(In The House That Al Built)

By Barbara Mason
Raiderdrive.com & Area Chica Staff Columnist

5/31/02

      From the streets of Philadelphia to his final destination, Oakland, California, Mr. Al LoCasale (right) has certainly come a long way.  His golden touch can be witnessed in so many aspects of the Raider organization that it makes one’s head spin.  He is involved in coordinating public relations, merchandising, ticket operations, team travel, the Raiderettes, game day operations, and keeping an eye on the comings and goings of the front office staff.  A tall order any way you look at it.  This seemingly tireless man appears to be basically involved in everything.

Let’s go back a few years and look at just where Al LoCasale came from and how he influenced the world of football.  He describes himself as “a typical, raised on the streets, lower middle-class kind of kid.”  Born in the city of brotherly love, his father was a meat cutter and his mother a seamstress.  He unfortunately suffered the loss of his only other sibling, an older sister, several years ago from cancer.  Mr. LoCasale began his football career in Philadelphia as a coach at a local high school and also coached while on active duty in the United States Navy.  He has graced the world of football administration for more than four decades working with the University of Southern California, the San Diego Chargers, and the Cincinnati Bengals.  Radio and television work can be added to his vast repertoire, as he was a member of the board of directors of both the NFL Properties and NFL Films.  He was a founder of NFL Working Executives Group as well as a member of the NFL Management Council and finally on the GameDay advisory committee.  Leaves you breathless, doesn’t it?  Just hold on folks; we haven’t even gotten to the good stuff: the day that he joined the Oakland Raider staff a few years back in 1969.  

Mr. LoCasale had spent 1960 with the Chargers while they were in Los Angeles followed by two more years with the San Diego Chargers.  He was not only a founding member of both the Los Angeles and San Diego Chargers but also the Cincinnati Bengals.  He had the opportunity in the fall of 1967 to join Mr. Paul Brown and help start the Cincinnati Bengal franchise.  In 1968 the Bengals had their first draft, and three years later they won the division championship in 1970.

In May of 1969, Mr. Brown asked LoCasale to come to his office and told him of an offer in Oakland.  Al Davis had asked permission to talk to LoCasale about a position at the top of the administration as executive assistant with the Oakland Raiders.  Mr. LoCasale was indeed very interested; and in June of 1969, he began his career with the Silver and Black.

 Area Chica Sports/Raiderdrive.com was pleased to be able to sit down with Mr. LoCasale and delve into the life of this human dynamo.  Despite his overwhelming schedule, we spent some time talking about family, hobbies, memories both happy and sad, and of course the men in silver and black.

A beautiful poster hangs on the wall in Al’s office, displaying a movie that Nicholas (Al LoCasale's son) not only starred in but also wrote, directed, and produced at age fifteen.

The pride that he feels for the Oakland Raiders is matched only by his deep love for his two sons.  Nicholas, the oldest, is 23 and is pursuing a career in the theater.  A beautiful poster hangs on the wall in Al’s office, displaying a movie that Nicholas not only starred in but also wrote, directed, and produced at age fifteen.  His youngest son, Alex, who just turned nineteen, is also following the world of theater, studying at the University of Southern California.

We spoke about the very first memories he had of the Oakland Raiders.  These memories were experienced by Al on the opposite side of the field since, at that time, he was with the then Los Angeles Chargers and of course later the San Diego Chargers.  The year was 1960.  The owner of the Chargers, Mr. Barron Hilton, could be considered one of the prime reasons for the inception of the Oakland Raiders.  “He did not want to come into the league unless there was another team on the West Coast to have a rivalry with.  This was kind of where the impetus came to go and find another club,” LoCasale pointed out.  He also remembered beating Oakland the first six times, but a Mr. Al Davis came on the scene and things changed, life got a lot tougher. 

Some of the saddest times that Al could remember were of course the tragic deaths that occurred over the years.  The death of Lyle Alzado was especially hard for him: “That one hurt a lot.  I was with him on a Wednesday afternoon, and he passed away Friday morning.  That was tough to take.” 

 I asked him about the saddest moment of his career with the Raiders from a football standpoint.  “The toughest loss had to be the play-off game against Pittsburgh in 1972, when we lost to them on a disputed pass interception.  I had a perfect view from where I was standing, and they called it wrong.”  (How familiar does that sound?)  The Raiders had the distinction of being the best team in football that year.  “The best team in football belongs in the championship game, so that was a tough one.”

When we spoke about the happiest memory in his recollection, it was easy to recall:  the first Super Bowl the Raiders won after he had joined the organization.  He can still remember being with the players in the jubilant locker room afterwards on January 9, 1977, when they beat the heck out of the Minnesota Vikings.

There have been so many rewarding moments that volumes and volumes could be written about each and every one of them.  What does this man do away from football when the rare opportunity presents itself?  He loves to sit down to a mouth-watering dish of pasta, settle in with a great book (being an avid reader), or listening to opera (which he grew up with) right on down to some good ole rock-n-roll.

Al LoCasale is a huge intricate for the Raiderettes in the Raider Org.  Did you know that Al designed the Raiderettes costumes and the style & color of Silver & Black has never changed since?  Yes indeed, I guess you could say, he's Proud, should he be? You bet!

    Are there any words to live by that he can share with us?  Sid Gillman had once said something that has always stuck with him, and that is, “you’re never sure that you are smarter than the other people, but you can sure as hell outwork ‘em.”  Could this be where Mr. LoCasale’s incredible work ethic comes from?

  We spoke about his relationship with Al Davis.  LoCasale was only eighteen when he met the twenty-two year old Davis at a football coaches clinic in New Jersey, where the young Davis was lecturing.  LoCasale approached him and told him that he had read some of the articles that Davis had written for a technical football publication, “Scholastic Coach,” and that he had questions for Davis.  After the clinic, the two met at a local restaurant to talk football, and at about 4:00 in the morning, the management threw the two of them out.  “We had covered the back of every menu and napkin with O’s and X’s.  That’s how it all started.”   They stayed in touch over the years, finally joining forces at the University of Southern California in 1959, continuing on with the Los Angeles Chargers in 1960 and finally with the San Diego Chargers in 1961-62.

I asked him to describe the spirited Raider fans.  “I think they are the best in football. They want us to win.  They bleed Silver and Black; they are great fans.”  What is the fascination, the love affair, if you will, that the American public has for this sport of football?  Al had this to say:  “I think the physicality has something to do with it, but professional football is a community or a rallying point.  You don’t have to be an alumnus like you do if you’re following college football.  In professional football your loyalty is partly geographic and the other part is just something about a particular organization that catches your attention and interest.  It allows people to really get involved with something they adopt.  When you adopt something, you’ve made a choice and your attachment is probably stronger because you chose it. 

 Mr. LoCasale’s attachment to the Oakland Raiders is evident as seen in his tireless efforts in every faction of this organization.  He has seen it all, everything that the world of football has to offer, and he could more than likely write volumes that would rival the Encyclopedia Britannica.  This man is sharp as a tack; he is gracious, genuine, intelligent, and we are lucky indeed to have him up in that front office, keeping a benevolent eye on this organization that we have all grown to love, the Oakland Raiders.

Another good article: The House That Al Built-By Barb Mason Interview on Oakland Raider P.R. Craig Long

A Special Thanks to the Raider Organization for making this interview possible.