Moving, Vann Says, Great For The Raiders

Al Davis made a mistake 13 years ago, but appears to have taken the step to correct it this summer.

Davis moved the Raiders from Oakland to Los Angeles in 1982. He saw brighter lights, a bigger market, a bigger stadium and greater potential for revenue in Los Angeles than what he had in Oakland.

What Davis didn’t anticipate in that move down the coast was a deterioration of his football team. So Davis has announced he’s taking his team back to Oakland this season. The Raiders want to get out of Hollywood and back to football.

When the Raiders concentrate on football, there are few franchises better. In their 22 years in Oakland, the Raiders appeared in 10 AFL/AFC Championship Games and three Super Bowls. In their 13 years in Los Angeles, they played in only two AFC title games and one Super Bowl.

Vann McElroy witnessed the deterioration of the Raiders when they left Oakland for Los Angeles.

McElroy was drafted by the Raiders in 1982, the year they moved to Los Angeles. Actually, it was half a move. The Raiders only played the games in Los Angeles. They spent the week practicing in Oakland, then would fly to Los Angeles on the weekend for the games.

The Raiders went 8-1 in that strikeshortened season. The next year, they moved their entire operation to Los Angeles, where they won the Super Bowl. But all was not well with the Raiders.

“The guys got off on the wrong foot (in Los Angeles),” said McElroy, a Pro Bowl safety with the Raiders. “They found a lot of extra-curricular activities, and there were desires to do other things besides play football. The team started drifting away.

“Everyone was trying to look pretty. Guys were getting into acting, commercials. Everyone had to get an agent for this, an agent for that. Everyone went their own way. Our camaraderie was huge in Oakland. We lost that in LA.”

The Raiders lost more than that in Los Angeles. They lost their fan base. Sure, there was the odd crowd of 90,000 for games against the Cowboys and the 49ers. But more often than not, the cavernous Coliseum was half empty. Ten of the Raiders’ final 18 home games were played before crowds of fewer than 50,000.

The Raiders had one of the best homefield advantages in the NFL in Oakland, winning 70 percent of their games in those 20-plus seasons. That rabid fan base in the Bay area was a big part of that success. In laid-back Los Angeles, the Raiders won only 64 percent of the time at home.

McElroy, who is now in the agent business in Dallas, said the Raiders will benefit from the move back to Oakland, the blue-collar side of San Francisco Bay.

“Your hard hat is on, and you’re there to play football,” McElroy said. “There won’t be the distractions.”

The Raiders move must be approved by city and county officials and the NFL. All have scheduled votes for this month.

Catching on

At 33, Gary Clark has two goals left in the NFL to win a third Super Bowl and pad his catch count. That’s why he signed this off-season with the Miami Dolphins.

Quarterback Dan Marino gives him a chance to do both. “I’ve always played with good quarterbacks,” said Clark, a four-time Pro Bowler. “I wanted the chance to play with a great one.”

Clark ranks eighth in NFL history with his 662 receptions.

Niners on the run

The San Francisco 49ers need a running back, and there’s a perfect fit on the market. That’s Johnny Johnson, cut by the Jets for financial reasons. Johnson is a better runner than Ricky Watters and nearly as good a receiver. Johnson is from the Bay Area (Santa Cruz).

Kicking search

Eddie Murray converted all 33 of his extra-point attempts and 21 of his 25 field goal tries for the Eagles last year.

But that might not be enough to save his job. Murray’s longest field goal was only 42 yards, and his short kickoffs were a problem.

So the Eagles have had recent contract discussions with Chip Lohmiller and also are considering Gary Anderson.