Raider reunion marks 25^th anniversary of first Super Bowl win

By Tony Mercado 1/09/03
Area Chica Sports & Raiderdrive Columnist E-Mail Tony
(Interviews and photos by Tony Mercado)

Some of the great names of Raider lore did the impossible during one special weekend in the city of Oakland.  They stopped time.

In a banquet room at the Marriott Hotel, there was Hall of Famer Dave Casper shaking hands with former coach Tom Flores.  A few tables away, Pete Banaszak talked shop with Ted Kwalick.  At the entrance to the room, Art Thomas showed off his Super Bowl ring.  All of sudden, it was 1977 all over again, a year that the Raider team did something that many so-called experts also said would be impossible: They beat the heavily favored Minnesota Vikings 32-14 in Super Bowl XI.

Twenty-five years later, many of those same men gathered one November weekend to reminisce both about the game and their experiences while garbed in the Silver & Black.  The first Raider Reunion, held to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the team’s win and mark the overall success of the franchise, grew out of a holiday party thrown in 2001 that attracted about 70 former players.    The response was so positive and overwhelming that Rod Sherman, president of the Raider Alumni Association, knew the time was right to bring the old crew back together.  “With it being the anniversary of the Super Bowl victory, it seemed like the natural thing to do was to put something together on a large scale,” said the one-time Super Bowl II receiver.  The event consisted of a Sunday night cocktail party at the Marriott and a Monday luncheon at the Oakland Civic Center attended by close to 400 people.

During the event, the Association announced the creation of the Double D, Double Team Fund—which will help those former players struggling with mental, physical, or financial obstacles—and the establishment of a partnership with Nike—which will help refurbish dilapidated playgrounds in the city of Oakland.  The gestures epitomized what the Raiders have always stood for: teamwork and a commitment to overcoming adversity, much like the 1977 team had to do in the years prior to winning it all.

Thomas (left), a receiver on that Super Bowl XI team, remembered making the playoffs several times, but never reaching the big game.  Something always seemed to keep the Raiders from the championship, including the “Immaculate Reception” in that controversial 1972 playoff game, when Franco Harris of the Pittsburgh Steelers hauled in a 60-yard touchdown pass with 22 seconds in the contest to beat the Raiders 13-7.  “It did kind of wear on us,” he said.

The mark of any great team, however, lies in its heart.  And the Raiders, regardless of the era, had plenty of that beating within their chests.  Regardless of the score, the men in Silver & Black believed they could come back so long as they never quit or said die.  “We had that Raiders attitude of knocking ‘em down and leaving them there,” said former defensive lineman Johnny Robinson, who earned his championship ring in a 38-9 thrashing of the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII.  “Every one of us had that kind of attitude.  And being the underdog in the game I was in, we knew we had to come out biting and that’s what we did.”

Getting that first Super Bowl win was a tremendous step forward for the organization, said Thomas.  “It was kind of like being a salesperson and making that first sale,” he explained.  “It got us over the hump and put us on the map as a team and organization to be reckoned with.”

Amazingly, some of the players said they first approached a Super Bowl contest as just another game.

  But that was before they encountered the glitz, glamour, and festivities that came with the game, including heightened security and restrictions.  “That’s when I told myself, this ain’t no regular game,” said Robinson.  “I started getting goose bumps.  Once I got that, I could feel it.  I could feel that this was bigger than a

 game and when you win it, oh, man, it’s an unbelievable feeling.”

Despite the presence of so many great players, there was still a sense of emptiness in the room.  Prominent by their absence were those Raiders who had since passed on.  Some of the players remembered men like Dave Dalby, John Matuszak, and Lyle Alzado, icons in Raider history who will forever be remembered for their grit and toughness.  “Time goes by very quickly,” said Warren Bankston, who played special teams in Super Bowl XI.  “Those men would have meant so much to this reunion.  That’s why it’s so wonderful to be able to bring back friends, guys who were like family.  It’s a great time that may never happen again.”

Sherman said only time would tell if another reunion was in the cards.  But for now, he was glad to sit back and reflect on the great event he helped put together.  “It’s hard to verbalize the amount of love, appreciation and respect that was mixed together that night,” said Sherman.  “It was a special night.  What can you say?  Winning breeds long-term camaraderie.”

In the scriptures of Maverick, it is written, "Long live the Silver & Black." So let it be said-so let it be written- so let it be done.

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