never forget that debt I want to introduce to you a young lady that I met over 35 years ago she was just a friend of mine I was coaching at Fort Belvoir I came out for a big game one day and I looked up in the stands it's a small like high school field we only seen it about 10,000 at those games we were fighting to be the number one service team in a nation and I look up and sitting there as we view Bank who's scouting the game for the pros and the general of the post and this girlfriend of mine is sitting with the general and we view Bank almost died I got her after the game and I said what are you doing up there and what are you doing with them said I can handle myself she said we were talking football what do you mean talking football she said I was telling them about our players where do you know about our place she said I was telling him everything I heard you say with that quality I knew I was stuck I told her in a very early is that the only thing that could take me away from football was life with death she put me through the test about 12 years ago today she's a hundred percent it's a beautiful lady my friend Carol Davis my son Mark Davis I'm proud of him his friendship to me and karoli and most of all his human qualities and they really believe and he does in the dignity of man and he has a love of people and I'm proud that he represents me and that I represent him names of some people who I hear that I have great affection for great fondness for that have touched my life Hank Stram John Ralston Joe Alioto Jack Brooks ed McGaw Bob albo Sam bercovich Bill walls their rings their names will ring down the card as of time in my life aside from my will to win and my commitment to excellence I want to read just a few things to you that happened recently that I thought you'd get a kick out of this gentleman here Claude Jones is a famous bank robber 24 banks that he robbed but he's also the greatest rate of fan in a world I just want to read a few words of his to you the psychologist said that the problems that has led to his crime spree were deep-rooted and more complex than raid a passion gone astray though his crimes were trying to seek revenge against everyone who turned on him the radis through it all remain loyal I robbed 24 banks I didn't have anything left but there was always hope with them Jones plans to write ray to own that alla Davis a letter of apology I've embarrassed the team he said I would tell him that I lost control it was my fault I robbed banks to go to Raider games but the Raiders didn't tell me to rob banks I should have finished school got a better job and made enough money to pay for myself Jones hopes Davis will understand I also wish I could hire his lawyers in the end he said that my commitment to excellence this is Jones my dream when I get out of prison is to go to work for the Raiders I'd like to do anything for them I'd like to do anything constructive the only thing I wouldn't do i wouldn't do their banking aside for my will to win my commitment to excellence the fire that burns brightest than me of the great love and enthusiasm that I had and have for the game of football and for everyone and everything connected with it I love the game I love the league I love my team but more important I want it to embellish all of them to agree never surpassed and seldom have ever equal I think that I've known every facet of this game whether from the inside or outside whether in collaboration or in opposition what it was necessary I have labored in this vineyard this cradle with the objective of making the league itself a working combination of both discipline and freedom I shall always believe that great people inspiring others the will to be great to the people of Canton to the late Bob Schneider you have inspired me by your receptiveness your enthusiasm I shall cherish this honor for the rest of my life I thank you very much

Channel: Raiders

Views: 27,087

Keywords: Raiders, Oakland Raiders, Oakland, Las Vegas, Vegas, Las Vegas Raiders, Raider Nation, Raiders Updates, Silver and Black, Silver and Black Productions, Raiders.com, NFL, Raiders Channel, Raiders News, Sports, Entertainment, Raiders Fans, Raiders Episode, Raiders Football, Official Raiders YouTube, Raiders Videos, 2019, 2019 Offseason, Al Davis, Hall of Fame speech, Davis, John Madden, Madden, Canton, Committment to Excellence, pro football hall of fame, 1992

Id: r8zZpl-KBsQ

Length: 20min 33sec (1233 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 04 2019