Rebels of Oakland Pt.1

THE FOLLOWING IS A SPECIAL PRESENTATION OF HBO'S SPORTS OF THE 20th CENTURY. OAKLAND WAS ALWAYS THE UNDERDOG. WE'RE ALWAYS THE BLUE COLLAR CITY, WE WORK HARD AND THEY'RE HARDLY WORKING. YOU'LL COME AND PLAY US IN OUR STADIUM BUT, YOU KNOW, OAKLAND'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU TO STAY IN. GREAT TOWN, GREAT PEOPLE, GREAT CROWD. GUYS WERE FIGHTIN' ON THE BUSES. WE WERE FIGHTIN' ON THE PLANES, FIGHTIN' ON THE FIELD. THOSE BOYS WERE WORKING THEIR GUTS OUT ! IF THERE HADN'T BEEN FREE AGENCY, WE'D HAVE WON EVERY YEAR. THEY'D HIT YOU HARDER, THEY'D HIT YOU LATER. ( various voices ) IT'S LIKE YOU MIGHT IMAGINE SOMEONE'S GONNA PUT YOU IN WITH A, YOKNOW, MOTORCYCLE GANG. IN OAKLAND THEY DIDN'T CARE WHAT YOU LOOKED LIKE, WHAT YOU TALKED LIKE, PLAY LIKE HELL. THEY SAW US AS REBELS, BECAUSE WE WERE ALWAYS ON THE EDGE OF SOMETHIN. WE WERE THE KIND OF LIKE THE STEP CHILD OF THE BAY AREA, BUT WE WON CHAMPIONSHIPS. WE WON CHAMPIONSHIPS. ♪ SITTIN' IN THE MORNING SUN ♪ ♪ I'LL BE SITTIN' IN THE EVENING COME ♪ ♪ WATCHING THE SHIPS ROLL IN ♪ ♪ THEN I'LL WATCH 'EM ROLL AWAY AGAIN ♪ ( male narrator ) "THERE IS NO THERE, THERE" WAS HOW GERTRUDE STEIN, THE WRITER, DESCRIBED HER CHILDHOOD HOME... OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA. OAKLAND WAS A SMALL CITY WITH A LARGE INFERIORITY COMPLEX. IN THE VIBRANT BAY AREA OF THE 1960's, OAKLAND WAS A PORT TOWN FILLED WITH SHIPYARDS, FACTORIES AND BLUE COLLAR WORKERS. MISFORTUE LOW LYING CITY DIRECTLY ACROSS THE BAY FROM SAN FRANCISCO. SAN FRANCISCO WAS OZ. IT WAS THE GLEAMING CITY TO THE WEST. IT HAD BEAUTIFUL BRIDGES THAT CONNECTED TO IT. IT WAS TRULY AN INTERNATIONAL DESTINATION. TO ME, IT WAS, IT WAS PARIS, FRANCE. IT WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CITY IN THE WORLD. IT HAD TV SHOWS NAMED AFTER IT. OAKLAND, UM, IS THE LARGEST CONTAINER PORT IN THE WORLD. SAN FRANCISCO ALSO DOMINATED THE BAY AREA'S SPORTS LANDSCAPE. OAKLAND DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A BASEBALL TEAM. SAN FRANCISCO HAD THE 49ERS OF THE GRAND OLD NFL, OAKLAND'S FRANCHISE WAS THE RAIDERS, OF THE RAGTAG AFL, A TEAM THAT DIDN'T EVEN HAVE IT'S OWN STADIUM. EVERYTHING WAS, YOU KNOW, LIKE WE WERE SECOND CITIZENS, YOU KNOW. AND YOU KNOW, OAKLAND. AND THE AFL AND IT'S NOT MAJOR LEAGUE. IT WAS OAKLAND AGAINST SAN FRANCISCO. IT WAS AFL AGAINST NFL. AND WE WERE JUST ALWAYS FIGHTING, YOU KNOW, HEY WE'RE HERE TOO. WE WERE ALWAYS LOOKED AT AS SECOND CLASS CITIZENS OVER HERE COMPARED TO THERE, YOU KNOW, THEY DRANK THE WINE WE DRANK THE BEER. HOPING TO USE SPORTS TO HELP CHANGE ITS SECOND-CLASS IMAGE, THE CITY SET ABOUT THE CONSTRUCTION OF A $30-MILLION, STATE OF THE ART, MULTI-SPORT STADIUM. IT OPENED IN SEPTEMBER OF 1966. WHEN YOU PUT THE RAIDERS IN THERE AND THE RAIDER FANS OUT OF THE TOUGH BLUE COLLAR CITY OF OAKLAND, IT WAS AN ATMOSPHERE THAT WAS ELECTRIC. IT WAS EXCITING. YOU LOOK UP IN THE STANDS YOU SEE, YOU KNOW, BLACK FANS, WHITE FANS, WORKING CLASS FANS, BRICKLAYERS, PEOPLE WHO GO BACK INTO THE CITY OF OAKLAND, WORK ALL WEEK SO THEY CAN GET A TICKET TO GO TO THE FOOTBALL GAME. THERE WAS A SORT OF HELL'S ANGELS FEEL ABOUT 'EM. AND THEY WOULD TREAT YOU LIKE THAT. BUT IT WAS, THEY WERE GREAT IN THAT REGARD, IF THEY DIDN'T SCARE THE HELL OUTTA YOU TO BEGIN WITH. THERE WASN'T ANY SPECIAL SECTIONS. EVERYBODY BASICALLY DRANK OUT OF THE SAME BOTTLE AND... YOU KNOW, AND WHEN THEY WERE DONE THEY THREW IT AT SOMEBODY. FOR THE RAIDERS, THE OAKLAND COLISEUM WAS A SMASH HIT. AND THE CITY'S EXPENSIVE GAMBLE PAID OFF AGAIN IN 1968 WHEN OAKLAND LURED THE A's FROM KANSAS CITY. THAT WAS PROBABLY AT THE TIME THE HEIGHT OF CITYDOM TO HAVE A MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TEAM AND A... MAJOR LEAGUE FOOTBALL AFL FRANCHISE IN YOUR CITY SO, UH, IT WAS AN EXCITING TIME FOR THE CITY OF OAKLAND, AND PROBABLY THE GLORY DAYS OF OAKLAND. You have exactly one and one half minutes to disburse ! BY THE LATE 60's AMERICA WAS LOOKING AT OAKLAND FOR REASONS ALTOGETHER APART FROM SPORTS. THE FREE SPEECH MOVEMENT HAD ERUPTED NEXT DOOR IN BERKLEY. ED AND ANTI-WAR PROTESTS WERE IN FULL SWING. THE BAY AREA HAD BECOME AMERICA'S HOTBED OF POLITICS. I DON'T THINK I REALIZED AT THAT TIME MAYBE JUST HOW BIG A PART OF WHAT WAS GOING ON NATIONALLY, WAS HAPPENING RIGHT IN MY BACKYARD. I DIDN'T LIKE THE WAR. BUT WAS I WENT ALONG, BECAUSE AMERICA WAS IN THAT WAR. AND I HATED THEM DAMN PROTESTORS. WE'D GET IN FIGHTS WITH THE POLICE AND STUFF WE USED TO BE OUT IN THE STREET GOING TOE-TO-TOE WITH 'EM, AND IF THEY WON, WE GOT ARRESTED FOR RESISTING ARREST. AND IF WE WON, AND GOT AWAY, THAT WAS THE END OF IT. A COUPLE OF MILES FROM THE HELL'S ANGEL'S CLUBHOUSE IN OAKLAND, HUEY NEWTON AND BOBBY SEALE CREATED THE REVOLUTIONARY BLACK PANTHER PARTY IN 1966. THE TWO GREATEST CONTRIBUTIONS TO OAKLAND IN TERMS OF ITS NAME IDENTIFICATION WERE THE RAIDERS AND THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY. With all the panther power, we will greet you. We will annihilate you. We greet you only with the revolutionary fervor of the people. We greet you with the gun. AS A TEAM, GIVEN THE EXPLOSIVENESS OF BERKELEY, THE CITY OF OAKLAND, THE PANTHERS, ALL OF THE THINGS AROUND US, IT WAS VERY EASY FOR US TO BE IDENTIFIED WITH ALL OF THOSE ELEMENTS. THAT WAS JUST WHAT IT WAS. WHITE PEOPLE WERE HIPPIES. OR BLACK PANTHERS. IN THE LATE 60's, YOU'RE LOOKING AT A POLITICAL SCENE THAT REALLY IS STARTING TO BECOME VERY NOTICEABLE. YOU LOOK AT ALL THESE THINGS HAPPENING, AND I THINK FOR ME, IT WAS JUST A LOT COMING AT YOU. IN 1968 A 22-YEAR OLD PITCHER FROM NORTH CAROLINA NAMED JIM "CATFISH" HUNTER PITCHED THE CITY'S FIRST PERFECT GAME, A SIGN THAT THE TEAM'S YOUNG TALENT WAS COMING TOGETHER. A LOT OF THE GUYS ON THAT BALL CLUB, WE CAME UP THROUGH THE MINOR LEAGUES TOGETHER, YOU KNO. WE WERE BASICALY A FAMILY. THE A's COLLECTION OF BUDDING STARS INCLUDED PLAYERS LIKE BERT CAMPANERIS, JOE RUDI, GENE TENACE AND VIDA BLUE. THIRD BASEMAN SAL BANDO WAS THE TEAM CAPTAIN, BUT EVERYTHING SEEMED TO SWIRL AROUND A YOUNG SLUGGER A, THE STRAW THAT STIRRED THE A's DRINK, REGINALD MARTINEZ JACKSON. ( Baseball commentator ) There's a long drive that one is way, way up ! It is... off the roof. HE WAS OUR POWER HITTE. HE WAS OUR R.B.I. GUY AND, YOU KNOW, IF WE NEEDED A HOME RUN HE WAS USUALLY THE GUY THAT PROVIDED IT. HE LOVED THAT RED LIGHT ON THE CAMERA WHEN IT POPPED ON, HE WAS AT HIS BEST. IT WAS MOST INTERESTING THING. JOE WOULD HIT A TWO RUN HOME RUN OR MAKE A GAME WINNING CATCH, AND REGGIE GETS THE HEADLINES THE NEXT DAY. OR CATFISH PITCHES A TWO HIT SHUT OUT. REGGIE GETS THE HEADLINES, YOU KNOW. HE STRIKES OUT THREE TIMES HE GETS THE HEADLINES. IN 1971, THE OAKLAND A's WON THEIR FIRST DIVISION TITLE BUT STILL, THEY WERE BETTER KNOWN FOR HOW THEY DRESSED. BASEBALL TEAMS WERE ONLY SUPPOSED TO COME IN WHITE OR GRAY, AND DEFINITELY DID NOT LOOK LIKE THIS. THE TEAM COLORS WERE KELLY GREEN, FORT KNOX GOLD, WEDDING GOWN WHITE AND VIDA BLUE, I HAD TO THROW THAT IN THERE. I THINK THE FIRST YEAR WE HAD SOLID GREEN BOTTOMS. BUT NO ONE... WE LOOKED LIKE LAE GREEN BEANS RUNNIN' AROUND OUT THERE. THERE WAS VERY LITTLE DIGNITY INVOLVED IN THE OPERATION OF THE A's. THEY LOOKED LIKE WEEKEND SOFTBALL PLAYERS THAT SOMEHOW HAD GOTTEN INTO MAJOR LEAGUE UNIFORMS. THE FIRST TIME YOU PUT 'EM ON YOUR FEET LOOK LIKE THEY'RE TWICE AS BIG AS THEY ARE, . YOU KNOW, YOU THOUGHT, I'M NOT GONNA BUY THIS WHITE SHOE THING. AND THEN THEY GOT DOWN THERE, ION OF GREEN ITE. IT'S BEAUTIFUL. THE UNIFORMS WERE THE PROUD CREATION OF ONE MAN, CH "CHARLIE O." HE LOOKED LIKE THE WIZARD OF OZ, THE GUY BEHIND THE CURTAIN. RAISED IN GARY, INDIANA, CHARLIE FINLEY, A STEEL WORKER'S SON, WAS A SELF-MADE MULTIMILLIONAIRE WHO BOUGHT THE A's IN 1961 AND THEN TOOK BARNUM-ESQUE PROMOTIONS TO A NEW LEVEL. WELL, HE WAS A GIMMICK MAN. HE FELT THAT THAT ENTERTAINED THE FANS, AND THE FANS NEEDED TO BE ENTERTAINED... LIKE BY THE ENORMOUS MULE THAT HE NAMED AFTER HIMSELF, CHARLIE O. WHO APPEARED AT ALL A's FUNCTIONS, EVEN THE ONES THAT WERE INDOORS. HE WOULD TAKE THE MULE RIGHT INTO THE LOBBY OF THE HOTEL AND HAVE THAT MULE EAT OATS OUT OF A STERLING SILVER BOWL AND CHARLIE WOULD ALWAYS TELL THE HOTEL PEOPLE DON'T WORRY, THIS MULE IS HOUSE BROKEN. WELL, HE WASN'T. AND IN NEW YORK HE CHOSE THAT MOMENT TO PROVE IT. THE THING ABOUT THE BAY AREA IS THAT WE'RE SOMEHOW COOLER THAN THE REST OF THE COUNTRY. AND, YOU KNOW, THE DONKEY AND THE WHITE SHOES AND THE RABBIT POPPING UP BEHIND HOME PLATE WITH A BUCKET OF BALLS. IT ALL SEEMED IOWA COUNTY FAIR TO US. Wait a minute, will ya ? AT LEAST THE MULE KEPT HIS JOB. FINLEY'S HUMANS DIDN'T FARE SO WELL. OVER THE COURSE OF 12 SEASONS, HE WENT THROUGH A DOZEN MANAGERS, N, , AND FOUR GENERAL MANAGERS... UNTIL HE FINALLY SETTLED ON THE ONE MAN HE WOULDN'T FIRE, HE WAS THE FIRST TO DO A LOT OF THINGS. 'CAUSE OF CHARLIE FINLEY THE WORLD SERIES GAMES ARE AT NIGHT. THE ALL-STAR GAME MOVED TO NIGHT. THE DESIGNATED HITTE, HE EVEN TRIED THE DESIGNATED RUNNER. HE WAS KNOWLEDGEABLE, VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE. NOT TO THE EXTENT THAT HE COULD RUN A BALL CLUB ON THE FIELD, BUT HE COULD CERTAINLY RUN IT FROM VIA TELEPHONE AND FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER'S SPOT AND THE OWNER'S SPOT. AND HE LET YOU KNOW THAT TOO. AS MUCH OF A MEDDLER AS FINLEY WAS, LIANT HE HAD A SENSE OF TALENT THAT I'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE OR SINCE. HE COULD LOOK INTO YOUR SOUL AND SEE WHETHER YOU WERE A WINNER. I MEAN, YOU MIGHT BE HITTING THREE TEN BUT HE KNEW THAT YOU WOULDN'T WIN, THAT YOU WOULDN'T HIT THREE TEN WHEN IT COUNTED. IN THE SUMMER OF '72 FINLEY'S A's WERE STEAMROLLING THE WESTERN DIVISION, WHILE 60 MILES NORTH OF OAKLAND, THE RAIDERS WERE REPORTING TO CAMP IN SANTA ROSA. IT WAS A WILD SCENE EVERY SUMMER WHEN THE RAIDERS CAME TO TOWN, FILLED WITH HIPPIES, HELL'S ANGELS, AND FOOTBALL PLAYERS LOOKING FOR A GOOD TIME. EVERYBODY IN THE TOWN WAS VERY, VERY FRIENDLY TO US. THEY WERE VERY HAPPY WE WERE THERE. WE HAD SOME GREAT BARS TO GO TO AFTER PRACTICE THAT MADE US FEEL VERY COMFORTABLE. BUT WE ALL NEEDED TO REPLENISH OUR FLUIDS EVERY DAY. WE HAD A COUPLE OF GUYS, OUR TWO GERMANS, JIM OTTO AND GUS OTTO, THEY WERE UP IN THE THREE-PITCHER CATEGORY, WHICH IS A GALLON AND A HALF OF LIQUID. THE TEAM HEADQUARTERED AT A MOTEL CALLED EL RANCHO TROPICANA, WHICH THE RAIDERS TURNED INTO THE NFL'S BEST FRAT HOUSE, FILLED WITH GUNS, *** AND MOTORCYCLES. I REMEMBER TELLING, YOU KNOW, MY WIFE, "GOD, I DON'T WANNA GO TO TRAINING CAMP. IT'S SO HARD." I COULDN'T WAIT TO GET OUT THE DOOR 'CAUSE IT WAS A BAL. YOUR FIRST EXPERIENCE THN WITH THE OAKLAND RAIDERS WAS IT'S LIKE YOU MIGHT IMAGINE SOMEONE'S GONNA PUT YOU IN WITH A, YOU KNOW, MOTORCYCLE GANG. THE GUYS ARE BIG, TOUGH, YOU KNOW, AND THEY DON'T LIKE ROOKIES VERY MUCH. I CAN REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME I LINED UP AT TIGHT END I BLOCKED DOWN ON BEN DAVIDSON . BEN PICKED ME UP, THREW ME DOWN ON MY BACK, AND WHISPERED IN MY EAR, "I'LL KILL YOU IF YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN." THE RAIDERS SEEMED TO SPRING WHOLE FROM ONE MAN'S MYSTERIOUS PERSONALITY. HE WAS THE ANTI-FINLEY, DRESSED IN BLACK B AL DAVIS WAS THE NFL'S MIDDLE FINGER. HE ALWAYS LOOKED TO ME TO BE A LAS VEGAS CARD DEALER OR SOMETHING OR A CASINO OWNER. IN OAKLAND HE HAD, HE HAD A BLACK CADILLAC, FLEETWOOD BROUGHAM WITH BLACK TINTED WINDOWS AND NO LICENSE PLATES. HE REALLY DOESN'T CARE IF YOU LIKE HIM. HE REALLY DOESN'T CAE IF YOU RESPECT HIM. THE ONLY THING HE WANTS YOU TO DO IS FEAR HIM. AL ALWAYS KIND OF CARRIED A CHIP ON HIS SHOULDER. ABOUT WHAT, WHO KNOWS ? ONE DAY IN PREPARATION FOR PLAYING THE CHARGERS HE WALKED BY ME AND WHISPERED UNDER HIS BREATH, "THEY'RE LAUGHING AT YOU IN SAN DIEGO." SO I SAID, YOU CAN'T USE CHILD PSYCHOLOGY ON ME, I'M A GROWN MAN, AND THAT NIGHT LAYING IN BED I'M LOOKING UP AT THE CEILING THINKING, "THEY'RE LAUGHING AT ME IN SAN DIEGO ?" HE WAS SORT OF THAT PERSONIFICATION OF OAKLAND. HE SAID, OKAY FINE, YOU DON'T THINK MUCH OF US, YOU DON'T LIKE US ? WELL, WE'RE NOT ONLY GONNA PROVE THAT WE'RE SMARTER THAN YOU, WE'LL DO ANYTHING TO PROVE THAT WE'RE SMARTER THAN YOU. DAVIS HAD BEEN RAISED IN BROOKLYN, AND HIS STREET SMARTS MIXED WELL WITH THE REBELLIOUS NEW SPIRIT OF THE 60's. FIRST AS HEAD COACH THEN AS MANAGING GENERAL PARTNER, DAVIS BUILT THE RAIDERS INTO THE MOST INTIMIDATING TEAM IN SPORTS. THEY HAD THEIR BLACK JERSEYS, THEY HAD THE PIRATE LOGO, THE SKULL AND CROSS-BONES ON THEIR HELMET. THEY'D HIT YOU HARDER, THEY'D HIT YOU LATER, AND THEY WOULD WEAR YOU DOWN BY THEIR SHEER MEAN SPIRITED PERSISTENCE. THE RAIDERS WERE THE PERFECT FOOTBALL TEAM FOR THE PEOPLE WHO FELT THAT IT WAS AN US AGAINST THEM SITUATION. IT WAS AL DAVIS, IT WAS HIS TEAM, IT WAS THE COACHES, IT WAS THE PLAYERS AGAINST THE REST OF THE WORLD. ON OUR ITINERARY MOST TEAMS WOULD SAY, "GAME, 1:00 KICK OFF." GUESS WHAT OURS SAID ? THAT WAS ABOUT THE TIME THE NFL FILMS AND JOHN FASENDA AND ALL THAT STUFF HAD A HALF HOUR EVERY WEEKEND. "THE RAIDERS CAME OUT AT THE SECOND HALF D. "A KANSAS CITY OFFENSE SUDDENLY FOUND ITSELF FLOUNDERING. "UNABLE TO PUT TOGETHER SO MUCH AS A GOOD COMBINATION "FOR A FIRST DOWN. "IN THE MEANTIME THE RAIDER DEFENSE WERE SWARMING MANIACS." YOU KNOW THAT KIND OF STUFF JUST MADE US FEEL WONDERFUL. IN 1969, DAVIS GAMBLED, PROMOTING A YOUNG UNKNOWN RAIDER DEFENSIVE ASSISTANT TO HEAD COACH. HIS NAME WAS JOHN MADDEN. MADDEN WAS ESSENTIALLY NOBODY. I MEAN HE WAS JUST, YOU KNO, SORT OF THIS, YOU KNOW, ASSISTANT IN, YOU KNOW, SIZE 48 PANTS. MADDEN LOOKED LIKE A REFUGEE FROM THE BOWLING ALLEY, YOU KNOW. HE, SHIRT TAILS OUT. HE'S SORT OF STOMPING, HE'S BIG. HE HAD THAT KIND OF LIKE SHIRT WITH A TIE THAT WAS ALWAYS FLOWIN' AROUND. HE ALWAYS WORE HIS CREDENTIALS, YOU KNOW, OVER HIS TIE SO THAT WAS FLYIN' AROUND. HE WAS ALWAYS LIKE HIS SHIRT WAS COMING UNTUCKED AND HE WAS SO HE WAS ALWAYS LIKE YELLIN' AT THE THING AND POINTIN'. ( Madden ) IN THOSE DAYS THAT WAS WHEN A LOT OF GUYS WERE, YOU CAN'T YOU HAVE TO WEAR A WHITE SHIRT AND NECK TIE ON A ROAD TRIP. AND THOSE THINGS WEREN'T IMPORTANT TO ME. I MEAN, I DIDN'T CARE. THOSE THINGS HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH WINNING OR LOSING. SO I ONLY HAD THREE RULES. THEY HAD TO BE ON TIME. THEY HAD TO PAY ATTENTION. AND THEN THE THIRD THING WAS PLAY LIKE HELL WHEN I TELL YOU TO. DAVIS AND MADDEN WELCOMED TO OAKLAND PLAYERS THAT OTHER TEAMS THOUGHT OF AS TROUBLEMAKERS. CAST-OFFS WHO OTHERWISE HAD NO PLACE IN THE NFL'S POLITE SOCIETY. AND IF YOU WERE A RAIDER YOU SOON ENOUGH HAD A NICKNAME. THE "SOUL PATROL" WAS THE NAE OF OUR DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD.