R.I.P. Al Davis

The iconic, defiant longtime owner of the NFL’s Oakland Raiders — an NFL Hall of Famer — was 82 and had been in failing health with an undisclosed ailment for some time. Davis was a rebel who embraced Hollywood (and vice-versa) when he moved the Raiders to Los Angeles in 1982. The team won the first and only Super Bowl for Los Angeles in 1984, the city’s Olympic year, the last of three titles that Davis won for the Raiders all told (the others coming in 1976 and ’80). He moved the Raiders back to Oakland in 1995, and L.A. has been without an NFL team ever since. But Davis will forever be knownas the guy whobrought Hollywood bright lights and Super Bowl glamor together, even if the party was all too brief. He’ll also be remembered for the battle cry, “Just win baby!” His teams wound up doing quite a bit of that.